The question you may be asking yourself as you start searching for a vendor is “is it better to select a vendor based on the features they offer or by the quality of their client support.” We’ve all been in the unfortunate situation where one area of excellence came at the expense of the other. While both technical coverage and proactive client support are important factors in finding the right vendor, there’s no need to go to extremes right off the bat. Here are a few quick tips to balance those needs and avoid some unwelcome surprises later.
Do your research on the vendor and their product roadmap.
Your vendors (just like your own company) often need to pivot their product strategy to scale and to remain competitive within their market. By doing some quick reconnaissance on the vendor’s funding stage and their product roadmap, you can get a reasonable sense of the company you’ll be working with in 3–4 years. You can gather this information by talking with some of their current clients or by asking the vendor directly. This isn’t a question that vendors get asked very often, and there’s a good chance they’ll be happy to answer. And if they decline or don’t know, it’s a good indicator of how much you’ll be in the loop about important product changes later on.
Make your own prioritized list for product evaluation.
Every business has its own budgeting and reporting nuances, making a one-size-fits-all solution next to impossible. You can use this checklist to prioritize budgeting and reporting features into need-to-haves and nice-to-haves and uncover the nuances where there may be coverage gaps in a specific solution.
Find a level of support that’s adaptable to your needs.
How adaptable is the support level to the evolving needs of your business? Would your agreement lock you in for a set number of support hours, after which you are paying above-market hourly rates? With product launches and updates, you will need additional support. Closely examine how the vendor approaches these high-touch events. We recommend that you allocate 30% of the price of implementation for annual ongoing maintenance so that you avoid a scenario where you have more product than support.
Research the ease of accessing community support.
Every solution out there should have it’s own well-edited documentation on their website. But every one of a vendor’s clients will also have unique needs and setups that the official documentation won’t cover. Without a doubt, that client with a unique need and setup will be you someday. So you need a way to see how other clients with similar setups resolved their problems. Ask if your prospective vendor has a community forum that is regularly monitored by its support staff. We even recommend doing a search on the forum for a problem you anticipate you might have. Assess how easy it was to access useful information.
Determine how much talent is available in the market.
Keep in mind that your vendor won’t be the only experts you’ll be relying on. You’ll also need to hire new talent with expertise in the solution you’ve selected. Do a quick search on a job site like LinkedIn, Indeed, or Monster.com for a pulse check on how great a demand there is for people with skills in a particular solution.
This article is contributed by Finance Transformation Specialist Ramya Krishnaganth, UVID Consulting.
