Choosing the most appropriate software solutions for your company can be a daunting task. With so many options on the market, it can be quite challenging narrowing down your list and settling on the right software solution. Make the wrong choice and you’ll lose precious time and money implementing and uninstalling it later.
Here are seven key questions you should ask yourself before selecting the right software solution for your business:
1. What does your business need and what does it want?
You need to have a constant understanding of what your business needs in the short and long term. What’s your minimum viable product? You may have strategize ways on how you can make it achievable. Keep in mind that anything else will cost money and eat into your budget unnecessarily.
You may go through a scenario of an email coming in assuring you of a system that allows you to close huge deals with good profit margins. This may be both exciting and enticing but you need to set your priorities straight. Your software solution needs an invoicing solution to streamline your finances more than it needs the lead-generating system.
While many organizations may jump at the mouth-watering deals they get, sit down and evaluate what software solutions your business needs the most.
2. What specific metrics are you looking to improve by using this software?
It is important to sit and quantify if there is anything you are gaining from using your new tool. It would be best if you were a little more specific with this, as it will enhance your accuracy when a need arises, and you will need to research and incorporate more prospective software solutions for your company.
3. Will the team adopt the new solution?
As the sole business owner, making decisions that your team will accept should be a high priority. As a business owner, every decision you make should be a good thing for your Team. You may decide to have your Team assist you in making key decisions for the organization. However, this shall be dependent on the size of your organization.
If you are a strong leader, you still need to incorporate different decisions from your staff. You are confident that every decision and step you make is for the good of the organization and the Team as a whole. Once the core members give you the green light to proceed with implementing some of the decisions, it is time to take a step.
4. Does your business and your team have the necessary resources to integrate the software?
While the software is a perfect fit for your business, you need to curate the resources you will need to implement it. Some solutions will take you months to integrate into your system. You need to ask yourself if you are fully prepared to wait this period and if the business will remain functional while the system gets integrated.
Allowing implementation of some solutions may be a loss for your business, considering the period it takes to implement. An example is an online payment solution. If you must have that integrated, it is important to have an alternative before the tool is fully up and running.
5. What does the future hold for this particular software? Is it the right time?
In business, timing is key. Technology is changing by the day, and you need to be up to speed with these changes. As a business owner, you need to understand the market, especially in your industry. If the trends show that more innovations are taking place, you may need to take some time before you implement your software.
Waiting a while does not necessarily mean a loss for your business; it means waiting for the opportune time when you are sure that your software will have tremendous changes. You should especially be looking for software providers asking you for contracts. You may get yourself into a five-year contract while missing important opportunities within this period.
6. What do you perceive as your business greatest strengths and weaknesses?
You need to take a critical look at where your business performs best and its weak areas. This will assist you in seeing where the software can come from and make great improvements. For example, you may be giving excellent customer service but are constantly making shipping errors. Benchmarking such strengths and weaknesses is implementing software that will strengthen the weak areas.
7. Where would you put emphasis on regarding price, quality and service?
Price should always be a factor in making a large capital investment. However, this should not be the only determinant in helping you make the right decision for your software solutions company. Find a solution that meets your needs and provides the level of service that you envision it will. You must also be willing to tweak your budget a little for your business to accommodate this software.
While speaking to multiple software companies can be exhausting, knowing the most important aspects of the software you need is most important. It is a good way of helping you narrow down the list.
Ask the right questions with Entrance
Your business should be an important priority, and so should your decisions. As a business owner, making the right decisions and asking the right questions can be tough. But you can’t afford to go wrong when choosing the right software solution for your business. If you need help with your software, please contact us today.