3 Keys to Unlocking the Ed Tech Market

By Jacob Hanson

When I talk to start-up clients about how to succeed in the K-12 ed tech marketplace, I always say that the first step is to listen. Before you send out the first press release to announce your new product or service, first consider your audience. Who are they? What do they need? And how can you give them what they need? This is the most direct way to turn detached information into a dialogue.

If you’ve done your homework, your first ed tech PR campaign will be audience-centric, and it should:

• Position you as a partner to educators;
• Present your executives and customers as education thought leaders;
• Demonstrate how your product affects the work being done in classrooms; and
• Communicate your company culture.

The cumulative effect of all of this is building trust with the education community. Educators want to see you as a source of information—a “friend” who they can rely on to provide the best practices that will help make their lives easier and their work more effective. They do not want or need repeated messages about deals, price breaks, or new shiny features in your product.

Once the community realizes that you are providing them with something of value, they will come to rely on it and to trust that you will be there for them. That is when the selling can start.

Now that you have established trust with your ed tech clients, how do you move them down the sales funnel? I suggest leveraging the power of effective PR through these three steps:

1. Personalize your message. Know your audience and show them how your product is relevant to the challenges they are facing in their schools today. Then nurture that relationship and provide them with content that is valuable to them.

2. Timing is everything. I love this quote from Rob Dickson, the CIO of Omaha Public Schools: “Unfortunately, my purchasing decisions don’t align with your end of fiscal year.” To sell in the ed tech marketplace, you have to operate on the education calendar. Be aware of how major legislation, such as the recent Every Student Succeeds Act, will impact your end users.

3. Become a partner, not just a provider. Before, during, and after the sale, provide valuable information that helps your prospects and clients do their jobs better.

If you show ed tech decision-makers that you understand their challenges and are there to help them when they need it, the sales will follow.

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Thank you for sharing!