Since I often write about products that I think will help your business, occasionally competing products will be featured in the weekly postings.

Of course this leads to the question: “Which one should I buy/use/get?

That’s a great question so I thought that I should spend some time this week outlining how I choose a new piece of hardware, software or service.

First off, it’s critical to know what problem you have that you are trying to solve.  By this I mean, you wouldn’t be in the market to buy something unless you felt that it could solve a problem for you, or make you more efficient or allow you save money or even to help you serve your clients better. So, think about this and define the problem before moving on.  Go ahead, use a pen and paper!

Get real with yourself.  What problem are you trying to solve?  That’s question number one.

Next, I ask myself, what criteria do I need in the solution that I will ultimately choose.  If I am buying a computer, tablet or smart phone, I want it to be compatible with equipment that I already own.  I want the hardware to be simple to set up and use and I don’t want it to cause problems with my other gear.

Same for software.  Will it work with my Mac?  Or, will it work with your PC?  This one is really critical!

Another part of my decision process is cost.  I want to pay the least amount possible while still getting something that will do the job.  Often times this is a balancing act between function and cost.  In this case, spend what you can afford, but keep an eye towards the future.  Being cheap today often means expensive upgrades later when you outgrow the tool.

Now it’s time to research.  Ask your friends and colleagues what they use.  Enter a Google search for “Reviews of whatever it is you are looking for”.  See if I have written about it by using the search box in the right hand column of http://www.realtytechbytes.com

You could also take a peek at an article I wrote on May 19, 2013:

https://realtytechbytes.com/at-last-the-perfect-answer-to-the-what-should-i-buy-question/

Surprisingly, the site is still active, but sadly they have been swallowed by the New York Times.  Their advice still seems solid though, so you might want to see if they have reviews any of the things that you want to buy.

At any rate, there is no one size fits all answer, but with a little work on your part, you can be sure that you are buying the right tech tool for you and your business.