Two part series: Getting to the Core of What Makes Your Edtech Organization Different and How to Get Schools and Districts to Notice
Part I: Getting to the Core of What Makes Your Edtech Organization Different
An important component of an edtech’s brand identity has to do with its environment. A very important part of the environment is competition. In this two part series, we’ll look at getting to the core of what makes an edtech company different from its competition, and how to get schools and districts to notice.
Most companies don’t ignore their competition, but it’s difficult enough to get sales and it’s easy to miss details about your competition. Without looking at those details though, you might be missing some opportunity to make strategic moves that will strengthen your brand (and get more clients).
The Competitive Landscape—a Different View
Starting with your target market’s perspective is really important to understand their their problems. How are you helping them solve these problems? Think about how your competitors are solving the same problem. To get a full perspective on the competitive environment, consider Porter’s Five Competitive Forces.
Porter’s Five Competitive Forces
Michael Porter of Harvard University first described the five competitive forces in an industry. These are the threat of:
substitute products or services
new entrants
bargaining power of suppliers
bargaining power of customers
established rivals
Substitutes can be a different technology (or non-tech option) that solves the same problem.
New entrants are affected by profitability of the industry and barriers to entry like patents or brand equity.
Bargaining power of customers can affect prices. If there’s lots of alternatives, buyers have more power.
Bargaining power of suppliers is higher if there’s no substitute for a supplier, for example a particular programmer or amazing teaching consultant.
Rivals are the main focus of competition in an industry. Brand relevance and innovation play a major part in an edtech’s ability to compete with rivals.
Analyzing the Competition
Here are some questions to ask about your rival competition:
· What are their strengths and weaknesses?
· What is their strategy?
· Is there a sense of why they’re in the business?
· What’s their positioning – price leader, unique feature?
· How detailed is the product description on the web site, what’s missing?
· What subjects does the blog cover?
· Where and what do they advertise?
· Check online reviews
· In which accounts have you run into them why do the school districts choose you over them? Or them over you?
Add your edtech company to the analysis and then ask, what are we really good at? What could we improve upon? What could we do to really stand out? Think of ways that your edtech organization can make their life better than any other option.
