
It can be stressful to think about changing a business tool that is critical to your business, but I did it!
After waffling about it for far too long, I changed one of my critical business tools, my email marketing provider.
Have you been faced with trying to figure out if one of your critical business tools was no longer serving your needs? It can be a difficult decision to make because there can be many factors to consider.
Only after answering these 4 questions, did I decide to take the plunge and change my email marketing provider:
1) What is the driving reason for making the change?
Was I getting caught up in marketing hype? Was I listening to other people? Had I fallen for the Shiny Object Syndrome? Or was it something more important?
I boiled it down to 3 reasons that could justify the change:
- Does the new platform provide additional functionality that I need in my business? YES!
- Does it save me time? YES!
- Are there any cost savings? MINOR
2) What is the impact of not changing?
This question took some honest reflection. Above all, I’m very loyal and I’d been with my existing email marketing provider for 10+ years. They have a great tool and amazing support; I still recommend them. However, I was having to implement workarounds to integrations with other applications and systems I wanted. In truth, my loyalty was costing me time, it was frustrating me and limiting what I could.
3) How will the change disrupt your business?
This question is an important one to ask, you need to anticipate and manage any disruptions. Things to consider:
- Length of time it will take to implement the change.
- Impact on your business and/or clients.
- Learning curve.
- Impact on staff.
4) When could you schedule the change for the least amount of impact on your business?
Truth be told I started to change my email provider 6 months earlier. At the recommendation of a trusted colleague, and the offer to help, I signed up for a free 14-day trial. I got 4 days into it and realized it was completely the wrong time to do it. I was 5 days away from running my first challenge and launching a new program.
Yes, the new tool would have made things more streamlined BUT the learning curve was too much and the possibility of making a mistake was too high.
I had gotten caught up in the “should”. I didn’t take my own advice to challenge the “You should be using ____” which is why I created the Ignite Your Market Should Buster in the first place.
So I stopped and waited; I planned it out for a time that made sense for my business.
Did it all go smoothly? Not completely, a few minor email issues but nothing serious.
Did it disrupt my business? No, it was planned and generally seamless, in fact, it helped my business.
What business tools do you use that you’re considering changing? Given how rapidly software tools change these days, I recommend that everyone audit their business tools at least twice a year.
Take the time to evaluate the need and plan it things out when you are thinking of changing a business tool that is critical for your business.
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