Is it time to break up with a platform in your business?
As a business owner, how do you know if a platform is right for you and you just need to give it more time or when it's actually time to switch platforms?
In a recent post I talked about what to do when the platform isn't the issue.
Sometimes the issue is with your training or your mindset and there are things that you can do to get the most out of the platforms you already have.
But what if the platform might be the problem?
How do you know?
What do you do about it?
These are all the things that we're going to be diving into today.
So, think about all the different platforms and software that you use in your business. Are there some that feel like they are not the right fit, that it might be time to jump ship and try something else? You might be right or you might not be.
I've had situations where clients weren't comfortable with a particular platform and they needed to give it more time. Other clients had specific features or needs that the software wasn't able to provide. That's a huge difference.
Today, we're going to learn how to tell when to stick with it and how to tell when it's time to switch to something else.
Signs a Platform Isn't Working for You
Here are some red flags to watch out for:
1. Is this platform causing you more stress and creating more problems than it's solving?
Is it taking up all of your time just to make it do the things that it is supposed to do?
Maybe you have had to find workarounds or maybe this platform is so stressful that you're not even really using it.
If this is something that you haven't logged into for over a month, not because you don't need to use it, but because using it stresses you out, that's a problem and it may not be the right platform for you. 2. Does this platform support your business growth?
Maybe this is a platform that worked for you at one time, but it's not working anymore.
For example, it's something that supported your needs when you were a solopreneur, but now you have a team and this platform doesn't work well in a team format.
Maybe it worked fine for the capabilities you needed when you were first getting started in your business, but now you need something more sophisticated.
Maybe this is not the right platform to grow with you and you need to replace it with something that fulfills your needs now.
3. Are you regularly running into limitations with the platform?
Maybe there are things that you need the platform to do that it's not capable of. Maybe you have to find some creative workaround or something every time to just make it do its job.
That's not a very functional platform either.
Sometimes there are things that legitimately are not designed to work together and you need to use something like Zapier to connect them.
But there's a difference between using some sort of integration platform to connect things and having to do constant workarounds just to make something do what you need it to do.
It might be time to start looking for a platform with capabilities more in alignment with what you need.
4. Does the platform have too many hidden costs?
Maybe you need to keep upgrading to get to the features you actually need.
Maybe there are hidden add-ons or integrations that you have to pay extra for that you didn't know about.
If the costs keep adding up and you're not seeing the return on that investment, you might want to start looking for a platform that has all of the capabilities included that you need, but without all of those different price tags on top of it.
5. Is the customer service MIA?
Sometimes the final nail in the coffin in your relationship with a platform is their terrible customer service.
If they are not able to answer your questions, if they keep giving you the runaround, if you are not able to get in contact with an actual human and they just keep sending you to forums or an AI chat or something like that, you need to decide if that's a deal breaker for you.
With some of these more complex platforms that we use to support our business, we really do need to be able to talk to a live person when we run into an issue that we're not able to solve. Help articles and chat bots just don't provide the level of assistance we need. In that case, it might be time to find a platform with better customer support.
6. Does your gut say it's time to walk away?
The final red flag is that your gut instinct is telling you this platform isn't right for you.
Now, I want to caution you. Sometimes your gut instinct is wrong and you just need to give it more time or effort. (Check out this post to find out if that's you).
But sometimes your gut instinct is right and it's time to walk away and find something else.
If you are having that moment where you know deep down this is not the right platform for you, listen to that instinct.
Do I Need to Give This Platform Another Chance First?
Okay, in case you don't have time to read the other post, I'm going to give you a few quick situations where you might want to give this platform another shot before throwing in the towel.
The first situation is if you haven't fully explored all of the features of this platform.
If you don't know everything that it has to offer, you haven't tried all the features out, don't get rid of this platform until you have done testing on those things to see if they do actually fulfill the needs that you have.
Don't start looking for something else if you don't know what you currently have.
The next situation where you should give this platform another shot is if it's not a bad fit, there's just a learning curve.
Maybe it feels like it's not the right platform for you because you're not getting it right away.
But if you've only had it for a week or a month, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad platform for you.
You might need to give it more time to get used to it first and learn all of the features before you really have enough information to decide if it's the right platform for you or not.
The final situation where it might not be time to give up on this platform is if it's not an issue with the features of the platform itself, but your setup within the platform.
Maybe your systems were set up incorrectly in the first place. Maybe you have outdated workflows or automations and they just need some work, some tweaks to make them function better.
It may not be a problem with the platform; you just need to work on your setup.
How to Transition to a New Platform Effectively
Okay, so let's say you know it's time to give up on this platform and find another one.
Where do you start?
What do you do?
How do you make sure that you're not exchanging one bad platform for another, and instead you're switching to something that actually gives you what you need?
Let's talk through some different ways to make sure you are switching to a better platform that's right for you.
1. What do you actually need?
Before you go Googling or doing anything else, the very first thing I encourage you to do is to sit down and figure out what it is you actually need, what are the features that you're looking for?
If this is something like a CRM platform, you're going to want to map out your systems and your client journey to know what features you actually need.
You need to know what sort of workflow triggers you need a platform to be able to offer and whether you need features like online scheduling.
Figure out what it is you need before you start looking for a platform, otherwise you're going to be searching but you won't know what you're looking for.
2. Do your research
Once you've figured out what it is you actually need, that is the point where you can start doing your research.
See what the options are that are out there, see what features and capabilities they have so that you can match those with the features and capabilities that you need.
3. Test the platforms before you buy
Make sure that you are testing platforms before committing. In a lot of cases, these platforms offer free trials or demos so that you can actually see how it works before you buy.
You don't want to plunk your money down for something when you haven't even seen how it works yet.
4. Get informed recommendations
Another thing that you can do during this search process is get informed recommendations.
You can talk to business owners who have businesses similar to yours to see what they use and what they recommend.
You can look in Facebook groups or forums for other business owners like you to see what they're using, and you can also talk to experts who use these type of platforms all the time, like me.
5. Read product reviews
I also recommend during your research phase when you're finding a new platform that you look at reviews and write-ups on the platforms that you're interested in just to see if there are any red flags in terms of surprise costs or capabilities or things like that that you're not aware of before you purchase.
6. Plan your platform transition
The final thing that you should do when you are transitioning to a new platform is to plan your transition.
Make sure that you have all of your materials and your systems planned out and everything is ready before you jump into your new platform.
Make sure that you are planning this transition at a good time. Don't jump to a new platform in the middle of a launch or when you are in your busiest season.
Make sure that you are doing this strategically.
You might have to make do with the things that you have during a busy time in your business so that you can get to a point where you have more free time available to do this transition properly.
Deciding which platforms are supporting your business and which platforms are hurting your business is a big decision. At the end of the day, the tools that you use to run the back end of your business should support you and they should solve more problems than they create. They are there to make your life easier.
If you are currently looking to set up a new platform, to transition from one platform to another, or you're not sure if what you're currently using is right for your business or it's time to ditch it and try something new, reach out to an expert and get some help.
If you're looking for quick and easy support to get a new system set up quickly or to transition to a new platform, as painlessly as possible, reach out to me.
I offer half day and full day VIP days to get this done fast and get you onto your new platform and get it supporting your business as soon as possible!
I hope that this has helped you figure out whether it is time to ditch a platform in your business or whether you might still need to give it another chance. Do you have questions about this post? Leave a comment!
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