With Tech for Businesses Getting Cheaper and Easier, Why Are Many so Far Behind?

This post originally appeared on CNN’s iReport.

Technology is getting cheaper and cheaper every year. It is also getting easier to find tech that will help do just about anything you need. So why is it that so many businesses are still behind on utilizing it?

For example, even though setting up a website is now only $9 a month and there are plenty of low cost or free design tools, many still do not have one. Depending on which study you look at, you will find that 60% – 75% of businesses still do not have a website.

The average person today carries very little cash and a lot of plastic, yet more than half of businesses do not accept credit cards. Today’s technology has made it very inexpensive to start accepting credit cards and extremely easy.

In just a few minutes and with not much more than an email address and a bank account, a business owner can go to a company like Square Up and have a card reader delivered for their smart phone. At only 2.75% per swipe they can now accept a portion of the $100 Billion in credit card charges every year. Even with traditional merchant accounts, it is much easier to start accepting credit cards today.

The list can go on and on. Tracking customers and sales is now much easier than the days of using expensive software or pen and paper. It used to be a privilege only afforded to big businesses to have such tools. Now there are tons of low cost and again, even free tools available. But many do not use them.

Why not?

Personally, from my experience with business owners, I believe it is because they have not seen the value in using these tools. They are not marketers, accountants, etc. They may know their product or service well but they do not necessarily understand how important these things are.

I see these numbers getting better over time, simply because the tech will continue to be more abundant and more common place. But it is up to these business owners to see the value and understand how much money they are most likely losing, by not using the tools available to them.

I often tell clients something I learned long ago, if you aren’t doing things when it’s tough, you won’t do it when it’s easier. I think that rings true here. The businesses not using the tools today, are the same that wouldn’t have used pen and paper back then. If the mindset isn’t there, the availability of the tech won’t matter.