If you ask a small business owner why the company hasn’t had a website created yet, the most common objection is lack of technical know-how in order to keep it maintained.
Most of my clients have the same fear. They really know the business they are in and have learned all they can about their products and services. But the first piece of resistance I get from them in the first meeting is the fear that they will have to learn all sorts of programming language just to update a web page.
Yet in research results reported by Verisign only 27 percent reported that as an actual barrier.
There are many different Content Management Systems (CMS) that make it easier on the novice, or even non-techie, to easily keep a website updated. If you use Microsoft Word, you can use many CMS interfaces on the market. WordPress is becoming easier to use and there are several “drag-and-drop” design options as well.
The other objections you’ll hear include, “I have too many other things to do just running the business. How am I supposed to create and run a website too? I certainly can’t afford to hire someone to do it. I don’t even have a full-time IT department.”
And research concludes that to be the case. According to this Forbes article: “Small businesses can often be charged with the harsh reality of just keeping the lights on. Computer and communications technology is complex and even somewhat obscure to the general public – not everybody wants to spend their weekend figuring out how to optimize a deployment, and others, well, they’re just not necessarily built for it.”
Let’s face it, with today’s technology, small business owners need to start considering shifting time and resources from some elements of the business to online conversation. In the new world of Social Media and easier to maintain websites, it is even more necessary to take the time to personalize your marketing efforts.
The Bone
If you see yourself in the above description, it’s time to reach out for help. You can find it internally or with a consultant that can help you through the decision on how to approach a new online presence.