Needs Analysis tool - Clarify your solution requirements

Do check signers have significant pain?

Understand pain points of CIO/VP Customer Service
Significant pain must exist for senior management to sign a check
Giva White Papers will help you "listen" for pain statements
Tell vendors your pain. Otherwise, they will ignore you

Are funds approved and set aside?

Check in with CIO or VP Customer Service
Don't invest time until given iron clad assurance that funds are available
Determine what you are already paying for application maintenance
Find a cloud based replacement product for less money than annual maintenance

Learn latest IT service desk or customer service best practices.

Prepare to ask vendors tough questions with confidence
Prod and poke at vendors...you lead the questioning
Acquire best practices fluency: first call resolution, service level agreement compliance, root cause analysis, customer satisfaction surveys, KPIs/metrics, dashboards, etc.
Subscribe to Giva Blog & review Giva White Papers. Join "Linked In" groups, industry associations and user groups

What are problems with current call tracking system?

Hire consultants/technical experts, if necessary
Call vendor CEO; list of issues ready to send.
Proposal to fix? Cost, timeline, guarantees
Is fixing less expensive vs. buying a new application

What are feature needs/requirements?

Obtain feedback from all stakeholders; prioritize the list
Use Giva's Needs Assessment Tool as a starting point
Check signers like a rigorous quantitative analysis
Share requirements openly with short list of vendors

Ask vendors tough questions early and often.

Early on share complex "must have" & "deal killer" requirements to eliminate vendors
Ask for an estimated price quote. Is it in your budget ball park?
Ask for customer case studies and references
Poke and prod, listen carefully, get it all in writing

What is the total cost of ownership (TCO) of all vendors?

Calculate TCO of all vendors for applies-to-apples comparison
Acquisition costs only 30% of TCO over 5 years according to Gartner Group
Ongoing lifetime costs vary significantly between vendors
Compare cloud vs. on premise hosted software licenses

What are important license agreement terms?

What happens if stop paying annual maintenance?
Arbitration clause - inexpensive means of recourse
SLAs for product support & reports to measure SLA compliance
Termination clauses

Learn more about current industry best practices

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Cloud Computing for IT Help Desk & Customer Service/Support

Learn Latest Help Desk & Customer Service Best Practices

The #3 Key Point we discuss in the "Winning Strategies for Purchasing IT Help Desk and Customer Service Software or Cloud Computing" webinar is to learn the latest help desk and customer service best practices.

Before engaging with software vendors, read up on help desk and customer service "best practices" as appropriate, so that that you can ask pointed and direct questions with confidence. For example, you want to be able to speak about First Call Resolution, Service Level Agreement Compliance, Root Cause Analysis and Customer Satisfaction Surveys with authority and competence to prod and poke at vendors. It is important to show vendors that you understand the latest best practices and industry trends, so you can make sure that they have evolved their products.

Click "Download White Paper" to read more about help desk and customer service best practices.

Please make sure to read all the white papers summarizing the other Webinar key points.

Key Point #1: Do Check Signers Have Significant Pain?

Key Point #2: Are Funds Approved and Set Aside?

Key Point #3: Learn Latest Help Desk and Customer Best Practices

Key Point #4: Determine Problems with the Current Call Tracking System

Key point #5: Document Feature Needs/Requirements

Key Point #6: Ask Vendors Tough Questions Early and Often

Key Point #7: Compare Total Cost of Ownership of All Vendors

Key Point #8: Key License Agreement Terms