Researching Software Applications, the Marketer’s Guide to G2
By Jen Decker
February 18, 2022
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When you work as a digital marketer most of your career, there will be a time you get the green light to start researching software applications that will make your job easier. But the question remains: which application will be the right fit for you and your company?
Prior to SiteSpect, I’ve previously worked for smaller companies with little bandwidth and lean budgets. Oftentimes, reporting to individuals who had very little prowess in the digital marketing landscape. Not only was it my job to educate them on the marketing applications that are available but to disseminate all the benefits and ROI that would come by investing in these tools. One of the resources I use in my research is G2.com.
What is G2?
G2 is a peer-to-peer review site headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It was known as G2 Labs, Inc. until 2013. The company was launched in May 2012 by former BigMachines employees, with a focus on aggregating real-time user reviews for business software.
Popular software categories on G2 include: Content Relationship Management (CRM), accounting, event registration & ticketing, human resource management and A/B testing (SiteSpect anyone?).
Questions to ask yourself before you begin:
- What marketing applications are you looking for to help you in your role?
- What are the pain points you are trying to solve?
- What is your timeline?
- What is your budget?
- Who is involved in this decision?
For example, I wanted my employer to invest in a marketing automation platform: email marketing, social media publishing, list segmentation, automated drip campaigns, website analytics, form builder/management, content repository, etc.
I had previously used Act-On but I was acutely aware of HubSpot being a formidable competitor. Being a good steward of the company’s budget, I also wanted to investigate other options that might offer comparable features at a lesser cost. At the time, I was working for a nonprofit and given a budget of $7,000/year. It was my job to assess the different applications and present my research to my supervisor who ultimately had the authority to approve the contract.
Research
Obviously, we can compile a lot of information by navigating to the above contenders’ websites. But this won’t educate me on any software applications that are new to the marketing automation game.
Naturally, I will do the obligatory Google search: “Best marketing automation platforms” or “Budget-friendly marketing automation platforms”. There will be countless blog posts to help with awareness. At the time, I came across a platform I hadn’t heard about, Vbout. After my initial research, I turned to G2.
How do you use G2?
Simply navigate to www.g2.com. Using my use case above, I would enter ‘Vbout’ into the G2 search bar. From there, you can navigate to the company’s G2 product information page. Other G2 features include:
- Reviews
- Ratings
- Comparisons (competitors)
- Pricing
- Features
G2 reviews are so informative. Software users can submit written reviews or upload a video review of any software application. The reviews can be both positive and critical. What users say about the software gives the public honest insight you can’t get by just researching the company’s website.
“Today, more than 60 million people each year visit G2.com to read and write authentic reviews about more than 100,000 software products and professional services. So far, we’ve published over 1,500,000 reviews and those millions of visitors are helping millions of businesses make better buying decisions — and reach their full potential.” – G2.com
At this point, I’ve narrowed down my shortlist to just a few companies. I can make the next move to setting up demos with the companies I feel are the best options.
G2 & SiteSpect
You might be asking yourself how SiteSpect fits into this? If you are currently researching customer experience optimization platforms, you will find SiteSpect listed on G2. Recently, we posted our G2 Winter Report. SiteSpect has been fortunate to receive 53 honest reviews on G2. Check out this video review from a SiteSpect user at RevZilla: https://youtu.be/a78mP-4Rt6U
Once you’ve narrowed down your customer experience optimization options, we invite you to schedule a demo. Our team will be happy to show you how SiteSpect is the best choice to improve the customer experience on your website.
For more information, visit our website.
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