Most edtech companies don’t have a product problem. They don’t even have a positioning problem.

They have a language problem.

I see it constantly:

“Empowering educators with transformative insights to optimise outcomes.”

It sounds impressive. It sounds strategic. It sounds… completely disconnected from real life in a school.

No one in a staffroom talks like that. Not at 8.10am when they’re trying to find cover for a colleague who’s called in sick. Not at 4.45pm when they’re finally dealing with that parent email. Certainly not during an Ofsted visit.

When growth slows or sales cycles stretch, edtech leaders often assume the issue is visibility, pricing, or competition. But in many cases, it’s simpler than that: your audience doesn’t hear themselves in your words. And when people don’t recognise their own reality in your messaging, they don’t trust it.

 

Why Language Matters More Than Features

Schools are under pressure. Relentless, grinding pressure.

Budget scrutiny. Staff shortages. Inspection anxiety. Safeguarding complexity. Data overload.

When school leaders evaluate technology today, they’re not looking for “innovative ecosystems” or “transformative solutions.” They’re asking four fundamental questions:

• Will this save me time?
• Will this reduce stress?
• Will this stand up to inspection?
• Will this actually work in our school?

The best edtech companies have figured this out. They don’t sound polished, they sound real.

Compare the difference:

Solutionese: “Delivering actionable data insights through an intuitive interface.”

Staffroom language: “Five minutes to find it. Not fifty.” “No more Sunday night data panic.” “When Ofsted asks, you’re ready.”

One speaks to procurement theory, the other speaks to lived experience.

This shift is about grounding it in reality: clarity beats cleverness and, in a crowded market, clarity is your differentiator.

 

The Pattern Behind High-Performing edtech Messaging

If you look closely at the best-performing edtech brands, you’ll notice common traits. They say things like:

“Less clicking. More teaching.”

“One login. One version of the truth.”

“Know which child needs you — today.”

“Admin sorted before first period.”

“Built for real school days. Not perfect demos.”

The common thread is, it sounds like something someone might actually say in the car park after work.

That tone builds connection. Connection builds trust. Trust shortens sales cycles. Trust improves close rates. Trust drives renewals.

Messaging is more than just marketing fluff – it’s commercial infrastructure.

 

How to Fix Your edtech Messaging

If I were advising an edtech business management team tomorrow, here’s what I’d suggest:

 

1. Audit Your Website Out Loud

Literally read it out loud. Ask yourself: “Would an actual teacher say this?”

If it sounds like it came from a procurement framework template, it probably needs rewriting. Real people don’t speak in corporate abstractions. They speak in concrete problems and tangible solutions.

2. Replace Abstract Claims with Real Moments

Swap this: “Driving operational efficiency.”

For this: “Fewer tabs. Fewer headaches.” Or: “From firefighting to foresight.”

Concrete beats conceptual every time. Abstract language forces your audience to translate. Concrete language lands immediately.

3. Listen to Sales Calls Properly

Not for objections. Not for closing technique. Listen for language.

How do school leaders actually describe their problems? What words do they use? What metaphors emerge naturally?

Steal their phrasing. Use their metaphors. Mirror their reality.

Your best messaging is already sitting in your CRM notes. You just need to pay attention to it.

4. Involve Product in the Narrative

Messaging isn’t just marketing’s job. If product, sales, and customer success aren’t aligned around the same language, you create friction:

Marketing attracts one audience. Sales talks to another. Product builds for a third.

High-performing edtech teams speak with one voice. Everyone from the CEO to the support team should be able to articulate your value proposition in language that sounds like it came from a staffroom, not a boardroom.

5. Make Simplicity a Strategy

In edtech, complexity kills momentum. If your value proposition requires explanation, you’re making growth harder than it needs to be.

Simple messaging doesn’t mean simple thinking. It means disciplined thinking. It means doing the hard work of clarity so your audience doesn’t have to.

The Commercial Impact Most People Miss

The thing that rarely gets discussed is that language affects everything.

Demo conversion rates. Time to decision. Stakeholder alignment. Renewal conversations. Referral behaviour.

When your messaging reflects real school life, buyers feel understood. When buyers feel understood, they move faster. They ask fewer questions. They involve fewer stakeholders. They say yes more quickly.

Growth doesn’t always require more leads – sometimes it requires better words.

 

The Disconnect Between How You Talk and How Schools Think

If I’m being completely honest, if you’ve never worked in a school, your instinct for how to talk to schools is probably wrong.

You think they want to hear about:

• Innovation
• Transformation
• Ecosystems
• Synergies
• Optimisation

They actually want to hear about:

• Getting home before 6pm
• Not being caught out by Ofsted
• Knowing which children are slipping through the cracks
• Having the right answer when a governor asks an awkward question
• Not having to log into five different systems to find one piece of information

The gap between these two lists is where deals die.

 

What Real School Language Sounds Like

I’ve spent twenty years listening to how schools actually talk. Here’s what it sounds like:

“I spent two hours yesterday trying to work out why the attendance data didn’t match between the two systems.”

“We’ve got governors in next week and I still can’t give them a straight answer on pupil premium impact.”

“If one more person asks me for a report I have to build from scratch…”

“I need to know this will actually work with SIMS. Not ‘integrates with’ – actually works.”

“Show me I can trust this before I have to explain it to the head.”

This is the language of real problems, real pressure, real days. If your messaging doesn’t sound like this, you’re not speaking to the people who make decisions.

The Test That Reveals Everything

Here’s a simple test: take your homepage copy and read it to someone who works in a school. Not during a formal meeting. Just in conversation.

If they nod along and say “yes, exactly” – you’ve got it right.

If they look slightly confused or say “I suppose so” – you’ve got a language problem.

If they can’t remember what you said five minutes later – you’ve got a serious language problem.

The best messaging doesn’t require processing, it’s understood immediately because it articulates something your audience already thinks but hasn’t heard anyone else say out loud.

Why This Matters More Now Than Ever

The edtech market is crowded. Schools are overwhelmed with choice. Budgets are tighter. Scrutiny is higher.

In this environment, clarity is a commercial necessity. When two products do roughly the same thing at roughly the same price, schools choose the one that made them feel understood. The one that sounded like it was built by people who actually get what their day is like.

Your product might be excellent. Your roadmap might be ambitious. Your team might be talented. But if your language creates distance instead of connection, you’re working against yourself.

Final Thought

Connection beats polish. Every time.

If your copy feels safe but forgettable, it’s probably costing you. Every day. In ways you’re not measuring.

So here’s a simple challenge: when was the last time you read your website out loud and asked, “Would an actual teacher say this?”

If the answer is no, you’ve found your next growth lever.

It won’t require a rebrand. It won’t require new features. It won’t require hiring more salespeople.

It requires the discipline to sound like the people you’re trying to help.

That’s harder than it sounds. But it’s also more valuable than most edtech companies realise.

 

 

Working on your edtech positioning or messaging? I help edtech businesses develop language that actually lands with schools. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss your approach.