126 - How We Decide If a Tool Is Worth Using

Zac: Deciding which marketing tools are actually worth your time isn’t easy. We should know we’ve spent time simplifying our own stack and cutting platforms that overpromised and underdelivered. In this episode, we’re breaking down how we evaluate new tools, red flags to watch out for, and how to decide what’s truly worth using.

Rich: Well, hey, welcome to another episode of Cocktails, Tangents, and Answers. I am Rich and this is Zach. We are coming to you from a morning recording. We usually do these in the afternoon, Zach. Morning is killing me, but I got my coffee and my branded cup going.

Zac: I got my matcha, so I’m good too.

Rich: So today we’re talking about systems that don’t overwhelm and the tools that you use. This is kind of a follow-up to last week’s episode. A lot of people don’t have issues because they don’t have technology. They have technology and a lot of technology.

Zac: Probably too much.

Rich: The marketing stack fragments, right? There’s a piece over here and a piece over here and a piece over here. And sometimes you need that. You can’t get absolutely everything in one.

I was talking to a client the other day during onboarding and they’re frustrated with HubSpot’s social media reporting because they’re used to Sprout Social. And it’s like, yeah, Sprout is amazing at social reporting. HubSpot is not quite there yet. But give them feedback. They’ll get there eventually.

So let’s talk about how you figure out if a tool adds value or if it’s just going to frustrate your team. Some mistakes people make when adopting new platforms and why the best systems are often the simplest ones. Sometimes having all of those options isn’t really the greatest. Simpler can be better.

Zac: Less is more, as they say.

Rich: Yes, less is more. I feel like we’re saying that a lot these days, especially with our own systems. We’ve gone through this as well. I don’t want 400 tech companies in our stack. Let’s thin it down. But first, we’ve got to get to a cocktail.

Zac: Yes, the Blinker. If you’re Gen Z, this might mean something different, but we won’t get into that. This drink was first printed in 1934. It’s surprisingly potent and very refreshing. Modern renditions try to twist it into a traditional sour, but it’s more of a Greyhound-style highball. They recommend using a decent potent rye and a homemade grenadine to make it the best it can be. That’s straight from punchdrink.com.

Rich: So two ounces of rye, three ounces of grapefruit juice, one ounce of grenadine, and garnish with a grapefruit twist. Everything except the garnish goes into a shaker with ice. Shake for about 15 seconds until chilled, strain into a chilled coupe glass, twist the grapefruit zest over the top to release the oils, drop it in, and you’re good to go. Super simple. Three ingredients, shake, pour, garnish, done.

All right, let’s get into the episode. So Zac, when you’re evaluating tools, where do you even start?

Zac: Start by asking yourself what problem this tool is supposed to solve. Tool adoption should start with a problem, not a demo. You shouldn’t see a cool demo and then try to justify it. You should already know the issue you’re solving. Otherwise, you’ll create more problems than you fix.

Rich: Yeah, I’m guilty of shiny object syndrome. I like cool new tech. But you’ve got to be disciplined.

I was evaluating a corporate card tool because I didn’t like how our current one synced with QuickBooks. I specifically asked if it worked like a real credit card ledger where transactions come in automatically and can be reconciled. The salesperson said yes. On the demo, it turned out I still had to manually push transactions over. That was the exact problem I was trying to eliminate. So that was a no.

Zac: That’s why you have to ask the right questions and know your workflows ahead of time. If you don’t, you’ll get caught with something that underdelivers.

Rich: And don’t chase trendy tools just because they’re trendy. AI tools are everywhere. I test some, but I wait for low-risk entry points. I’m not building my entire workflow around something unproven.

Zac: And look at the tools you already have. Sometimes the answer is maximizing what you’re already paying for instead of adding something new.

Rich: Exactly. We’ve talked about moving from BuzzSprout to HubSpot for podcast hosting. Could we? Yes. But the migration cost, the HTML cleanup, the workflow disruption—right now it adds complexity instead of reducing it.

Zac: Which brings up the next point: does the tool reduce or add complexity? Not just in usage, but in setup and migration.

Rich: That’s huge. Short-term complexity during setup matters. Long-term complexity matters even more. Can you absorb the change right now? Do you have bandwidth?

Zac: And pressure test it against real goals and workflows. Don’t just imagine how it’ll work. Actually run it parallel if you can.

Rich: Free trials are gold. Monthly contracts are better than annual if you’re unsure. Everybody wants to lock you into annual because inertia keeps you there.

Zac: And look for long-term fit, not just short-term excitement.

Rich: Exactly. Quick wins are great because you need to prove value. But it can’t just be a fun first date. It has to last.

So quick recap: define your problem first. Evaluate whether it reduces complexity. Pressure test it against real workflows. Try before you commit. And look for staying power, not just shiny features.

Zac: That’s the episode. You can find our agency at antidote71.com and all of our socials are there. If you have a question you’d like to send our way, head to ctapodcast.live to shoot us an email, or leave us a voice message on our hotline at 402-718-9971. Your question will make it into a future episode.

Rich: And next week we’ll talk about why most trends aren’t worth chasing.