For every company today, having the right software in place is crucial for operational efficiency and providing an outstanding customer experience. From strengthening the relationship with customers, increasing customer engagement, adding value, and improving customer management to automating processes to free up resources for other critical tasks— having the right technology is essential.
Is your company wanting to do any of the following?
- Increase customer engagement
- Increase value for its customers
- Digitize and customize its customer experience
- Increase customer participation
- Strengthen the relationship with its customers
- Find innovative ways to incentivize and reward customers, such as tracking health activity data
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you've probably come to the realization that it's time to implement software to achieve your business goals and provide a unique digital customer experience.
However, if you're like most companies, you're likely faced with the dilemma of whether to build your own software platform, buy a third-party 'off the shelf' option or license the software.
To build, buy, or license your software - that is the question.
SaaS – Always Up to Date
Your choice of software will become an integral part of your operations. Therefore, understandably, you're looking for a platform that will stand the test of time, a platform that won't expire when the software provider releases a new update or develops a new product.
Needless to say, replacing your software or hardware every few years is not ideal. With a SaaS (software as a service) platform, however, there’s no risk of expiring products, all software updates are done automatically and there are no additional costs when updates are made. This means using a platform that is truly flexible and agile to manage change. Additionally, to keep up with the speed of business today, it means choosing a fast-responding, real-time management information platform.
While you’re here, don’t miss our post on the importance of single code base.
Easy Integrating with Existing Systems
The ease with which the software can be integrated with your existing systems is also critical. A SaaS platform must allow for the setup of APIs so that existing systems are compatible and can transfer and share data. Therefore, make sure to choose a platform with built in data mapping tools to make integration smoother.
For example, with APIs, customers can send requests from the platform, and requests are then sent directly to the supplier. For example, when a customer places an order with a third-party supplier through the platform, the information is automatically transferred to the integrated payroll system and the transaction is processed. In other words, the SaaS platform handles the entire transactional process through a truly digital experience.
Use an App and Make It Personal
Every day, we are bombarded with information. In fact, it is said that we are presented with approximately 100,500 words every day - or the equivalent to 23 words per second - from e-mail, the internet, television and other media. In today’s digital world, the only way we can cut through all the “noise” is through personalisation and relevancy.
Using a SaaS platform with its own integrated communication engine enables you to use the self-service communication tools to send the right message to the right customer group through the right channel.
With the help of powerful filtering capabilities, you can target your e-mails, platform messages or push notifications to specific customer groups, in specific areas and countries to create a unique, personalized experience for every individual.
To engage your customers, you need to reach them where they are – on their phone. In fact, today, every customer expects a truly mobile experience; therefore, it’s essential to choose a SaaS platform that also has its own app so that you can provide a digital user experience.
In addition to being a powerful communication device, an app can also act as a powerful engagement tool. For example, say you’re a bank that offers various insurances; you can incentivise customers to track their health and wellness activity data using the platform’s app to receive points, which earns them with increased insurance coverage. There are no limits to what you can do with an app.
License to Thrill
Truth be told, it’s seldom the best option for companies to build their own technology, nor always the best idea to purchase a platform.
In the case of building technology, few companies would say that investing time and energy into building their own platform is the best use of their knowledge and resources, not to mention building technology is not part of their core expertise. Even if a company successfully builds its own platform, in reality, the work has only just begun; the company must then maintain the software, provide support for its users and ensure that the software is compliant.
Similarly, purchasing software has its own hurdles. Purchasing software is often cost-prohibitive for most companies and requires a significant investment, financially and emotionally.
On the other hand, SaaS is a cost-efficient and reliable option accounting for less than 15% of total enterprise software spending.
Licensing a tried-and-tested SaaS platform to achieve operational and business goals is the smart choice for many of today’s leading organizations.
Did you know that 86% of businesses that use SaaS significantly experience higher engagement?
Here are just a few of the advantages of licensing a SaaS platform:
- Quick to market with proven technology
- Easier to use and manage than building or purchasing a platform
- Affordability
- With continuous software updates, you’re always using the latest version
- No additional costs when product updates are made
- Admin / Helpdesk
- Full software support and product know-how
- Flexible and customizable to your needs
Are you in the market for a software solution? At Benify, with more than 1,500 clients and 2 million users worldwide, we like to think we know a thing or two about operational efficiency.
Want to see how licensing our platform can help your business? Get in touch!