Bulldog Reporter's 2012 PR Measurement and Monitoring Software Buyer's Guide consists of five chapters, which are being presented serially between June 4 and June 14. This final chapter offers head-to-head features comparisons of the top software solutions in today's marketplace to help you make your final evaluations. Next week, this complete guide will be made available as a free downloadable PDF.

See Chapter I: "Before You Start Shopping: How to Make Sense of the Explosion of PR Monitoring and Measurement Tools" here.

See Chapter II: "New Developments In Media Monitoring and Measurement Over the Last 18 Months" here.

See Chapter III: "What Are Your Monitoring and Measurement Needs and How Do They Match with Today's Capabilities?" here.

See Chapter IV: "Questions to Ask Yourself: How to Assess Your Practices, Needs and Budget and Match Them to Leading Software Tools" here

Chapter V

Head-to-Head Comparisons of Today's Leading PR Measurement and Monitoring Software Solutions

There's no way to purchase PR measurement and monitoring software intelligently without doing your homework.

First, you must understand the emerging technologies and capabilities that are available in the marketplace in 2012, and what's expected as the industry continues to evolve and mature.

Second, you must assess carefully and critically your organization's internal needs and capabilities.

Third, you must narrow down to the two or three measurement and monitoring solutions that deserve your fullest attention.

Fourth, you (and any others involved in making the buy decision) will want to test drive the products on your short list to get a hands-on feeling for the content they cover, the capabilities they provide, and how they respond to your inputs.

While this winnowing process may take some time, it's well worth the effort, since these solutions are currently priced from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars a year, and since it's not so simple to switch from one product to another once you've started.

After you've read the first four chapters of this Buyer's Guide, you should be close to deciding which of the leading products you'll choose to evaluate closely. This final chapter brings you a head-to-head features comparison chart designed to show you at a glance which products offer the features you most want. (Note, however, that while a feature may be associated with a product, you may not have to pay for it. In some cases, you can unbundle or disable functionality you don't plan to use.)