In the words of twentieth-century journalist, satirist, and writer of aphorisms H.L. Mencken: “strike an average between what a woman thinks of her husband a month before she marries him and what she thinks of him a year afterward, and you will have the truth about him.”
One could say something similar about their business software implementation project: strike an average between an end user’s opinion on an ERP solution five months after implementation and five years later, and you have the truth about it. It’s one of the reasons case studies are done during the honeymoon phase. However, it’s when the anonymous respondents chime in that you can get a true picture of how someone really feels about their software.
Info-Tech ERP Emotional Footprint Report Combines Value and Emotion
It’s hard to feel confident about any ERP purchase decision until you know what actual end users think. Luckily, there’s an ERP buyer’s guide that compiles user satisfaction ratings for 18 systems so that you can compare your choices side by side.
The Enterprise Resource Planning Emotional Footprint Report gives you a clear view of which solutions are giving users the greatest sense of value for the price they’re paying. An interesting take on the way a company is rated, the Emotional Footprint Report took into consideration the ‘emotional response to 25 provocative questions’ and compared this with the perceived value to create a matrix. The report uses the following criteria:
Value Index
Software pricing can be complicated and confusing, but knowing if you’re getting business value for the price you’re paying is not. The Value Index metric captures user satisfaction with their software given the costs they are paying.
Net Emotional Footprint
The Net Emotional Footprint measures high-level user sentiment. It aggregates emotional response ratings across 25 provocative questions, creating a powerful indicator of overall user feeling toward the vendor and product. Customers ranked vendors on a -4 to +4 scale, and Info-Tech calculated this on a percentile scale.
Acumatica Stands Tall: High Value, High Emotional Satisfaction—A Champion
Across the board, Acumatica delivered. In the matrix, vendors found themselves as contenders (lower value/lower net emotional footprint), relationship builders (lower value/high net emotional footprint), value players (higher value/lower net emotional footprint), and champions (highest value/highest net emotional footprint). An incredibly limited selection found themselves as emotionally loved as Acumatica and when it came to value, Acumatica was nearly unmatched.
Among the categories:
Service Experience
How respectful a vendor is before and after the sale matters. The last thing you need is to be disrespected by your software vendor, or to get bogged down by their ineptitude or neglect. Among the ratings, Disrespectful vs. Respectful, Bureaucratic vs. Efficient, and Neglectful vs. Caring.
One of Acumatica’s top categories, respondents saw the company as respectful, efficient, caring, and time saving, with the company ranked in the top half on all service experience categories.
Negotiation and Contract
Negotiation doesn’t have to be adversarial. Both parties are always looking to get the best deal, but finding a vendor who will work with you rather than against makes it more likely you’ll both be happy with the results.
Another of Acumatica’s top categories, respondents saw the company as generous, able to over-deliver (as opposed to overpromise), ready to put the customer first, and much less hardball than the average company.
Strategy and Innovation
Your vendor’s attitude toward innovation is important; if they aren’t at least keeping pace with market directions and trends, they certainly won’t be enabling you to get ahead.
Possibly Acumatica’s strongest appearance, customers found that Acumatica facilitates customer innovation, delivers constant improvement and includes enhancements, all while appreciating their spot as a leader.
An ERP You Can Love from a Partner You Can Trust: Acumatica Delivers
Did you know that Acumatica puts a healthy majority of its budget into R&D? Yes, thanks to its Partner Program, Acumatica can put around 75% of its focus into improving the product—all while trusting the top partners in the nation to do the rest.
This is why many consider the company a generous company who delivers innovation and improvement, able to underpromise and overdeliver. Few partner programs stand up to Acumatica, and few solutions match their functionality.
Learn more about the Info-Tech report, read G2’s similar report here, and learn who’s delivering on the Value Matrix from our recent blog.
As a leading provider of Acumatica, Crestwood has delivered this powerful solution for our clients. Get to know more about our work and contact us for more information.
