­
What's the point of your product? — ICT & Computing in Education
  • Front Page
  • Search
    • Digital Education
    • Terry Freedman's Books Bulletin
  • RSS
    • Welcome
    • The "About" Page
    • Testimonials
    • CV/Resumé
    • My Writing
    • Published articles
  • Corrections Policy
Menu

ICT & Computing in Education

Articles on education technology and related topics
  • Front Page
  • Search
  • Newsletters
    • Digital Education
    • Terry Freedman's Books Bulletin
  • RSS
  • Info
    • Welcome
    • The "About" Page
    • Testimonials
    • CV/Resumé
    • My Writing
    • Published articles
  • Corrections Policy
EdTech Marketing.png

What's the point of your product?

September 14, 2021

An earlier version of this article was first published on the Bee Digital Marketing website. Although the article is about products, and aimed at edtech companies, the basic ideas could be applied to promoting Computing as an option in school.

Introduction

A few years ago I read a review of a new product in a popular technology magazine, and by the end of the article, I had a pretty good idea of whether or not the product was any good.

The only thing I hadn’t managed to find out was what it actually did.

It was a classic case of the reviewer knowing what the product was for, but there seemed to be the implicit assumption that the rest of us did too.

Features or benefits?

Another way of thinking about this type of thing is to approach it through the lens of features vs benefits. Those in the know might rave about the features, but the features are ultimately only any good insofar as they confer benefits.

There are a couple of very useful techniques for ensuring that your marketing emphasises benefits rather than features.

Some useful assumptions

The very first one is to assume that the people who are making purchasing decisions in schools are probably not going to be technically-minded. Even if they are, at some point they are likely to be asked by a non-techie to justify their spending decisions. You should make it easy for them to do so in your materials.

The other useful technique is to ask – and then answer – a very simple question: what is your product actually for? In other words, what problem does it solve? Because, frankly, if it does not solve a problem, or you have to think about it for a while, then what’s the point of its existence?

The follow-up question, then, is: how? And that is where the features come in.

Zoom fatigue

For example, a recent problem is what a recent study at Stanford University refers to as “Zoom fatigue”. Also, kids learning from home may not be getting the amount of physical exercise they should.

Another study showed that walking on a treadmill enhances creative thinking. Now, there are quite a few apps and programs that interrupt your work every so often to say “Time for a break or a stretch”, and perhaps your online learning materials have a similar feature. If your marketing material states that there are built-in breaks, some people might interpret that as a negative thing: the kids are supposed to be learning, not having a stretch.

A better way?

A likely more effective approach is:

  1. state the problem: kids lose concentration after sitting in online lessons for hours on end;

  2. show how your product solves the problem: not only does it make the kids get up, but the act of getting up actually improves their learning.

I don’t think this is rocket science, but it’s very easy when you know a product really well and you are excited by its many “cool” features, to forget that most of the people you’re targeting probably couldn’t care less – at least, not initially. They have a problem, and they need something that will solve it in as simple and as cost-effective a way as possible.

In From the Archives, News & views Tags marketing, functionality
← If Computing leaders were politiciansWhy your Computing department needs a library →
Recent book reviews
Backlist: The Written World
Backlist: The Written World

Writing was invented ‘only’ a few thousand years ago. It’s a fascinating story.

Read More →
Backlist: What I'm reading: Bounce
Backlist: What I'm reading: Bounce

What does it take to become an expert? And what can the Computing teacher do about it?

Read More →
Backlist: The Fourth Education Revolution
Backlist: The Fourth Education Revolution

The title of this book invites curiosity: what were the other three ‘revolutions?

Read More →
A book review for your English department colleagues perhaps
A book review for your English department colleagues perhaps

Some of these stories are so richly told, it can almost seem as though you’re right there with him.

Read More →
Review: Pen Names
Review: Pen Names

OK, so this has nothing to do with education technology, but we all read (I hope!). A very interesting examination of the pen names some authors have adopted, and why.

Read More →
Review: The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History
Review: The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History

There's a really interesting section in this book about how ceramic storage of data and information is probably the most likely medium to stand the test of time.

Read More →
A book review for your biology colleagues perhaps
A book review for your biology colleagues perhaps

The subject under discussion here is how human physiology has developed in different ways, in response to different conditions around the world.

Read More →
Review: Social Media for Academics
Review: Social Media for Academics

This book is very readable, and if I sound surprised that is because it’s not always true of academics!

Read More →
Quick looks: VIBE Coding by Example
Quick looks: VIBE Coding by Example

For the time being, this book is free in Kindle format.

Read More →
Review: The Game Changers: How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too
Review: The Game Changers: How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too

Despite the relative paucity of immediately obvious National Curriculum links, teachers will find several of sections of this book to be highly engaging.

Read More →
Dig+Ed+Banner.jpg

Contact us

Privacy

Cookies

Terms and conditions

This website is powered by Squarespace

(c) Terry Freedman All Rights Reserved