All-In-One Tech: Not the One for All

In 2023, convenience reigns supreme. We get food delivered on demand; infinite shows to stream; an endless array of apps to swipe and scroll through during our workday.

So, when a digital advocacy vendor offers an “all-in-one” solution, clients hear the siren song of convenience: 

We’ll do it all for you – email, CRM, everything. All you have to do is say yes.

It’s tempting – and for some, it’s the right call. But not for all.

At Speak4, we believe there’s a smarter, simpler way to offer powerful, effective digital advocacy. By rejecting the “all-in-one” model in favor of a specialized approach, we put our principles of simplicity, innovation and partnership to work – and it works for our partners. Here’s how: 

1. Advocacy is complicated. Speak4 is simple.

Some clients see “all-in-one” legacy vendors as a catch-all for their advocacy woes. While replacing multiple tools with one advocacy-in-a-box solution seems easier, it comes at the cost of functionality that works and features that set you up for success.

When a vendor aims for an “all-in-one” solution, their development roadmap becomes focused on building out functionality for tools other than digital advocacy. The commitment to breadth of functionality instead of depth results in a buffet of “OK” products, but nothing that differentiates your campaign from the competition.

What’s worse, this broad, cluttered “all-in-one” functionality is susceptible to breaks and bugs – meaning if something goes wrong, your entire tech stack is jeopardized.

We’re focused on making our tool as specialized and simple as possible, prioritizing ease of use, nimbleness and innovation over having the biggest menu on the market. We spend our time building advanced functionality that is tailored to our partners’ needs, resulting in features like Storyteller Mode, Saved Advocate View, Petitions and more.

These features aren’t any harder to build than the basics. They just require focus and prioritization over an “all-in-one” mindset. 

2. We want to integrate with your existing tech stack – not take it over.

“All-in-one” solutions are intended to take over as much of your tech stack as possible. That means substituting your in-house technology with a new email service provider (ESP), a new customer relationship management system (CRM)… the list goes on.

If you want to keep your tools, you’re hit with custom development add-ons and lengthy production timelines just to get your data from one platform to the next. 

Large platforms aren’t incentivized to get you up and running. They’re incentivized to stretch out the development process as long as possible, so you are forced between renewing your contract or losing valuable investment in “custom” solutions.

We firmly believe that your advocacy tool shouldn’t dictate your tech stack. It should integrate seamlessly with it to get you the best possible results.

That’s why we partnered with Zapier to run integrations with over 5,000 platforms. There are other companies out there that build better CRMs, maintain exceptional ESPs and launch text campaigns in their sleep. Instead of trying to beat them at their game, we sync with them – and work with you to ensure you are getting the best possible suite of tech tools behind your campaign.

3. We’re focused on you.

An “all-in-one” solution is just that: everything. With no customization, your campaign becomes a number on a contract to be revisited at the end of your contract. 

Our partnership model is the foundation of our platform. Our partners’ successes are our successes; their ideas are our roadmap. Our customer service is responsive and attentive to our partners’ unique needs, and the proof is in the platform: tools like our Regulations.gov integration were developed in conversation and collaboration with our partners.

It’s time we traded the myth of “all-in-one” solutions for a true advocacy partner. What’s more convenient than that?

If you’re ready to learn about Speak4, Schedule A Demo now.

Joe Mansour is the CEO of Speak4, a digital advocacy platform developed by marketers, technologists and digital strategists to help organizations mobilize grassroots support online.