5 Pitfalls to the definitive Customer Management Software Selection

The choice seems almost infinite as you click on your search engine, similar to dropping a coin into the giant slot machine in Vegas. For most unsuspecting buyer the odds at hitting the triple star solution are about as small as that on the Vegas casino floor. As you continue to search and move through the first pages you start to think, this is really time wasting I need to make a choice. This really starts to kick-in as you start to scan page 3, most people never get to page 5. The small voice says, careful there may be something new that better meets are needs. Here is our focus: watch out for the pot holes in the road ahead.

1. Limiting your search to your own knowledge base and network

How often have we relied on what we know as the best solution? Research has shown that some 80% of all buyers trust the recommendation of their best friend or social contact. This is for a good reason; we love convenience, a short cut that allows us to invest our time and energy into more uncertain waters. It is pure risk reduction. Looking outside the box requires a real commitment and focus do not cut your options.

2. Trapped  by special offers and free service

Whether it is really a tight budget or simply the word ‘free’ itself is an endomorph for our emotions to trigger a drop in our guard. A chance to try for no upfront costs and there is plenty of time to change to another option if this is a no-go. At that moment the decision has little risk and we forget that convenience brings strange bedfellows. Once started we are moved to justify our first decision and continue with the solution and research shows that over 50% do not change for another solution and over 80% do not bother even looking. To wake up from this dream more than a jolt is needed. 

 

3. Fall for fancy features that have little practical application

They are there, the bells and the whistles that ring out this is new and cute. Who doesn’t want to own the newest gadget on the block?  Think of the impact the first Apple i-pad had on the computer hardware market. Today the market is still being impacted by this innovation, to the point that businesses are busy re-programing their i-pad with Microsoft running systems; keeping the visual package the markets’ preferred choice but the core heart, the workhorse Microsoft Office. 

4. Falling for testimonials and reviews that are not objective

Too often we read a review and seldom ask who this party is? What is their relationship to their recommendation? Even with a seemingly independent 3rd parties review relationships still play a role in the suggested solution. Best to compare products, costs, service and references that will give you the insight to the best fit for your organization. Seek your fellow colleagues in your groups to find the answers and give you the skinny.

5. Don’t base your selection solely on current needs not your long term requirement

We wished we had the crystal ball to look into the future. Today the choices are more real and evident and answers are required. Postponing a decision is tantamount to throwing money away. We probe for future needs and can make some predictions but many times these do not outweigh the short term. Fortunately there are sources and services outside your network that will help move you in the right direction.  

Let’s face it, as the choices are multiplying geometrically our tendency is to reduce these to the lowest common denominator. Taking a multiple root will find an answer but in this lies a risk you have passed over not only viable options but ones that will meet your current and future needs. No need to make this choice alone, do seek counsel. Where best to find this, seek your esteemed colleagues in your connections or in your groups.

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