Working online presents a constant barrage of new services and tools that’s challenging to keep up with, let alone understand. While it’s fun to try new services and tools and see how they can solve problems that my clients face, it still can be overwhelming at times. As much as I read the blogs and sign up for free trials, I still have a case of FOMO – afraid I’m missing out on the perfect tool…the one awesome service that I hadn’t heard about just yet.
To cure my FOMO issue, I developed a short list of sites that I go to when I’m scouting out a new service. Next time you’re looking for a new online business resource, start with these sites. They’ll save you tons of time and you’ll be better informed when it’s time to make a decision.
Always, my first go-to is the Zapier App Directory. This is the ever-growing list of 500+ online services that Zapier can connect together. While that’s awesome all by itself, Zapier’s Directory is easily filtered by app type… so for example, if you’re looking for a CRM tool, click on the CRM filter link… and voila – a large list of CRM services appears. I can absolutely guarantee that you hadn’t heard of them all. Already, you’re way ahead of the game with a more complete list of possibilities to consider. Bonus: you’ll also know how to connect them to other services you use.
Once you have a list, and spent some time checking out the contenders, you can go to these sites for user reviews and comparisons:
- G2 Crowd – The largest business software review site provides well-vetted user reviews on most online SaaS and desktop software products. Their G2 Crowd Grid (SM) provides a nice visual way to compare products by “leaders”, “niche” and “high performers”.
- AlternativeTo – If your question is “what’s an alternative to SalesForce?” start here – that’s literally how this site works. The search bar asks: “What app do you want to replace?”. It doesn’t get any easier or more intuitive! Once you have results, you can filter by platform and license type.
- GetApp – A more conventional application search and review site – well designed and easy to use. Reviews appear to be generally well-vetted and trustworthy. GetApp has a neat “click to compare” feature that lines up selected tools side-by-side for feature comparison.
These four resources will help make you better able to select the right services and apps. Be sure to bookmark ’em and visit the next time your scoping out a solution for your business. Happy shopping!