I try just about everything before I buy.I try things that I didn’t even know I wanted. I try on lots of shoes, sample food at Costco, and always have my teams try out software before we buy.
It’s also easy to sign up for an interesting free trial of a product or service, and promptly forget that you have the trial until it’s almost over, I know I do that, too. But with software, I’ve found that taking advantage of the free trial period is essential and worth the time.
Find out what the software actually does.
Almost every software company promises to make you and your team more productive and efficient. With so many similar marketing messages out there and companies claiming to be something they’re not, it’s hard to know exactly what you can do with any software until you, or your developers, actually dig into it. Sometimes, what you thought the software did is completely different from what it actually does.
You might find that a key component or feature provides something you didn’t even realize you needed, or you might find that what you thought was a near-perfect solution doesn’t deliver the results you were expecting. Either way, it’s important for both you and the vendor that you make an informed decision. The free trial period provides you with an opportunity to do that research.
Test with your own use cases.
While watching demos is a great way to see what’s possible with software, it’s rare to find a demo with your company’s unique business processes exactly matching the use cases featured in demos.
Maybe you need a CRM solution, but need it to match the way your salespeople operate. Free trials allow you to work with real or test data, and you get the opportunity to move things around and experiment with different scenarios you might encounter in your unique business.
Because you can.
We haven’t always had the luxury of trying software before buying it. Not to date myself, but I remember when we had to make very expensive, long-term purchase decisions based on one thing: hope.
If it didn’t work, we were stuck. Now, you have the luxury of trying and knowing that it’s exactly what you need. Instead of changing your business processes to fit a product, you can search and experiment to find the one that’s right for you and your users. Ready to try Skuid for yourself? Get your free trial today.
