Marketing Runs Deep: Episode 21

Hey everybody, this is Bryan Hatch, founder of AutomateBIG and I want to jump into another frequently asked question session here today, regarding some of the things that I get often when I tell people what I do and what we do, as a team. Now, business owners are looking for ways to solve problems. Because I do automation, we do marketing, marketing automation specifically, there's a lot that you can do and so people ask, "Well, should I get this software?" And that's what I want to address today. You see, in that context of, "Should I get this software," you need to think of a few things.

It really depends on what phase of your business you are in, are you in the startup phase, are you in things are going well, or are you going in a massive growth phase? That's the different phases and really, there are responses a little bit differently in each of those categories, but I'll address as if you're either in the startup phase or things are going well. I'm not saying that they are in the super growth phase. They're just a little bit different and I'll tell you the difference between those sections here.

If you are starting up, you're a starter mover shaker, and you're moving along, the very first thing you need to ask yourself, the very first question you ask yourself when you're saying, "Well, should I get this software," is, "Does it take care of your baseline blocking tackling?" Now, with a football reference here, I'm talking about the most important things in your business, does it help you accomplish? If it helps you sell, if it helps save you time, it helps you segment your customers, prevent future mistakes, those are some of the baseline questions you should be able to answer very quickly. And if those are affirmative, this software is going to help those baseline things, that is something to look through, okay? So that at least meets the first cut of your software.

Now, if you are in a smooth phase, that's still a very similar question. Is this new software you're gonna bring into your business and use to be able to automate or make something better, potentially, in your business, does it actually solve one of your big, most important things in your business? Sales being primary, if it solves sales, then that matters most and then from there, there are other things that might be more applicable to your business, considering the phase you're in or the thing that you're working on or the project that you're trying to accomplish. But the key is to know, does it give you more money, does it save you time, or does it help you prevent errors in the future? Those three things are probably the most important questions to ask yourself. If it meets that cut, in any phase of business, then we go to the next level cut, okay?

Is this software time tested and proven? There are over 5,000 software that you can buy and purchase for your business, whether it's a big one or a plugin or a little thing, and not all of them are worth your time and energy, they're just not. The thing you've got to think about is, is it proven and time-tested? I see all the time software that says, "Hey, look, we can do this little thing." And I'm like, "Okay." I'm not saying they don't have a business model. I'm not saying that people wouldn't want that. I'm saying that depending on the phase of the business that we're in, whether it's for my client or for my own business, I want to look and see, "Okay, does it actually have time tested proof that it makes a difference?" Because if it's something that's kinda new and fun, but I don't know how much it's gonna raise my sales or how much it's actually going to save me in time or prevent future mistakes, then for me, it's like, "Okay, what does it really do?" It might be something I have to put on the back burner and look at it at a future point in time.

Now, if it actually does those things and is proven and time tested, and has some testimonials and says, "Yes, we do this," you always want to look and see who is supporting it. That's the next thing, that's the next question to ask is who and what team is supporting this? There is software out there that is built and it's a little plugin, and then, it's never looked at again, okay? Now, I know that sounds crazy, but there are businesses, even now today in this day and age, that you can purchase that it was built and no one's looking at it anymore. Whatever tech it was built, it was done. And here you go, you can use it, but it's not being worked on in the background. That, for me, throws up a red flag most of the time.

I've still purchased software, in specific cases, where I knew they didn't have a backend team, supporting that software because I needed it for a short term thing. But you want to ask that question. Do they have a team supporting it, so that if something breaks or something doesn't work or something goes wrong, that you can trust that that software is going to make it right? And hear me clearly, no software's perfect. There's not a single software in the history that has ever been invented in the world that is perfect, that does everything that you could ever need done. It doesn't. Now, it might do really well in that niche or it might do well over these three categories, but it's not gonna solve everything you could ever dream up is what I'm trying to say.

There are some features of every software that I love, that I would use 'til the day I die that still have three or five things that I really am bothered about inside of that software. So just realize you're gonna have some problems there. But again, going back to it, do they have a tech team that's actually supporting the software in the background because that matters when it's gonna be a long term part of your business.

If it's not a long-term part of your business, then maybe you can say "Oh, well I need this for a short-term gig," all right? That's the next thing that you need to be able to consider. Now, when you think about those factors in and of itself, you should see pretty clearly, "Is this software useful for me, is it going to help me?"` But then, I want to talk about the super growth phase, right? So if you're a starter or things are going smoothly, but you're in that phase, those two phases, whether you've made a million dollars or not, it's a matter of where you are. In the super growth phase, you are growing steadily heavily, that's where you can look at some of these other tools. And is this software something that I need, that you can actually bring on other little pieces of software that make a huge difference?

For example, there's one little tiny, tiny software that I will plug into people's businesses when they're at that growth phase. It's not like it's extremely expensive software, but it doesn't necessarily move the needle for someone that has a hundred page hits on the landing page. If you have thousands and tens of thousands, then I'm gonna do a few things differently. There are a few pieces of software that would be useful to you. And that's where I got to think of what is the increase in sales or time saved or headache mitigated, that's still as baseline questions even for the growth phase, that this new software will do? And you got to realize if you're in the super growth phase and something increases your profits by 2%, usually, it's worth it unless you have to pay 2% to get it. But typically, you don't. So it's a matter of realizing what's the realistic look and expectation of what this software could do to bring in more sales, save me more time, or mitigate some stress that I have? Then, if that makes sense, if those numbers make sense, then get it. Almost every time, I say, "Get it."

Now, if you do those things and you see your sales rise and things are working out really well, then you got a great piece of software. But that's the most important thing to look through when you're thinking about, "What should I get, when should I get, how should I get this piece of software?" And realize that a software platform that is a monthly ongoing business, typically, is going to have ongoing support. So it's usually better as far as better for you, quality-wise, but there might be instances where a one-time payment for a software is useful for your business, but it's funny. I probably have 10 different software that I've purchased in that manner, that was like, "Hey, one time only sale. You can buy it for this one-time price." And then, the amount of times that I've used it after that point is like zero, or one or two times max.

Just know what you're getting into, realize the things that matter, and then, do an audit occasionally and say, "I don't need this software anymore," so get rid of it. But those are some of the basic tips that I want to be able to show you that would make a huge difference if I were sitting on your team, if I was your right-hand person telling you what you should or shouldn't do with a software platform, that's what I would have you look through. Those are the questions I'd go through. And I hope that served you. This is just one small way to AutomateBIG.