This may seem an odd topic for this blog, but hang in there and you’ll see the connection.
I got into a discussion the other day about why people buy. The conversation came around to the world of enterpise software - where I live - and that’s when it got interesting.
The ERP market is by most measures mature. There are few if any new entrants and consolidation has been ongoing for some time. These two factors have lead market of highly commoditized product offerings. There are differences among competing products to be sure, but are those differences dramatic enough to drive a potential customer into the arms of the competition?
Based on customer interviews I’ve conducted, the answer is a resounding, “No.”
When the team is making a decision that will impact the company for years into the future, there is more than a little risk involved. So what criteria does an evaluation team use when deciding between competing systems?
I have some ideas - based on those same interviews - and will share them with you in a future post. For now, though, I would like to hear from you. In your experience as either a buyer or a vendor, what drives the decision-making process when competing products are perceived as being nearly identical?
I’ll compile your answers and report back to you next week.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Clayton Porter // Mar 4, 2008 at 10:07 am
Assuming competing products are perceived as identical, it comes down to two things. 1) Price 2) Appearance.
We all know that no PMS vendor product is the same. If a buyer has the assumption that two products are the same, it becomes paramount to illustrate (from a vendor perspective) what are the 3 or 4 critical areas that are key to the buyer. The next step is to distinguish the vendors product from the competitors product so the buyer understands the difference in these key areas.
2 Why people buy - Follow up // Mar 7, 2008 at 3:08 pm
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