New software can have a tremendous impact at any stage of business, from startup to established enterprise. But if you want the effects to be positive, you must be intentional about how you approach your decision.
Here, we’ll cover:
Adopting new technology comes with a range of risks and challenges. Your ability to overcome them depends on how well you can think long-term.
It’s normal to be worried about:
➡️ Read our advice for overcoming five common fears about adopting new business technology.
Once you’ve addressed the mindset factor, take a step back and analyze your business needs.
Knowing in what capacity the platform will be used is vital for ensuring user adoption and overall success. Different roles within your organization may have unique needs and ways they interact with the tool.
For instance, your sales team might need mobile access to customer data, while your project managers may require a way to keep track of tasks and detailed reporting features. Considering each use case will help you select a platform that includes as many functions as possible to enhance productivity across the board.
Identifying indispensable features is crucial for maintaining operational efficiency. These are the non-negotiables your business requires to function effectively.
If you have a remote team, a cloud-based platform might be necessary for visibility. If you’re in retail, robust inventory management could be critical. Recognizing these essential features will help you determine the minimum requirements to support your core activities.
It’s not too much to expect your software to go above and beyond the basics, but what does that look like?
Maybe there are additional features that would improve the user experience or give your team more flexibility, but they’re not must-haves. They might allow for future growth but don’t overshadow your primary needs.
Integration with some tools or advanced analytics might fall into this category.
➡️ Learn more about prioritizing features in our buyer’s guide.
The technological proficiency of your team is a significant consideration when choosing software. If your colleagues are not very tech-savvy, a platform with a steep learning curve might lead to resistance and underutilization. On the other hand, a team that’s comfortable with new tech might not need something super user-friendly and could benefit from more advanced capabilities.
A critical (but often overlooked) aspect of software adoption is what things will look like after committing to a platform and undergoing any initial training.
You’re likely to encounter some growing pains. How you manage them will determine whether the new software has the impact you desire.
The following questions can help you set the foundation for a change management strategy:
Before searching for a specific platform, aim to understand the categories of business software available. Your options are nearly endless, so we’re walking through some of the most commonly used kinds of software and how businesses like yours might use each.
Customer relationship management (CRM) software is designed for managing and improving your interactions with current and potential customers. Its primary purpose is usually contact management, which is crucial for making sure your team has access to organized client data.
The best CRMs for small- and medium-sized businesses can track interactions, store custom details about leads and integrate with social media platforms so that you can see the full picture of touchpoints an individual has had with your business.
➡️ See our list of the best CRM platforms for consulting firms.
Marketing automation software can automate repetitive tasks like setup and audience segmentation for email marketing, allowing you to quickly target recipients and schedule personalized campaigns. Platforms like HubSpot also offer social media scheduling and file storage, helping you consolidate tools.
A sales pipeline management software solution is crucial for tracking and managing each stage of the sales process. It helps you organize leads, forecast sales and identify opportunities for upselling or cross-selling. This type of software provides a clear overview of where potential deals stand and what actions you need to take to move them forward.
Team collaboration software, including messaging tools like Slack, give you an easy and intuitive way to share information, ask questions and work on tasks together. These platforms are essential for maintaining cohesion, especially if your team is remote or hybrid.
A task management business app can be as straightforward as a to-do list or as complex as a complete workflow management solution. These tools, such as Trello and Asana, can help with time management, keep track of deadlines and ensure that your team members aren’t managing work in silos.
➡️ Review the top task management software platforms for service businesses.
With built-in tools like Gantt charts and Kanban boards, project management software enables you to execute tasks with control. Many have detailed project planning features that help you break down projects into milestones.
Some even include time tracking to carry billable time logs over to invoices. The most effective of these tools have resource management features such as auto-scheduling and capacity planning to optimize employee utilization.
➡️ Find the right project management software for your engineering firm.
Software designed for managing and tracking customer queries isn’t just for IT businesses. Even if you don’t have a dedicated help desk, it can help you log customer issues and ensure they’re resolved promptly.
An accounting platform like QuickBooks automates bookkeeping, cash flow and expense tracking, financial management and more. Depending on the depth of its features, this kind of software can often be used to manage invoices, process payments and stay on top of business expenses.
As a more effective alternative to spreadsheets, reporting software is key, especially for small business owners. Having accurate and current data is how you improve efficiency and respond to your clients’ needs.
Ultimately, it can be the one tool that determines whether you align with your business strategy and meet your goals — because it’s the one that helps you clearly see what’s going on in your business at any given time.
While software can help you define and automate processes, you should have some sense of what you want — and need — to achieve with any new program. Consider the following elements before you start researching:
While features shouldn’t be the only thing you’re concerned about when vetting software, they are one of the first elements that will help you narrow down the field of possibilities. Think about features in a few layers, or categories.
Budget considerations also play a significant role in your software selection, so they should be something you think about before looking into individual solutions. A SaaS subscription for a single-function tool might have a minimal monthly cost, whereas a complete business management system can require a significant initial investment.
Get a general sense of where you want to land with money, but stay open to the idea that you might need to spend a bit more (or less) for the right fit.
TIP: In your analysis of what you want and can afford, don’t forget to factor in the hidden costs you might have by not obtaining the software right now.
For example, if your finance team spends 30 hours completing monthly invoicing and you could cut that down to one hour with the right software, the total costs of paying your team for those other 29 hours are part of what you’d recover.
Choosing a software provider isn’t just about the product; it’s about entering into a long-term partnership. The right software team will be committed to supporting your business growth over time.
Look for a company that views its relationship with you as a two-way street. They should be interested in how their software can help grow and improve your business, not just making a sale.
Dedicated customer support is a must. Whether it’s through email, live chat, an extensive knowledge base or dedicated account managers, having reliable product experts to reach out to can make a significant difference in your experience.
Watch out for signs of how often each provider updates their platform and how they communicate about those updates.
Making a final decision about business management tools requires balancing analysis and instinct.
A beautiful user interface might be nice, but if your team doesn’t use it very often because it doesn’t offer the right mix of features, it’s null. And if it’s too complex or doesn’t align with your workflows, you won’t get the full potential out of it.
It’s also possible to be overwhelmed by the range of platforms out there. It can be tempting to go all-in and adopt multiple tools at once, but this can lead to complications and underutilization. Stay focused on your goals.
Finally, don’t be swayed by the blanket marketing tactics and sales pitches saying you need what everyone else’s business does. You know your business best.
While it’s best to make logic-driven decisions, there’s a strong argument for when something just feels right.
Many leaders of SMBs have had the experience of “just knowing” a software platform was right when they came across Accelo. They’ve achieved results like reduced overhead, increased utilization and a jump in recurring work.
As the only client work management platform that provides an end-to-end solution for the quote-to-cash journey, Accelo supports tens of thousands of users worldwide in driving productivity and profitability for their businesses.
Book a demo to find out why so many industry leaders have chosen Accelo as their business management software.
