Item: Podium
Rating: 10
Author: LEANORA MONTELLO

Overall Satisfaction with Podium

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Podium, integrated with Service Titan as well as on its own to contact customers as well as to request reviews. It is one of my favorite contact methods, so I personally use it all day every day

Pros and Cons

Pros

Immediate contact
Request Reviews
Allows customers to choose how they contact, either by cell phone, or through Google very easy for customers

Cons

I get a lot of weird phone calls through podium maybe make it so calls cannot go through? Never ever answered a call thru podium. Always weird numbers. likely spam
Often times people CANNOT use the review link. This is an ongoing issue that we cannot resolve.
Sometimes folks can write in but we cannot respond nor see how they wrote in

Most Important Features

Customer contact
Campaigns
reviews

Return on Investment

Only when the link is broken that is really annoying, inhibits our reviews

Alternatives Considered

used to use "Skipio" for texting and "social climb" for reviews, using all different systems for something one product can do, is just a pain! So it has been FANTASTIC!

We use Podium all day every day and we had to log in to multiple account systems to do all the things that Podium does alone, technically getting reviews on Google, Home Advisor and BBB through Podium is so nice!

Key Insights

Do you think Podium delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Podium's feature set?

Yes

Did Podium live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Podium go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Podium again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Dialpad Talk

Likelihood to Recommend

Anytime a customer is at work or someplace they cannot take a call, they can often answer on Podium. This is by far my favorite means of contact also because I can go back and review all the back and forth between the customer and myself. People love communication without speaking to someone these days. Just seems to be the way of the world.

Love also being able to create campaigns and offer deals/coupons to folks. However with NYS law changing recently this has changed our ability to reach out as of late

Using Podium

Users and Roles

25 - Everything, from owner, to sales reps, to technicians, secretaries, financial support, managers, reps, appt setters everyone uses it

Support Headcount Required

3 - Although everyone uses Podium to ask for reviews, the folks that support the customers requests must have proper grammar and spelling and know enough about the schedule and company to respond. So there are 3 people, the COO, me (manager of sales) and the finance rep that respond in podium

Business Processes Supported

Reviews
Customer contact
Campaigns

Innovative Uses

Campaigns to offer coupons
requesting reviews for all our available sites in one place
Alerting customers to when we are headed to their appt
During Covid we used it as a reminder to folks to let us know if anyone was not feeling well to let us know

Future Planned Uses

Continued review
Reaching out to multiple customers with offers

Likelihood to Renew

Again, Podium has been so wonderful in the year and a half we have been using it, we are able to integrate it with our CRM and use alot of the available features. The most helpful has been getting TONS of reviews on MULTIPLE sites through Podium!

Evaluating Podium and Competitors

Products Replaced

Yes - Skipio, for text campaigns
Social Climb, for reviews

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Features
Product Usability
Product Reputation

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I looked at NUMEROUS options and after seeing all the benefits and the way it integrated with our existing software there was only one potential competitor and that was Sway, however we chose Podium for the benefits that sway did not offer

Podium Implementation

Implementation Rating

This was super easy to learn how to use and no one had an issue with it

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house

Implementation Phases

Change Management Lessons

Change management was minimal

Implementation Issues

none

Podium Support

Support Rating

We have always gotten wonderful support through the onboarding and any questions we have had. Only thing is they cannot seem to ensure the review link works for everyone

Podium Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Premium Support

No, we have not needed it. The use of podium is easy and doesnt require us to need premium support

Exceptional Examples of Podium Support

The first time the link for reviews was broken I had a rep that was diligent in fixing the link, however this is an ongoing issues. The rep
I got initially helped me to not only get the review link working but also walked me through setting up the review for Home Advisor and BBB

Using Podium

Usability

I am able to log in on my computer and my phone, making customer contact super easy. I watch Podium through the weekends and evenings and love that I can immediately respond to someone in need

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar	None