Searching for the best LMS for your organization, or even personal use, can be quite the task. There are countless options out there, and each one has its own strengths.

The question is though, what should you look for when you are looking for an LMS?

I have touched upon this subject before in some detail, but today I won’t be focusing so much on features.

As an LMS provider, we receive our fair share of questions regarding features and functionality. The reality, however,  is that an LMS is defined differently by each person and company. As such, I can say quite confidently that there isn’t any one LMS that will do everything you need, exactly the way you need it.

What every LMS is missing is an understanding of your unique situation. An honest attempt is made to include the most relevant features to the largest number of people, but for some this is a big hurdle to overcome. Barring a completely custom developed solution, you will need to prioritize the functionality you need – or you think that you need.

What You Shouldn’t Compromise On

What you shouldn’t compromise on with your LMS decision is the level of support you expect to receive. You can do some research through quick Google searches, or you can test it out yourself.

For example, what is the response time of a pre-sales question? If it falls within a full business day, then that is a good sign as that tends to be the minimum acceptable waiting period for any inquiry.

This simple little test will help you eliminate a good number of providers. If it takes them more than one business day to respond to your inquiry, you should run – far!

Why? Well, every business prefers pre-sales messages to support. If they are taking a long time on the one thing every business needs (sales!), then you can only assume that support tickets will sit for days-on-end.

So, while you look at your feature list and start prioritizing, make sure that the provider you choose at least passes the support test above. You’ll save yourself a countless of headaches and lost money.