Say Uncle!(Brief Article)

• Author: Olson, Adam

Face it, the Web Can Be Your Most Efficient Marketing Tool

With dot-com giants seemingly falling left and right, one can almost hear the collective sigh of relief from small business owners throughout the state, thanking their lucky stars they didn't shell out the money to go online. Those small business owners might want to reconsider their "unconnected" status.

If Utah follows the national average, of the more than 81,900 in-state businesses classified as "small" by the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, only about 30 percent (24,300) have an online presence.

Part of what's keeping those businesses from going online, according to Steve Hansen, CEO and president of Wiworks.com, is a secret hope that the Internet and e-commerce will just go away.

It's a belief that might seem to be substantiated by the struggles of large Web-based companies in recent months. But what's happening with the nation's dot-coms has little to do with small businesses having a presence on the Web. If anything, there are probably more reasons than ever before for a small business to get established online.

Holding back

Hansen has made a career of getting small businesses online. He lists three reasons why many companies don't establish a Web presence. First, they lack understanding. Second, they have limited capital. Third, they have a stubborn belief they'll be able to market the same way tomorrow as they did yesterday.

"With any kind of a technology change, you have guys willing to take a risk," Hansen says. "Some will pay money to do what they believe is on the cutting edge." Those people are online, he says.

"Then there are those who go along with the pack," Hansen notes. Those people are also getting online.

"And there are some who are intimidated by it. They hope the Internet will go away," Hansen says. "Well, it hasn't, and now they find themselves in a precarious position."

With consumers online at home, work and even on their wireless phones and handheld devices, they can check out a business long before actually calling or visiting. "Consumers can find out a lot of information now about a company -- whether that business is a plumber, cabinetmaker or dentist," Hansen says. "Consumers like that because there's no pressure from a salesperson."

As for the cost to register a domain name, and have a website created, maintained and marketed, Hansen says current prices are high, but not as high as they've been in the past.

Reid Baty, director of marketing...