Introduction

So: you believe in an opportunity enough that you’re ready to spend time, energy, and capital to implement a digital solution. Now, the age-old question: should we build it ourselves (or with an agency), or should we buy an off-the-shelf solution?

Decades of research suggest that there isn’t a single right answer here. The best answer to the “Build vs Buy” dilemma depends on your industry, your team, your timeline, and more.

The good news is that we’ve dug into the research for you to help boil down learnings from hundreds of companies and dozens of industries into a simple, manageable checklist.

The Three Key Questions

This is an important-enough problem that we won’t try to tackle it in a single article. Instead, we’re breaking the decision-making process down into a three part series that covers each of the key questions in your “Build vs Buy” workflow:

1. What are my options? Is “buying” even a possibility?

2. What am I getting, and when am I getting it?

3. What’s my ROI?

What to Expect

Part 1: What are my options?

In next week’s post, we’ll tackle the first critical question to ask when evaluating Build vs Buy: is buying even a possibility? Is there a product or solution readily available in the market that I CAN buy?

As the famed technology consultancy Thoughtworks frames it: “Which vendor(s) can realistically deliver the level of capability and service we need?”

For example: Before Foundation, was there a great product to buy? For builders who wanted a modern digital buyer experience platform that drives actual business results, we believe the answer was a clear No. If you wanted it, you had to build it yourself (or find an agency to build it for you).

Part 2: What am I getting, and when?

Next, we’ll help you explore questions of product definition and delivery. In particular, you care about the “what” and the “when.”

In other words:

• What customizations and control do I require and want?

• What would I be giving up by building?

• Would I get better results by building?

And, critically:

• When will I get it?

• What are timelines for selection, purchasing, building, and implementation?

At Foundation, we have two perspectives on this topic.

First: A saying we have is that “all homebuilders build and sell homes, but everyone builds and sells homes a little differently.” Because of this belief, the Foundation platform is designed and built to be easily configured to a builder’s existing processes from Day 1.

Second: we know how busy everyone is, and we know the feeling of being sold software that doesn’t do its job and makes our lives harder, not easier. That’s why we’ve designed a platform that can be up and running in “days to weeks”, not months (or longer!).

Part 3: What’s my ROI?

You might already be thinking beyond “What does it cost?” and considering cost components like implementation fees, service and licensing fees, per-seat costs, maintenance costs, and more.

While cost is important, the real question to answer is more powerful: “What’s my ROI?”

Do Delta & Domino's think of their apps (and web apps) just as cost centers? Or does their consumer-facing technology deliver customer acquisition, customer retention (and higher ARPUs), and operational efficiency?

In the final post in our “Build vs Buy” series, we’ll walk you through how to move beyond just thinking about price, and how to frame and articulate the ROI for your business.

Unpacking ROI can take some work — Foundation works with you to help you understand how a buyer experience platform can drive a huge return on investment.

Have your own experiences?

Been burned by building (or buying)? Knocked one out of the park? We’d love to hear from you about lessons learned the hard way — drop a comment, or reach us anytime at founders@buildwithfoundation.com.