There is something I can't seem to understand in the relationship between technology and non-tech people / companies.
As a tech-savvy person and someone who relocated recently, I rely a lot on tech solutions for daily problems. When I was choosing my medical insurance company, I concentrated on one that has a good app and English interface. When I need a barber, I search Google Maps and look for barbers who have a website where I can book an appointment. Same for doctors, workshops, or leisure activities. And most of the websites are crap. It's some obscure reservation system, or a generic website with poor design built on Wix or something.
And from one side, I feel like there is an untapped potential here. Any good developer who can build and design a website, can just offer this to their barber or dentist. But on the other hand, I also understand that I'm not the only one who came up with this idea, so there must be a different reason why non-tech people / companies seem to neglect their digital presence. Could it be because they still think that digital presence is not important (and only tech-savvy people like me search for a barber on Google Maps)? Or maybe it's because most small businesses can't / don't want to pay a few thousands for a website and a Google Maps presence (but rather pay $39/mo for Wix), meaning that despite the fact that we are basically surrounded by tech 24/7, the general population still expects tech to be free, or nearly free.
Some thoughts based on talking with small business friends:
- most business comes from local word of mouth, so digital presence is not a priority
- existing solutions are good enough; contact info and maybe a scheduling flow is all the website needs, regardless of UX polish
- changing tech solutions (e.g. website migration) is painful; they have more important things to do with their time and energy
- will investing a few thousand dollars in a website pay off? Probably not, and hard to convince them even if true; they have more important things to do with their tight budget
- I think there's a lot of mediocre devs and agencies offering mediocre work; the talented devs delivering great, user-friendly work are probably not pursuing these projects
As a tech-savvy person and someone who relocated recently, I rely a lot on tech solutions for daily problems. When I was choosing my medical insurance company, I concentrated on one that has a good app and English interface. When I need a barber, I search Google Maps and look for barbers who have a website where I can book an appointment. Same for doctors, workshops, or leisure activities. And most of the websites are crap. It's some obscure reservation system, or a generic website with poor design built on Wix or something.
And from one side, I feel like there is an untapped potential here. Any good developer who can build and design a website, can just offer this to their barber or dentist. But on the other hand, I also understand that I'm not the only one who came up with this idea, so there must be a different reason why non-tech people / companies seem to neglect their digital presence. Could it be because they still think that digital presence is not important (and only tech-savvy people like me search for a barber on Google Maps)? Or maybe it's because most small businesses can't / don't want to pay a few thousands for a website and a Google Maps presence (but rather pay $39/mo for Wix), meaning that despite the fact that we are basically surrounded by tech 24/7, the general population still expects tech to be free, or nearly free.