"All you have to do is....R-U-N ! ! !"

I've heard it before. And the results were the same. In the education space companies make interesting technology, products or services that often require customers -- usually teachers -- to do something to fit the new thing into day-to-day operations. The story goes "All you have to do to use our new product is ____" (fill in the blank with things such enter students into the system, create questions, have students write things and post them into the computer, etc.).

The problem is that what you might think is a rather trivial number of steps to get the tremendous benefits of your product, may be something the typical user is just not willing (or capable given time, money and other resource constraints) to do.

Refer to the other blog post about giving away your product with the hope of winning over supporters and reference accounts. Users may be unwilling to do required steps whether the product is bought or free. It's best if you can anticipate the steps and eliminate them.

The Horrors Faced By the Little Shop (and Mega Store)

You know the story -- In You've Got Mail. The "Little Bookshop Around the Corner" is threatened by the Mega Bookstore. We see this today with tutoring. The respected guy or gal tutor around the corner competes with the larger tutoring center. And just as the Mega Bookstore is threatened today by the Internet Superstore -- a store without walls or limits -- the respected tutoring center seems threatened by online tutors. Online tutoring can come with all-you-can-eat fixed pricing, 24 by 7 access, no driving and a richer learning experience. Can the Mega Bookstore compete? Can the tutoring center compete?

I was intrigued by this article: Barnes and Noble...

How is Barnes and Noble competing in this era of online ordering, reviews and tips, low prices, fast shipping and social networking? B and N says it is using its physical locations and face to face customer interaction in the stores to educate and sell their own ebook device. They say they expect to capture over 25% of the market for eBooks, eTextbooks and Digital Newsstand by 2013, projecting over $1 billion in digital revenue by that time.

Can brick and mortar tutoring centers leverage their local presence to compete? Can they reinvent themselves and find new revenue sources and opportunities and not go the way of the little shop around the corner?

I give it away and like love, it's going to come back!

Several clients have tried an age-old strategy...but, sadly, one that doesn't work! They have given a few customers -- in this case, school districts -- free products and services in the hopes it will build overall awareness, produce outstanding "braggable" results, and compel sales from other customers.

The reason this doesn't usually work in the education space is too often these freebies go to (and are part of a deal with) the people who recommend, approve or buy products, but not to the people you need to make the trial a success. In education, you have BUYERS who make decisions and spend money on things and USERS who need to implement these things successfully in the classroom. Just because a principal or superintendent has decided to buy or accept a free product, it doesn't mean a teacher will want to use it, know how, or figure out how to incorporate the product in the typical school day.

If you give the product to the USER (e.g. teacher) and he or she is hot-to-trot to use it and knows how, you have a better than even chance something will come out of the trial. But then your user needs clear instructions and guidance to make it work. Results tend to be spotty at best and you lose a lot of time running studies and watching some teachers do things right and others barely trying to use the product.

ONE EXCEPTION! I happened upon a strategy which put the free trial in the category of a controversial but successful television event -- one that showcased the product in front of over 3,000,000 people as the solution to a large bi-partisan problem. With good positioning, credibility and timing, this produced startling measurable results.

Contact me at john@edumetrix.com and I'll be happy to discuss this example.