We see a recurring issue in the current business space: bloated business tech stacks. In today’s uncertain economic times, businesses use many apps and software to better control their operations and outcomes. But here’s an issue arising from this behavior: employees spend more time finding information, files, and the tech they need for specific tasks than working. Apart from being ineffective regarding time and resources, this raises issues: siloed data, unclear attribution, and employee fatigue.
If this sounds oddly familiar to you, there is one strategy you can consider: simplifying your tech stack. As unintuitive as it may sound, this can generate higher team productivity and effectiveness.
So, how do you know it’s time to simplify your operations by adopting an all-encompassing tool within your company? We have some insights into this topic that may help you decide and craft an effective action plan.
Top Signs You Need a Software Update
The issue is that no software is perfect. In most cases, you need other tools to complete the software features you have. However, long-standing tech issues can have a negative impact on efficiency and costs. That said, check for these signs to assess if you have an ineffective tech stack.
- Software with overlapping features.
- Siloed data, which makes it challenging to deliver the omnichannel customer experience you wish to provide.
- Integration issues such as recurring bugs or fixing new bugs constantly.
- Scaling issues.
- Data breaches or security risks.
- Low team morale due to the high number of tools and software they need to routinely use.
And since what might work for your competitors might not work for you, fixing all the above issues can become daunting. Here are the steps you need to take to get more done with less software.
Identify Your Tech Issues
Booking demos for various software might look like a good idea, but it will fail if you’re unaware of your software limitations and needs.
Start by creating an inventory of all the tech you currently use within your organization. The best place to start identifying your software limitations and needs is to see if two or more tools with features overlap.
- Are you duplicating processes across at least two tools?
- How are you handling the data that your tools generate?
- Are you using each technology piece to its full potential, or could you instead give it up to cut down some costs?
- Are you seeing the benefits advertised by each tool?
To answer all these questions, you must have honest discussions and interviews with internal stakeholders across all departments. Here are some helpful questions to ask during the process, apart from the ones listed above:
- Does the tech stack you have negatively impacted their daily routines?
- How much time is spent collecting and cleaning up data rather than proactively using it?
- Individual and departmental challenges may be solved by eliminating a tech piece and adopting another one.
Match Each Tool With a Goal
In the current business environment, companies look at all technologies emerging as pretty shiny objects that must be adopted. But this encourages software overspending, and the new tool might not even have the features you need at the end of the day. Or worse, it might have features that mostly overlap with your current software. Look at your company goals and objectives to ensure you successfully streamline your tech stack. Are you trying to attract more leads to nurture them, is generating more sales a top priority? Then try to identify a tool that can meet most of these goals. The less tech you need to orchestrate your internal operations, your business will be more successful.
Everything Revolves Around Data
It may sound cliche, but your data is your company’s biggest asset. To ensure cross-departmental collaboration and software adoption, you must also ensure that data is successfully gathered, accurate, and visible across all departments within the same interface. So, software that integrates data from different departmental-specific tools is needed. In the long run, this will help you ensure that all employees have the same customer view and, more importantly, that your customers’ needs and expectations are successfully met, thanks to the technology you use.
Identify software products that treat your data correctly and enrich it with external information for a 360-degree view of your customers. Here are some helpful questions when interviewing different vendors:
- How is customer data gathered and managed?
- What is the process of reporting on data anomalies?
- How is the data coming from other internal software handled?
- Is it integrated with your core systems?
- Does the tool comply with data security regulations?
- Does the platform have all the data security certifications necessary?
Adoption Matters
Once you identify the ideal vendor and tool, you must plan your implementation and adoption strategy. This is where vendor quality comes into discussion. Software implementation and adoption success depend on your vendor’s willingness to roll up their sleeves and get involved. Collaborating with a suitable vendor will also help your teams gather the necessary enthusiasm for a significant transition.
- Read below to see a few ways you can ensure a stress-free implementation and adoption process:
- Discuss with your vendors if they offer pre and post-implementation consulting services.
- Learn which is the specific implementation process.
- Identify vendors with solid onboarding programs and resources such as knowledge bases.
- Automate as many processes as possible to boost adoption rates.
- Establish internal success metrics and tracking protocols to evaluate your implementation and adoption process.
Monitor Results and Adapt Strategy
Once you’ve completed the implementation phase, you must monitor how the onboarding process evolves. Ideally, you should start by gradually onboarding your teams with a single tool at a time to avoid software fatigue. Conduct training as necessary, and once you’re done doing that, you can start taking a look at your KPIs. Compare each tool’s performance against pre-defined KPIs and evaluate your success.
Many companies are surprised to learn that they can achieve better results once they identify a single software solution that delivers at a cross-departmental level. However, once you cut down costs and time spent on duplicated software and features, you can immediately notice a boost in productivity, customer satisfaction, and higher customer success rates.
Want to learn more about how you can get more done with less? Download our 2023 CRM Buyer’s Guide and see for yourself!
