There are 1,000,000+ software options to help any business streamline processes, become more efficient, or increase security.
How can they find the best solution for their business?
The main options:
- RFP They likely get the same respondents – often companies stick to RFP quotes and know how to do them well – this means anyone trying to get a look in is already at a handicap.
- Search – They go to google, duck duck go, Microsoft even! But all this depends if the software company’s paid ads or SEO is any good. It doesn’t mean they are the best solution to the problem.
- Ask reddit, forums, Quora, AI, Capterra – These can be a useful insight to the highs and lows of a software business. What they do well, what they do badly, but they also need to be sifted through and taken with a pinch of salt. Less credible than Reviews, they are a jumbled mix of opinions or again algorithms.
- Browsing – Or maybe they view platforms that show videos and ads based on what you have been researching.
Therefore, for a customer to find the best solution to their problem, they are reliant on a sea of products advertising in the best way to them, and to pray the most suitable to all their needs hopefully lands top of the list.
However, with too much noise, and therefore lots of leg work to do, to try to save time, these software decision makers either go with the biggest brand based on trust, or the one which keeps appearing on their research journey.
The big brand
The problem here – the largest brand is often the most expensive, often they are less flexible, slightly archaic, and you may end up spending on a highly expensive solution of which most of the functionality you don’t need.
The most visible
The most prominent option equally may not be the right choice. The assumption is if they are appearing everywhere, they must have good budgets to invest into marketing, they must be doing well and hence should be a good bet!
Neither of the options really plays into the right option for the buyer, just perhaps the easiest to procure, and the fear of signing up with the wrong supplier!
The reality
A recent conversation with a head of digital demonstrated this exact issue. They were looking for a new ticketing solution, the team had shortlisted 3, but the head of digital wasn’t comfortable with any. They didn’t do what they needed.
As you will know, embedding any software into a business is often met with a number of challenges.
- The resistance to change by the users
- The onboarding process
- The learning process before you see the value
- Then making sure it does address the initial issues you had in the first place!
Therefore the head of digital was right, just because they had 3 options, none of them were right and hence the search continued.
Finally, after much research they came across an alternative they had not previously heard of, but it was the perfect fit in all areas, problem, need, onboarding process, timings and cost.
The moral of the story
If you are not on the radar, if you can’t be found, you can have the best solution out there, but you are never going to grow your business.
How do we help?
We work with ambitious B2B software and tech businesses who need help to find more of their ideal customers, and rather than chase leads, those leads come to you.
And so our goal is to understand:
- What your perfect customers really want
- What is their pressing need that will lead to them deciding
- How they are making decisions on buying software
- Then how we can reach them via the most relevant touchpoints
Only then can we make you the irresistible choice for them, and dramatically increase your leads to sales.
To find out more, or if we can help your business, Get in touch