Everywhere you look on the internet, someone is talking about software that didn’t meet their expectations. Buggy computer software is one of the biggest sources of frustration for people because almost all businesses rely on some kind of software just to get through the day. When there’s a snafu, it brings business to a halt.
When software doesn’t work as promised, it’s often discovered late in the game after you’ve already invested money, and the time to learn it.
Author and speaker Scott Berkun nails the issue in an article titled “Why Software Sucks” by saying, “we’re frustrated most in life by things that come close to our deepest needs, but don’t deliver. It’s the things that tease us, making us think they’ll satisfy us but then fail, then hurt the most.”
In his article, Berkun takes a deep look at exactly what the issue is, pointing out that developers often have incorrect beliefs about the user’s expectations and don’t always design for the user. He also notes that sometimes developers don’t know their software doesn’t work, but the good ones will be open to feedback and will make the right adjustments.
Software Features Don’t Always Work As Expected
[pullquote]Software companies often fall short of delivering on consumer expectations, and sometimes promised features exist, but they’re difficult, imperfect, or incomplete.[/pullquote]
For example, Stripe allows you to create subscription packages, but once your subscribers sign up, you can’t change the subscription price, which makes free trial periods impossible (unless you’re a techie and can use the API).
Since you can’t transfer subscribers to other packages, non-techies have to create a new subscription package and ask free trial customers to sign up for the new subscription. Unfortunately, many would rather let their subscriptions die than go through the signup process again.
In this type of situation, you only have a few options:
- Continue using the software and change your business model to accommodate the deficient feature.
- Add a second piece of software to accomplish what the first can’t.
- Switch your entire business over to a new piece of software and retrain your staff.
IMAGE: PEXELS
Why People Choose A-La-Carte Software
Although all-in-one solutions exist, some people still choose individual pieces of software for tasks like managing their email list, A/B testing, processing payments, providing a shopping cart, etc. Then they’ll use additional pieces of software, like Zapier, to connect all of the pieces together.
Since many all-in-one pieces of software don’t perform every function perfectly, when people want perfection, they’ll select the a-la-carte method instead of losing out on the best features. Not because it’s the most efficient solution, but because it’s the only way to get everything they want, and getting what they want is their priority.
Why People Choose All-In-One Solutions
Software is no longer a stand-alone desktop application you can download for a one-time fee. Today, most software runs in the cloud and is charged on a monthly basis. People use all-in-one software solutions to save money and to save time having to learn multiple programs.
When an all-in-one solution works well enough to get the job done, as many of them do, some people are okay with sacrificing perfection.
Examples Of Good All-In-One Solutions
All-in-one solutions, like Infusionsoft, make it easy to run powerful marketing campaigns that segment like no other while simultaneously having a built-in shopping cart and web form builder at your fingertips.
There are several downsides to Infusionsoft though. For example, the shopping cart isn’t pretty, it requires a hefty learning curve, and it’s expensive. Although, when your priority is a powerful marketing campaign, you don’t need a pretty shopping cart, and you can hire a coach to learn it.
Other all-in-one solutions, like Yocale, provide appointment based businesses with something you won’t find in the a-la-carte world. When your business runs on appointments, your first priority is streamlining all appointments in your office across all staff, which is what Yocale does for you. You can also manage your invoices, allow service reviews from clients, and it even functions as a local business directory and a CRM – all from one convenient login.
While not as fancy as other CRMs, when you’re an appointment based business, you don’t need the bells and whistles other businesses do.
Struggling vs. Settling
Sometimes you have to make a choice between struggling with software that almost works but forces you to change your business model to use it, or settling for software that isn’t perfect but gets the job done. The choice is ultimately up to you, but before you jump on the a-la-carte train, consider that no software is perfect, and it all comes down to which features are your priority.
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Why You Should Be Using All-In-One Software Solutions
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