Edtech tool vendors’ biggest challenge is locating a buyer who has a budget and is ready to buy. Gaining the first round of buyers is critical to proving product market fit. Using Customer Success tools, these early adopters could yield important behavioral data that can be used to refine lead generation (i.e., targets, call to action, etc.). This B2C approach creates product awareness and provides user research, but eventually, a B2B engagement will be necessary for significant revenue. Below is one example of how to use a B2C strategy in conjunction with a B2B strategy.
A B2B sales pitch is viable if you have several educators from the same school district or school. If not, you can always target a range of educators at a single school. The sandbox experience will be role-based and meant to create an ah-ha moment for the user without having to actually onboard the product. This is especially important for decision makers like principals and supers who will generally care about different ah-ha moments from the users who regularly use the product. Ah-ha moments for these folks will likely be analytical in nature and show the impact of the product. Since the product hasn’t actually been implemented the data will dummy data tailored to each user’s sandbox and built to evoke a different ah-ha moment.
The sandbox experience can be impactful, but it can also be fleeting. This means that the value demonstrated needs to be reinforced. For example, follow-up communications should solicit feedback on the value of the sandbox experience. Another communication could provide a recap of the experience to emphasize the value. In that communication, additional value can be surfaced from the broader user community.
