Shopping for software is like dating…hear us out. There are a lot of amazing CSR platforms out there and our competition is very talented. But every software is not one size fits all. And we pride ourselves on transparency when in the “dating” phase. We want to see you succeed, therefore we value a mutual match.
What factors make a mutual match? We broke down the 5 main factors that are typically used in the shopping process.
Price
Price is a biggie since the CSR budget landscape is still in the toddler phase for most organizations. Some companies are larger than others, with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program expectations and a full team to execute them. Some companies are smaller with no CSR role, but hold a large heart for impact.
Whether the company budget is big or small, there is a CSR platform out there to fill your needs. We pride ourselves on being transparent when it comes to pricing. You can refer to our interactive pricing page to see how pricing stacks up in comparison to company size. Larger companies require more resources and therefore pricing goes up.
Feature Sets
What features are non-negotiable? What features will make your day to day tasks significantly simpler? These are key questions when looking for a software program. Software review sites like G2 are wonderful resources for comparing feature sets for different programs.
One thing we’ve seen over the years is that no two social impact programs are the same. One program may focus on grant management while another focuses on volunteer events. If a corporation has a committee or stakeholders that they report to, then a solid analytics feature is of the utmost importance. Impact measurement is crucial not only to being able to report results as a company, but also to show tangible results to employees so they see the value of their efforts.
User Focus
Similar to features, user focus is the brains behind the features. Some software programs are really good at tapping into exactly what their user needs. An ideal client persona is created and features are prioritized based on the ideal clients’ needs.
Looking at software platforms holistically, one can start piecing together the ideal client persona that the program creators had in mind when creating and prioritizing their features, pricing, and support.
Reach
Reach plays a role in the goals of a company’s social impact program. Are you an international organization who requires support outside of the United States? Unfortunately not all programs support international.
Reach plays an internal role as well though. Perhaps you have multiple locations. We’ve seen some really neat company campaigns that encourage healthy competition between locations.
Championing Employee Resource Groups (ERG’s) has also been very successful in giving employees a cause area and voice to rally around. These ERG’s have cause areas that they can be passionate about together and supporting these groups gives them a platform for impact.
Size of Business
The size of your business will play a huge role in best fit for a social impact program. If the ideal client is a mid-market company, saying no to an enterprise giant speaks volumes of the integrity of the software company. Be sure to make note of whether or not the platforms you are considering show transparency in the beginning stages.
Our mission to provide a platform for all organizations has shaped us into being a great fit for small to medium sized companies. We pride ourselves on turning away Fortune 500 companies to a different platform more suited to their size and advanced specialized needs.
In Conclusion
As with most programs, platforms vary based on many factors. In a perfect world, all of the features would be available for an affordable price and best suited for each company’s needs. But realistically, features like international abilities and company size are going to require more resources and end up costing significantly more to support.
That is why we at Millie made it our mission to be transparent and stick to our values of who we want to support because we are big believers that big change can come from everyone.
Interested in learning more about how to leverage your social impact program with Millie? Check out how we stack up to the competition on G2.
