We read online reviews at many points throughout the buying cycle. Whether it’s a review by an analyst, a critic, or a peer; we read reviews for reassurance that we making the right decision. While we use reviews to feel better about our decisions, we should not use reviews not make our decisions.
This is especially true for serious business purchases like software. For more serious purchases, the quality of the review becomes much more important. And let’s face it; there are a lot of opinions out there. So how do you know whether or not to take an online review seriously?
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You are hungry. It is lunch time and you are losing steam, but you are swamped and you’ve been eyeing the fresh plate of brownies someone brought to the office this morning. Oh, sweet sugar rush! So you indulge. However, twenty minutes later you have a headache, and now you really can’t concentrate. Let’s face it: we don’t always do a good job connecting our needs with the best solution to them.
Assuming your brownie indulgence is a one-time occurrence, it’s not a big deal. However, when it comes to important business decisions, we often make this same mistake repeatedly. This is particularly true with regard to business software purchases. continue reading »
At Capterra, we allow buyers to submit their software needs which we then pass along to relevant vendors. The buyers often enter a low-ball estimate on their budget line. They do this because they are either unsure of what to budget or because they (understandably) don’t want to tip their hand. However, when vendors see these low budget estimates they often don’t even want to talk to these buyers, because they think they aren’t serious or legitimate.
A low-ball negotiation strategy is one thing, but just taking a low-ball guess is not the smart way to buy business software. Plenty of surveys have shown that many software buyers experience unexpected costs that add considerably to the final price tag.
The process of budgeting for software products for your business will vary tremendously based on what it is you are trying to automate. However, one of the most important foundations of budgeting accurately is to know exactly what you need. If you are researching an expensive product or anticipate needing a lot of customization, knowing what features are “must haves” and “nice to haves” will help you tremendously in your negotiations. Once you have decided exactly what you need from your software solution, let these next three topics guide your budget brainstorm: continue reading »
Business software comes in many different flavors. Whether you’re looking for something fast and easy to use, or something more robust and flexible, there’s a software model to suit your tastes. The two primary deployment options are the traditional installed approach and the increasingly popular (but still less common) Software as a Service (SaaS) approach. These two models offer different advantages and disadvantages to their users. continue reading »
Free things are awesome. Who doesn’t want a free shirt or free tickets to a concert? What about free business software?
One of the most attractive features of open source software is the price tag. It’s available to download at no cost and with very few restrictions. However, open source software is often described as “free, as in a free puppy.” continue reading »
Before I worked for Capterra, I worked for a small technology averse firm in the financial services industry. The company decided to look into buying software that would allow them to trade electronically, and they asked me to find the best option.
After a couple of meetings however, it was clear that the company’s management was not really ready to transition to a new software program. Some of the company’s key decision makers feared that using a software program instead of faxing printed trade sheets might actually make it easier for trades to be submitted incorrectly or accidentally to a broker. After I learned why the project was previously placed on hold, I reevaluated my short list to figure out which options best addressed those concerns.
You know to compare the costs and benefits of each software option, but you should also be ready to explain why it now makes sense to start using the new software. continue reading »
You bought the software and now your business is running more smoothly than you ever imagined, however there is one more important step you don’t want to forget: mark your calendar with the contract deadlines. Taking a minute or two to schedule a reminder can potentially save you from a massive headache down the road.
Go through the contract and if you need to cancel an automatic renewal before a certain date, put it in your calendar. If the negotiated price is already set to increase by a certain amount after a year, put that in there too. These decisions and dates may seem far off in the future, but that’s exactly why even the most organized person is likely to forget about them. continue reading »
I was recently in the process of purchasing Email Marketing Software when I ran into a strange problem— a company with absolutely no way to be reached via phone. My short list of options was narrowed to 4 and all I wanted was to talk to somebody at each company and have my final questions answered. The first 3 were pretty easy to reach, either by calling a number on their website or putting in a request for a sales call. But the fourth company really had me perplexed: absolutely no phone number available.
I know we’re living in a high-tech world, and maybe I’m old fashioned or just a little chattier than most but I just could not fathom that there was no way to reach a person. continue reading »
I’ll never forget one of the most hectic and stressful nights at my parents’ restaurant, Tambellini’s by the Liberty Tubes in Pittsburgh. My dad decided it was time to embrace technology and update the order management system used by the kitchen and the servers. This was quite the update considering the old system consisted of paper, a microphone, and an intercom. After investing time and money into finding and buying the “perfect system” it crashed on the first night: a busy Friday when restaurants can’t afford errors. The crash was bad enough, but the real problem was that most of the employees didn’t understand the new system. With more time and training the software may have revolutionized Tambellini’s, but by the end of the night it was clear that new software would never have a second chance.
My dad learned a hard lesson that night: he should have involved other people in the decision. continue reading »
You’ve decided on your short list of software options, watched their product demos, and talked with their salespeople—but you still have a lot of questions before making a final decision. This is the point in the buying process when some salespeople start to get aggressive. They’re this close to sealing the deal and all they need is your signature.
I’ve heard lines like:
“Frankly, I have some serious concerns about you and the fact that you’d even look at companies X and Y when we’re clearly light years ahead of them.” (Concerned that I’m weighing my options??)
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“I’d really check into company X’s reputation if I were you. Do you really want to be associated with someone who has so little respect in the industry?” (I checked, and company X’s reputation was perfectly fine.) continue reading »
