Choosing a solution provider for your automation solution is a very different journey now. According to TechTarget, 80% of the process is completed online without discussion with the solution provider. The market is full of solutions offering everything from simple data capture to complete touchless processing.
So what does a buyer journey look like for 2025?
Early stage selection can be made by a simple google search to using platforms such as Capterra which can offer good insights and a useful comparison tool. Understanding what you need, against what a solution offers is the first hurdle. Having a checklist, broken into sections such as required integration, functionality, support, hardware, users (Finance and Business) and prices and payment terms such as SaaS, MSA etc is a start. This list can then be modified with essential, desired, and wish list.
Once this early stage research is completed and a shortlist is created, some businesses find it helpful to issue a RFI/RFP (Request for Information/Proposal)
The difficulty with this process is that it is biased from the buyers perspective. Often software providers have a limit to the amount of information that can be gathered by a google search, a website check or on a software review platform simply because there is too much!
In the same way that the processes within a business are broadly similar, there are unique aspects to each company, entity and team. Trying to work out if these unique processes can be incorporated into an automation solution is an impossible task without a conversation.
At this point a demo becomes necessary. But this session needs to be interactive and offer an opportunity to discuss the processes the business is trying to automate and the outcomes they want to achieve. Without this stage, the demo becomes irrelevant. Seeing that the software can do what it says it does in your research is not enough. Ideally businesses need to see the software working with their documents and solving their challenges, ticking off the essentials on their checklist.
This often feels like the last hurdle for the team working on the selection process. However, there is an important aspect that hasn’t been covered yet. The People. Meeting the team behind the software and understanding the ethos of the company providing the software, is key. This is a part often missed from the checklist. Consider asking the following questions from both your organisation and the provider:
What is important to the team
- How would they like the training for the new solution is delivered? Is a personal approach important or would the team be happy with video training?
- What about support – what kind of support do they want? Telephone support, chatbot, email, helpdesk portal? What are the response times? Does it matter to the team if the provider outsources the support?
- Would the finance team like to speak to someone who is currently using the software in a similar set up? Is there an opportunity to have a reference call?
What to ask your provider
- What happens if you buy a solution? Is there a point of contact that understands your business and the process you went through to implement the solution.
- How is a customer supported through implementation and go live
- What about support once the solution is live?
- If once the solution is live you find there is configuration that you need added to the out of the box software – is this possible?
- Find out how long the company has been established, is it privately owned or has it been the subject of multiple takeovers/buyouts? Change of management, outside investment and team changes are not only destablising but also affect the fundamental knowledge base within the company.
- The length of service of the team working at the provider is a great indicator of a good provider. If the team are long stayers, then not only is the company a great place to work but it also have a wealth of experience in-house.
The Buck stops with you ….. ?
Once all the areas have been investigated and discussed with stakeholders, it comes to the crunch. The decision. This can be the most nerve-racking part of the whole process. Whilst due diligence has been completed and the chosen solution can do what the business needs it to, the super users in the finance team and the business users need to be happy to embrace the change, and if there is push back then the buck stops with you! We often hear from our new Customers that ‘my neck is on the line’ or ‘this has to work or my job is at stake’. At Documation, once we have met interested buyers of our solution, introduced them to our team, and confirmed we can meet the challenges they have and automate their processes, we know that they can confidently move forward with the purchase and subsequent implementation knowing that the buck stops with US not them. We always do everything we say we are going to do and more. So when you are choosing a software solution provider …….. remember, it’s not just about the software, it’s also about the team behind it. Get in touch with the Listening team for more information.
