We see the fusion between education and ed-tech is redefining the traditional learning playbook. More and more institutions are adopting more accessible, interactive, and personalized educational experiences.
Interestingly, ed-tech school usage has increased by 99% in the past 3 years.
However, you must think beyond offering quality products and services to thrive in the ed-tech industry.
You need the ability to navigate the intricate web of decision-makers who influence the adoption of educational technologies.
But who has the authority to decide, and how can your business find and approach them?
Our guide has all the answers. We share the ways of identifying and engaging with the right individuals.
But first,
Let’s understand the types of decision-makers in the education business.
It is a structured framework defining critical stakeholders' roles and responsibilities.
Understanding the structure helps in creating education lead-generation strategies that target high-value decision-makers.
Here is the list of key individuals that make up the hierarchy:
They hold the power to steer the overall direction of educational institutions. Their main task is to make strategic decisions about:
You need to adopt the following approach to impress these individuals:
Operating at the school level, these individuals are on the front lines of education. They oversee day-to-day operations and act as conduits between board decisions and the practical tool implementation in the classroom.
Thus, they play an essential role in evaluating ed-tech solutions. However, the significance of their feedback varies on how much they can influence:
They ensure the chosen solutions align with their institution's needs and dynamics.
The best approaches to appeal to principals include:
These individuals ensure the chosen ed-tech tools seamlessly integrate into existing infrastructures. They also contribute to technologically advanced and pedagogically effective learning.
Here's how to impress them:
They have a nuanced understanding of specific subject areas. Thus, the heads provide valuable input on aligning ed-tech solutions with curricular goals and teaching practices.
They ensure innovative solutions are conducive to each subject area's educational content and methodologies.
Here is how to entice them:
The visible hierarchy of titles and positions mentioned above only scratches the surface. A cadre of hidden influencers exists beyond the superintendent's office and the school board meetings. Their perspectives and opinions can significantly shape the course of technology adoption within the educational ecosystem.
These influencers are often composed of teachers, parents, and community members.
Here's how these hidden influencers impact the decision-making process:
As the backbone of the education system, teachers stand on the front lines of the classroom. They firsthand experience the impact of technological interventions.
For example, incorporating an online teaching platform for remote students depends on their suggestions. It’s because they are the ones who will use the platform for daily lectures.
They are the ones who witness how ed-tech solutions:
Their experiences and feedback, therefore, hold immense weight when making technology adoption decisions.
Thus, you must engage with teachers, understand their needs, and incorporate their insights to design their sales process.
Nowadays, there's an increase in parental involvement in education. Parents can exert influence by championing specific ed-tech solutions that align with their values and expectations for their child's education.
Their experience-based perspective and interest in their children's academic journey are crucial to the decision-making process.
Thus, you must acknowledge and understand parental perspectives. Parents' support can significantly impact the acceptance and success of technology integration initiatives.
Beyond the immediate educational community, active members such as Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) leaders or local business representatives can influence school board decisions.
Due to a genuine interest in educational innovation, their advocacy can sway opinions on technology purchases.
Businesses should consider community members' insights. They can show target stakeholders the broader social and cultural context around tech implementation in the academic environment.
However, they need to find their targeted decision-makers among the diverse base of these stakeholders.
Here are three conventional methods you can use to find education business decision-makers:
LinkedIn is the best professional networking platform for B2B lead generation. It features a filtered search option to find targeted decision-makers. You can get insights into individuals' job titles, roles, and connections within a company.
You can upgrade to LinkedIn’s paid service- Sales Navigator. The service offers more advanced search filters, including:
This service also gathers information like:
Thus, LinkedIn has become an excellent tool to identify target decision-makers and understand their professional backgrounds.
Limitations: Not all decision-makers may have a LinkedIn profile. Even if they do, the information on their roles and responsibilities may be outdated. Sometimes, LinkedIn profiles may not accurately reflect a company's hierarchy and decision-making structure.
Many companies provide organizational charts, executive bios, and contact information on their official websites. Typically, you can discover such information on the "About" page of the website. The page usually lists the company's leadership team. Additionally, executive profiles of the company display the personnel's full names and their respective job roles.
These are valuable resources for understanding the organizational structure and identifying key decision-makers.
Limitations: Smaller companies or startups may not have detailed website information. Larger organizations may have complex structures. The information may not always be easily accessible, up-to-date, or accurate. Additionally, decision-makers may not always be prominently featured on the website.
You can access centralized sources for key personnel details across various industries via industry-specific databases. By consulting these directories, you can efficiently navigate through organizational hierarchies. It helps gain insights into the roles and responsibilities of decision-makers.
These platforms often include profiles of executives, managers, and leaders and links to the company's official website. Thus, such databases can provide a comprehensive view of the professionals in a particular sector.
Limitations: The information in industry directories may not always be current or accurate. It may also be limited in scope, especially for niche industries or emerging sectors. Relying solely on directories may result in overlooking key decision-makers who are not listed.
The above methods can be effective, but they may lack accuracy. A study shows how inaccurate data negatively impacted 88% of businesses. Thus, you need to think beyond these traditional methods that can provide more accurate information.
Besides conventional methods, you can use more advanced education sector lead gen tactics.
Among all, the most impactful methods are listed below:
It is also known as social media monitoring or social listening. Use it to monitor social media channels for mentions, keywords, and conversations relevant to your brand, industry, or topic.
Social listening tools like Mention and Sprout Social can help monitor:
Thus, you can quickly pinpoint the influential voices of their target decision-makers.
For instance, you can track hot discussions around the education-based issue your solution solves across social channels. It’ll help you create appealing posts to entice decision-makers who are active on their respective channels.
Besides static posts, you can upload videos, product photos, or text updates.
Patent data encompasses the technical details in patent documents and pertinent legal and business-related information. They typically include an initial page containing fundamental details like the invention's title and name.
Thus, you can build a list of emerging innovators and potential partnerships by examining the ed-tech patent applications.
Further, through patent data analytics, you can derive data-backed insights. You can use the information to support decision-making across various business scenarios. These include:
Academia is pivotal in driving ed-tech innovation by serving as both:
Involved researchers and educators can identify emerging pedagogical needs and technological gaps. Thus, they are often open to collaboration with industry partners to contribute:
-that shapes the design and implementation of practical ed-tech tools.
You can leverage academic reports to connect with educators, technologists, and researchers. These may form their target decision-makers.
Tools like Google Scholar, Scopus, EBSCO, etc., are helpful to monitor educational technology research publications. They enable you to identify influential educators and researchers.
You must foster relationships within your industry-based niche forums. It'll lead to meaningful collaborations with decision-makers who actively contribute to and influence discussions in these spaces.
Actively participate in these platforms by sharing insights and expert knowledge/opinions to build credibility. It also establishes valuable connections with fellow participants and gives a sense of a strong community of like-minded individuals.
It's a proactive way to connect with decision-makers.
How Revnew helped a course creation company to set meetings with relevant decision-makers.
Here are some tips to build a meaningful connection with target individuals:
Networking is an invaluable tool for identifying and engaging with ed-tech decision-makers.
Here are the top three ways businesses can do networking:
Before sharing content, you must understand the target decision-makers' interests, challenges, and preferences. Then, you should tailor content to address their specific needs. It should be high-quality, relevant, and provide value to the audience. For example, insightful articles, whitepapers, case studies, or industry reports.
You can use the following channels to generate education leads through outbound marketing:
You should make the most of accessible collaborations with companies that are mutually beneficial.
Here are some steps to do so effectively:
Create a nurturing campaign for a long-term relationship with a series of strategic steps to:
-with your audience over time. The goal is to provide consistent value and stay top-of-mind of target decision-makers.
Here are the ways to do so:
It ensures your shared content is relevant to where the target decision-maker is in the customer journey.
The sensitive nature of educational data underscores the need for conscientious practices. Thus, you must respect privacy and uphold the industry's ethical standards, particularly when identifying decision-makers. Some key points to consider include:
As the education landscape evolves, your thinking beyond traditional methods will catalyze innovation and transformative change. Thus, you must embrace more precise and newer strategies that can bring success to your ed-tech businesses. This way, you can unlock a forward-thinking mindset, which may open unique business opportunities for you.
To turbocharge your efforts, connect with Revnew. We have expertise in generating high-value education leads. Plus, we can customize our marketing methods around your business needs. So, contact us today to know what we can do for your business.