Giving Away Free Stuff to Small Business

One of the really interesting aspects of working with small business is their resistance to technology.

A recent blog entry I read suggested that this resistance is due to two factors:

• The Upfront Costs
  
• Inability to see the ROI on the costs
  

In the same article (which is American figures) it suggests that 70% of SMBs don't even have websites which is a truly sad indictment on SMBs in my opinion.

But I can see the point of the article, the high perceived cost of entry for a small business to get a website and the technical mumbo jumbo are huge barriers to actually getting a website.

The technology model that is suggested for small businesses is low cost of entry and higher subscription costs. We see it all the time in printers, where a brand new excellent colour laser printer may only cost $400, but the printer cartridges can cost up to $600 for a full set after the initial trial cartridges have been used.

In the software business this is in effect the Software As A Service SAAS model, where you use software online and pay virtually no up front cost only a subscription based on your usage.

We sell our services and products in effect as a SAAS, with Webin4.com being a truly virtual product, although we charge an upfront fee to get your website done but at a significant discount to the normal costs charged by bespoke designers.

The problem with technology for SMBs is it's complex, expensive and has for years over promised and under delivered.

Whilst I believe that a company without a website is truly archaic, even if the site is just a small group of pages with a mission statement and contact details. I can understand why small companies haven't taken the plunge yet.

Web 2.0 was all about democratizing the web and making it easier for people to contribute online and OWN the process.

I am not so sure about offering 'free' upfront websites with subscription costs, but it's an interesting model nonetheless.

Maybe in time I will change my mind though...