Leveraging Customer Testimonials: Your Secret Weapon in Edtech
Are you friction-free? What you can do to make it easier for your customers
Why are some businesses more successful than others?
Is it because they provide a better solution technically?
Is it because they were first to market?
Or is it just luck?
You could say all these statements are true, however, more often than not it is the way you look at a solution and how easy it is for a potential customer to purchase, on board, reduce their pain, and continue to enjoy the experience of working with your solution and business. It’s all about reducing friction.
We work and continue to work with several businesses across the edtech world and, in the main, the majority of companies that are not growing as quickly as they would like comes down to how hard are they making it for customers to either buy in the first place or make it hard for them to choose to stay, its all in your power to solve!
Look at your Customer Journey, look at every step, and understand when you are making it hard for the customer/user.
Ask yourself:
- Have you made it easy for the potential customer to find you and know what you stand for? Where do they receive their information?
- Have you made it easy for them to purchase? Do they know you are going to take away a problem better than your competition?
- Have you made it easy for them to onboard? Through little to no manual or human interaction.
- Have you made it easy for them to get to the value? This may include human intervention to understand best practices, however, if you can make it light touch this is great for the business and your customer.
- Do you have processes of ensuring that the customer continues to have a great experience of the solution and the business? To make the decision to be loyal easy.
If you say yes to all these questions, ask one more! Are you looking at this from your perspective or the customer’s? If you answer from yours, as we know best, you are not reducing Friction!
The Importance of Innovators
If, like me, you believe your greatest marketing and sales tool is through advocacy and referral (i.e. having others talk about your product and getting them selling the virtues of how your solution will benefit likeminded customers with the same need) then you will believe this approach will drive the strongest growth and, if you get it right, a strong bond between you and your customer base going forward.
I have never over the years found a greater marketing and sales machine than ‘bought into customers’, where the client through developing a great relationship with you then progresses to buying into the brand and solutions you deliver. They become your unofficial ambassadors.
The first and the greatest voice of these customers you want onboard, are the customers that everyone is looking towards to guide the market, these are your innovators. If you are entering into an existing market with a new product, and you have a prior relationship with any of this influential group then gather them together to give them a close up look at your product. Get them excited and engaged so they will talk about and promote your product.
If it is a new market, you are going to have to do some work on segmentation of the market and start building personas as to what an innovator looks like in this new market. Then start to build relationships with these innovators either on a 1-2-1 basis or via group consultation.
In a new market, once the innovators have bought into your culture and vision, you need to show how working with you will help change the market. When they are excited with the vision, now get them engaged with the product you are going to launch, you can do this in a number of ways but some ideas are: Offer them an incentive to take a look at your new product before anyone else; get them on the pilot providing feedback; offer them a years free subscription.
Ultimately whatever tool you are using to bring the innovators onboard, if you can get the innovators to understand and start talking to the market about the value of the product you are launching, you will move from the innovator to early adopter phase of the maturity model much quicker than through direct mailing or other marketing techniques.
Remember, innovators generally are happy to take a risk on a new solution if they feel it gives them a competitive advantage.
Customer testimonials are one of THE biggest marketing tools you can have in your kitbag when it comes to selling in the education sector as peer-to-peer advocacy is everything.
Here’s why you should ask for them and share them:
1. They build trust.
Testimonials from satisfied customers serve as social proof, building trust and credibility in your brand. Potential customers are more likely to trust the experiences of their peers.
2. They help you win new business.
Positive testimonials showcase your product’s value proposition and demonstrate real-world benefits. They can be powerful tools in persuading potential customers to choose your EdTech solution over competitors.
3. They help you retain customers.
Happy customers are your best advocates. Sharing their positive experiences not only reinforces their loyalty but also encourages retention by highlighting the value your platform delivers.
If you don’t already, start gathering and sharing customer testimonials to increase brand presence and drive growth.
It’s #testimonialtuesday today so why not share one in the comments straight away! 👇