With Software Value Ease of Use over Number of Features |
| Date Added: November 08, 2011 04:19:22 PM |
| Author: JamesEvans23 |
| Category: Blogs: Business |
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| If you are looking for software to help streamline your business processes and save your money, there are so many different titles on the market, choosing one that suits your needs can be very difficult and time-consuming. So many business packages have similar features it can be hard to make a choice. Sometimes the choice of software titles is so large that it can be easier to give up than make a purchase. Ultimately, most packages, e.g. an accounting software package or an invoice software package, can only contain so many essential features.
Year after year, many companies will keep adding features to their offerings in order to appear more competitive and value for money. It's often the case that most software packages contain all the most essential feature after a couple of years of development and user feedback. Take a look at Microsoft Word - every year or two Microsoft product an updated version with more features, but the reality is that most people use no more features now than they did with Word 97.
What does this mean to you when choosing a software package? Well firstly, don't judge the package purely on a list of bullet points showing the features it supports. Instead, if possible try out the software for a week or a month before buying. This is not as difficult as it sounds as these days more and more vendors are allowing use of software for a trial period without purchasing. Also, you can't beat a word of mouth recommendation - what packages do other people use, how much do they like them? The question then becomes - how many packages should I try before buying. Ultimately, you want to make a purchase, so realistically you will likely only have time to try one or two software titles before making a decision.
When people say they like a software package, what does that mean? Studies have shown that the level of user satisfaction with a product depends on how easily the package's features could be found and used. Since most packages have a limited use for most people, e.g. there are only 10 things on average that people will use a software package for on a regular basis, make sure that it is easy to access those 10 items quickly - and of course that the package then does those 10 things well.
How does price affect people's buying decisions? Studies show that price is often a factor in people's first purchase of a software package for a specific purpose, e.g. invoicing software. However, people often regret their initial purchase and having learned what they do and don't need from a business software package, will often take more time and pay more money when making a second purchase. The cost different between packages is often small - in the order of a few tens of dollars in most cases - so that saving a comparatively small amount of money up front can end up wasting lots of time over the weeks and months of use of the software. for this reason, it is recommended that the purchase price is pushed down the priority list when assessing which software package to buy. |
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