Roadmap to Buying Business Software

Your Roadmap To Buying BUSINESS SOFTWARE The road to buying business software is tough to navigate, and it's easy to get lost along the way. With tens of thousands of business software programs available, how do you know which direction to go? Capterra has mapped out a guide to finding the best software for your organization. Happy travels! RECOGNIZE NEED FOR SOFTWARE Lead management? eCommerce? Identify an opportunity for growth that can only be made possible by software. Customer Service? Payroll? Employee Reviews? Website Content? Identify a tedious, cumbersome process that can be automated through software. EDUCATE YOURSELF Read about how other Understand the software companies like yours use software to address similar issues. costs, such as licensing, support, implementation, and training. Understand the additional costs, including the time to train employees and potential changes to your business processes. Research all the features available and how they could benefit you. Educational Resources: vendor websites, industry websites, online forums, tradeshows, customer interviews and case studies. Learn about Be Aware: much of your reading material will be biased, often written by the vendors themselves. This isn't necessarily bad since the vendors are often the experts, but it is worth recognizing. common pitfalls. REQUIREMENTS 10 > 23 > (3 BENEFITS DETERMINE YOUR GOALS BUDGET 250 > Write down your requirements. Distinguish between must-haves and nice-to haves. Articulate your expected benefits. How will software save your company time and money? How will it help generate additional revenue? W Develop an initial budget based on the benefits and what you learned about software costs from your initial research. Create a list of criteria by which you will grade each vendor. Get buy-in from future software users,executive team, and tech team. 4. IDENTIFY POTENTIAL VENDORS Create long list: Narrow to short list Schedule demos This should be as A better look at your short Based on your criteria, cut your long list down to 3-6 vendors. list solutions with online comprehensive as possible, there will likely be dozens of potential vendors. demos, which usually last 30-90 minutes. EVALUATE THE VENDORS Include end users in Take excellent notes. How the demos. If your users the salesperson treats you don't enjoy using the is a great indicator for how software, they won't use it. they treat customers. Ask about integration Request references from companies that are similar to yours. with other software products. But also find your own Ask about training. additional references! STOP 6 CHOOSE YOUR VENDOR Receive Negotiate quotes/ proposals Thanks! Thank the Pick One others (7 WELCOME IMPLEMENT THE SOFTWARE Schedule training Make necessary changes to business processes Perform data migration and integration Schedule periodic reviews to measure usage and benefits Sources: http://www.capterra.com/ CAPTERRA Courtesy of: the smart way to find software Your Roadmap To Buying BUSINESS SOFTWARE The road to buying business software is tough to navigate, and it's easy to get lost along the way. With tens of thousands of business software programs available, how do you know which direction to go? Capterra has mapped out a guide to finding the best software for your organization. Happy travels! RECOGNIZE NEED FOR SOFTWARE Lead management? eCommerce? Identify an opportunity for growth that can only be made possible by software. Customer Service? Payroll? Employee Reviews? Website Content? Identify a tedious, cumbersome process that can be automated through software. EDUCATE YOURSELF Read about how other Understand the software companies like yours use software to address similar issues. costs, such as licensing, support, implementation, and training. Understand the additional costs, including the time to train employees and potential changes to your business processes. Research all the features available and how they could benefit you. Educational Resources: vendor websites, industry websites, online forums, tradeshows, customer interviews and case studies. Learn about Be Aware: much of your reading material will be biased, often written by the vendors themselves. This isn't necessarily bad since the vendors are often the experts, but it is worth recognizing. common pitfalls. REQUIREMENTS 10 > 23 > (3 BENEFITS DETERMINE YOUR GOALS BUDGET 250 > Write down your requirements. Distinguish between must-haves and nice-to haves. Articulate your expected benefits. How will software save your company time and money? How will it help generate additional revenue? W Develop an initial budget based on the benefits and what you learned about software costs from your initial research. Create a list of criteria by which you will grade each vendor. Get buy-in from future software users,executive team, and tech team. 4. IDENTIFY POTENTIAL VENDORS Create long list: Narrow to short list Schedule demos This should be as A better look at your short Based on your criteria, cut your long list down to 3-6 vendors. list solutions with online comprehensive as possible, there will likely be dozens of potential vendors. demos, which usually last 30-90 minutes. EVALUATE THE VENDORS Include end users in Take excellent notes. How the demos. If your users the salesperson treats you don't enjoy using the is a great indicator for how software, they won't use it. they treat customers. Ask about integration Request references from companies that are similar to yours. with other software products. But also find your own Ask about training. additional references! STOP 6 CHOOSE YOUR VENDOR Receive Negotiate quotes/ proposals Thanks! Thank the Pick One others (7 WELCOME IMPLEMENT THE SOFTWARE Schedule training Make necessary changes to business processes Perform data migration and integration Schedule periodic reviews to measure usage and benefits Sources: http://www.capterra.com/ CAPTERRA Courtesy of: the smart way to find software Your Roadmap To Buying BUSINESS SOFTWARE The road to buying business software is tough to navigate, and it's easy to get lost along the way. With tens of thousands of business software programs available, how do you know which direction to go? Capterra has mapped out a guide to finding the best software for your organization. Happy travels! RECOGNIZE NEED FOR SOFTWARE Lead management? eCommerce? Identify an opportunity for growth that can only be made possible by software. Customer Service? Payroll? Employee Reviews? Website Content? Identify a tedious, cumbersome process that can be automated through software. EDUCATE YOURSELF Read about how other Understand the software companies like yours use software to address similar issues. costs, such as licensing, support, implementation, and training. Understand the additional costs, including the time to train employees and potential changes to your business processes. Research all the features available and how they could benefit you. Educational Resources: vendor websites, industry websites, online forums, tradeshows, customer interviews and case studies. Learn about Be Aware: much of your reading material will be biased, often written by the vendors themselves. This isn't necessarily bad since the vendors are often the experts, but it is worth recognizing. common pitfalls. REQUIREMENTS 10 > 23 > (3 BENEFITS DETERMINE YOUR GOALS BUDGET 250 > Write down your requirements. Distinguish between must-haves and nice-to haves. Articulate your expected benefits. How will software save your company time and money? How will it help generate additional revenue? W Develop an initial budget based on the benefits and what you learned about software costs from your initial research. Create a list of criteria by which you will grade each vendor. Get buy-in from future software users,executive team, and tech team. 4. IDENTIFY POTENTIAL VENDORS Create long list: Narrow to short list Schedule demos This should be as A better look at your short Based on your criteria, cut your long list down to 3-6 vendors. list solutions with online comprehensive as possible, there will likely be dozens of potential vendors. demos, which usually last 30-90 minutes. EVALUATE THE VENDORS Include end users in Take excellent notes. How the demos. If your users the salesperson treats you don't enjoy using the is a great indicator for how software, they won't use it. they treat customers. Ask about integration Request references from companies that are similar to yours. with other software products. But also find your own Ask about training. additional references! STOP 6 CHOOSE YOUR VENDOR Receive Negotiate quotes/ proposals Thanks! Thank the Pick One others (7 WELCOME IMPLEMENT THE SOFTWARE Schedule training Make necessary changes to business processes Perform data migration and integration Schedule periodic reviews to measure usage and benefits Sources: http://www.capterra.com/ CAPTERRA Courtesy of: the smart way to find software Your Roadmap To Buying BUSINESS SOFTWARE The road to buying business software is tough to navigate, and it's easy to get lost along the way. With tens of thousands of business software programs available, how do you know which direction to go? Capterra has mapped out a guide to finding the best software for your organization. Happy travels! RECOGNIZE NEED FOR SOFTWARE Lead management? eCommerce? Identify an opportunity for growth that can only be made possible by software. Customer Service? Payroll? Employee Reviews? Website Content? Identify a tedious, cumbersome process that can be automated through software. EDUCATE YOURSELF Read about how other Understand the software companies like yours use software to address similar issues. costs, such as licensing, support, implementation, and training. Understand the additional costs, including the time to train employees and potential changes to your business processes. Research all the features available and how they could benefit you. Educational Resources: vendor websites, industry websites, online forums, tradeshows, customer interviews and case studies. Learn about Be Aware: much of your reading material will be biased, often written by the vendors themselves. This isn't necessarily bad since the vendors are often the experts, but it is worth recognizing. common pitfalls. REQUIREMENTS 10 > 23 > (3 BENEFITS DETERMINE YOUR GOALS BUDGET 250 > Write down your requirements. Distinguish between must-haves and nice-to haves. Articulate your expected benefits. How will software save your company time and money? How will it help generate additional revenue? W Develop an initial budget based on the benefits and what you learned about software costs from your initial research. Create a list of criteria by which you will grade each vendor. Get buy-in from future software users,executive team, and tech team. 4. IDENTIFY POTENTIAL VENDORS Create long list: Narrow to short list Schedule demos This should be as A better look at your short Based on your criteria, cut your long list down to 3-6 vendors. list solutions with online comprehensive as possible, there will likely be dozens of potential vendors. demos, which usually last 30-90 minutes. EVALUATE THE VENDORS Include end users in Take excellent notes. How the demos. If your users the salesperson treats you don't enjoy using the is a great indicator for how software, they won't use it. they treat customers. Ask about integration Request references from companies that are similar to yours. with other software products. But also find your own Ask about training. additional references! STOP 6 CHOOSE YOUR VENDOR Receive Negotiate quotes/ proposals Thanks! Thank the Pick One others (7 WELCOME IMPLEMENT THE SOFTWARE Schedule training Make necessary changes to business processes Perform data migration and integration Schedule periodic reviews to measure usage and benefits Sources: http://www.capterra.com/ CAPTERRA Courtesy of: the smart way to find software Your Roadmap To Buying BUSINESS SOFTWARE The road to buying business software is tough to navigate, and it's easy to get lost along the way. With tens of thousands of business software programs available, how do you know which direction to go? Capterra has mapped out a guide to finding the best software for your organization. Happy travels! RECOGNIZE NEED FOR SOFTWARE Lead management? eCommerce? Identify an opportunity for growth that can only be made possible by software. Customer Service? Payroll? Employee Reviews? Website Content? Identify a tedious, cumbersome process that can be automated through software. EDUCATE YOURSELF Read about how other Understand the software companies like yours use software to address similar issues. costs, such as licensing, support, implementation, and training. Understand the additional costs, including the time to train employees and potential changes to your business processes. Research all the features available and how they could benefit you. Educational Resources: vendor websites, industry websites, online forums, tradeshows, customer interviews and case studies. Learn about Be Aware: much of your reading material will be biased, often written by the vendors themselves. This isn't necessarily bad since the vendors are often the experts, but it is worth recognizing. common pitfalls. REQUIREMENTS 10 > 23 > (3 BENEFITS DETERMINE YOUR GOALS BUDGET 250 > Write down your requirements. Distinguish between must-haves and nice-to haves. Articulate your expected benefits. How will software save your company time and money? How will it help generate additional revenue? W Develop an initial budget based on the benefits and what you learned about software costs from your initial research. Create a list of criteria by which you will grade each vendor. Get buy-in from future software users,executive team, and tech team. 4. IDENTIFY POTENTIAL VENDORS Create long list: Narrow to short list Schedule demos This should be as A better look at your short Based on your criteria, cut your long list down to 3-6 vendors. list solutions with online comprehensive as possible, there will likely be dozens of potential vendors. demos, which usually last 30-90 minutes. EVALUATE THE VENDORS Include end users in Take excellent notes. How the demos. If your users the salesperson treats you don't enjoy using the is a great indicator for how software, they won't use it. they treat customers. Ask about integration Request references from companies that are similar to yours. with other software products. But also find your own Ask about training. additional references! STOP 6 CHOOSE YOUR VENDOR Receive Negotiate quotes/ proposals Thanks! Thank the Pick One others (7 WELCOME IMPLEMENT THE SOFTWARE Schedule training Make necessary changes to business processes Perform data migration and integration Schedule periodic reviews to measure usage and benefits Sources: http://www.capterra.com/ CAPTERRA Courtesy of: the smart way to find software