How to make your EdTech company stand out in an oversaturated market
EdTech is one of the fastest growing industries in today’s economy. Great news, right? Sure…except with that growth comes a lot of competition. How will your company set itself apart from others offering similar products? In order for your business to stand out from the crowd, you’ll need to:
Identify your core ideal customer persona
Gain and retain stakeholder support
Provide transparent, measurable outcomes
Build community with users
Many believe that casting a wide net will result in a greater yield. While this may be true on a fishing trawler, it’s not the case for businesses. If your target audience is every K-12
administrator
educator
student
….you're not talking to anyone.
Find Your People. Narrow down your target audience to maximize your reach.
EdTech has a tall order to fulfill. The industry is entirely nuanced. You must
entice administrators to invest in your product.
convince educators that it’s worth the hassle of implementing in their classrooms.
engage students in meaningful learning.
Creating a specific user persona for each helps your company keep communication user-centric. Which in turn, will drive genuine interest in your product.
So, how do you do that? The best user persona profiles will come from tailored data points about each of those three groups.
Here are some key questions to consider:
What administrations share a similar vision and mission to your company?
What types of teachers are likely to be your early adopters?
Will the early adopters share with and support their colleagues once they get on board?
What demographic of students will benefit most from this product?
Pinpointing these answers and then tailoring your outreach will help you reduce risk and increase right-fit customers.
Achieve greater buy-in and traction from end users: just ask.
It’s not enough to convince the administration to invest in your product once. If you want an ongoing relationship with your customers, you need to ensure that the user experience lives up to the hype.
Teachers are spread thin between lesson planning, grading, classroom management, data collection, and standardized testing. They need EdTech companies to provide high-quality usability without bumpy transitions.
Many EdTech companies lack input from teachers and students. This is a critical misstep.
Users should be surveyed frequently and quickly. Ask them the following:
What’s working?
What’s not?
What could be adapted to better meet the needs of the teachers and students who are using your product?
The more you evolve alongside your users, the likelier they are to stay customers.
The proof is in the pudding. Garner trust from educators with research.
High-quality videos and fun games can absolutely make the learning experience more enjoyable. But, if they aren’t improving student outcomes or enhancing the educational environment, they aren’t fulfilling their mission.
Potential customers need to know how your product is going to deliver on its promises. There are two ways you can do this: efficacy research and case studies.
Efficacy research is a key component of ensuring your product’s effectiveness. Share results of that research with customers and you'll build trust in your product. This transparency to administration, educators, and students helps build a community.
The market is oversaturated with products; that's the simple truth. But it’s not oversaturated with companies that prove their effectiveness.
Case studies are also useful tools to prove your product’s impact on student outcomes. Use pilot programs to evaluate the roll out and impact of your product. Then share these experiences with your target audience. When people see themselves in the story you’re telling, it will result in future sales.
Education is a field that thrives on collaboration, not competition. If you create a platform where users share their success stories and challenges, you’ll...
increase awareness of your brand
entice new customers to check out your product.
Highlight unique usage of your product, and you'll encourage users to consider using your product in a different way.
Different functionalities of the technology is a powerful way to get even more sales. Educators make everything their own-they're masterful at this. Share how they use your product to get future users invested.
Share educators' stories about how your product transformed their students’ learning experiences. Highlight real-life examples of how this technology helped students. This enables potential customers to see its viability in their own schools. If you provide educators with access to a library of
sample lessons
pre-made content
user experience reflections
That's powerful and appreciated.
Now what? Create your EdTech marketing strategy to gain traction.
EdTech transformed education for the better by
increasing engagement
cultivating 21st century skills
improving student outcomes.
EdTech will continue to evolve and shape the future of educational experiences in classrooms around the world. The global EdTech market is expected to grow substantially in the next five years. In order for your company to stand apart, you need to
target your core customers
gain and retain stakeholder support
provide transparent data on achievement outcomes
create a community of users.
Need help putting this into action? Download my free EdTech content marketing guide.
