How to get the right software

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It's a dilemma. Do you have someone build it, do you build it yourself, or is it already built and you can customize it?

It's the world we live in. You need online software systems to help you get the job done. Some of them talk to each other and others aren't friendly. Some continue to have development behind them and others get left behind. How do you pick the right ones and not get left in the dust?

I never thought I'd be thinking about things like this and evaluating different systems, but I've been involved in multiple purchases from marketing automation software to digital asset management to print on demand to custom built to video platforms and more. Every time is a process. Research. Initial phone calls. Second phone calls. Demos. Pricing conversations. Selling internally. In-person visits. Sometimes you go with something sometimes you stay with what you've got. It's not an easy process, but I've learned a lot through it.

The biggest things I look for are.

  1. Will they continue to be there for us?
  2. Will they continue to develop their product?
  3. Does it work with the rest of our current system?
  4. Will it make our process better, simpler, or faster?
  5. Do we like the people we're working with?
  6. How hard is it to use for me and others?
  7. How much is it going to cost us compared to what we have now?
  8. Will it help grow our business in some way?

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