By Fiona Ness on Tue 12 May 2015 in CRM
If you’re an avid camper you’re probably familiar with the Spork. If not, just so this article makes sense, it’s a spoon that half way down becomes a fork and if you’ve bought a high end spork then you’ll probably get a knife on one edge as well...
The problem with the spork is, it’s useful for the odd camping trip, but actually the general consensus is that it’s ok at what it does, and all too often this is the same response we get when asking businesses about their current software investment – “it’s ok”. But what actually makes the spork and your software investment so similar?
- It kind of works
Like I said, the spork is ok at a few things, but when you really put it to the test it often falls at the first hurdle. I mean have you ever tried to eat soup with a spoon that suddenly has holes half way down? It doesn’t work too well.
This is what happens with your software when it does a lot of things to an ok standard. You’ll find that the easy things are ok, storing
- You have to be forced to use it
Let’s be honest if you weren’t on a camping trip where space in your rucksack is limited and any saving on weight counts then you wouldn’t touch a spork with a barge pole. It just isn’t the best tool for the job. In fact, in some scenarios it’s probably more of a hindrance than a help – imagine trying to eat a steak with a spork!
The difference here is that on a one off trip you’d probably grin and bear it, but if someone tried to force you to eat with a spork every day your patience would soon wear thin. It doesn’t solve any day to day problems and just makes your life harder. The wrong software can do exactly the same. The problem you’ll probably have is it’ll get to a point where there is no forcing your team into using the shiny new system that causes more problems than it fixes.
- Things get messy
I think we’ve established by now that the spork whilst good in some scenarios, is actually just ok in most. The chances are, if you persevered with it you’d end up being one of those extremely messy eaters that no one wants to be seen in public with – let’s leave them for the great outdoors.
I’m more concerned about the mess a bad software choice could leave you with. The chances are some people have been using your chosen software, but others haven’t. that means you’ve still got documents stored all over the place, information on post-it notes and your sales team’s inbox and let alone where else. And actually a good software investment should result in the exact opposite of this.
So there you have it, 3 things the spork and your bad software investment have in common. The problem is, even the worst software investments are usually a lot costlier than a spork. It takes time and money to implement new software, so it’s vital that you choose a solution that will not only cater for your existing processes but solve your problems as well.
No one wants to left with a solution where the best review is ‘it’s ok at a few things’.
We think the key to implementing the right software is to pick a solution that brings your core business information into one easy to manage view. ProspectSoft CRM and eCommerce does just that. Offering unparalleled integration to Sage 50, Exchequer, Pegasus Opera and Access means we don’t implement solutions that are just ok, they offer real value to businesses by improving overall efficiency.
Don’t just take our word for it, why not take a look at what some of the businesses we work with have to say.