When you’re looking for the right tool for your business or team, you’re trying to find something that fits the way you do things, whether that’s marketing, operations, projects, or content. You might want something a couple of your team members have used before, something suited to teams your size, or something that fits your budget. But you can’t pick a tool just because you, as the owner or team lead, like it and assume it’s right for everyone else. You have to make sure it fits what your team needs, because if a bird loves a fish, where would they live?
If you pick a highly technical tool built for technical teams and hand it to a creative team, there’s going to be a problem with adapting, implementing, and using it, and even if they use it, they won’t use it properly. And if you’re excited about the tool but don’t take the time to train your team on it, they’re essentially shooting in the dark. A little trial and error is necessary when deciding on the best tool, so test it with one or two team members and see whether they’re comfortable using it and whether you can customize it enough for what you need.
There are unique processes and workflows that a team or business may have, and some tools are specifically built around those things. Try to replicate them on another tool, and it may not work out well because you’ll just create extra steps for your people. If you’re moving to another tool because the previous one got too complicated for your team, because you saw they didn’t like using it, or because your data was inaccurate since you were always chasing people to fill in details, then look for something simpler. Look for something you can create, customize, or adapt to how your team works, because you can’t like something and force it on your team, and you can’t bring a highly technical tool to a creative team or a highly creative tool to a technical team and expect it to fit their needs.
Choosing software is a highly personal decision for every business and team. If your team is serious about switching, I highly recommend putting together a requirements table before evaluating new suppliers or taking any demos.