When EdTech and academic publishing teams are racing toward launch, pausing to validate what you “already know” can feel like a luxury. Especially when you’ve spent years in the space, know your users inside and out, and have internal expertise to back every strategic decision. But that confidence is exactly what makes some of the … Read more
In product strategy conversations, teams often ask: “What are our customers telling us?” But an equally important—and often overlooked—question is this: “What aren’t they saying?” In higher education and EdTech, product teams rely heavily on feedback. Yet some of the most valuable insights never show up in survey results or support tickets. They live in … Read more
In higher education, decisions often hinge on numbers: adoption rates, revenue, conversion metrics. These are useful, but they rarely tell the full story. The earliest indicators of a coming shift in user behavior or market demand aren’t loud metrics—they’re quiet clues. Things like improvised workarounds, unexpected drop-off in feature usage, or friction that users don’t … Read more
When products fail, it is rarely due to poor intentions or lack of effort. More often, they fail because the product, its positioning, or its pricing does not align with market needs. This disconnect is exactly what product validation is designed to prevent. Product validation confirms that what you are building—and how you are bringing … Read more
Our last blog post listed 5 common reasons customers drop their ed tech products that surface when we conduct Win/Loss interviews. Below is the rest of the list we promised in the last post: Implementation and Integration: Trust and Security: Product Delivery: Market/Industry Factors: Internal Factors: Lack of Awareness/Education: There are a lot of reasons … Read more
When you’re conducting a research study, there are a few things that must be aligned: It sounds like common sense, but we have found that the more stakeholders (from more departments) that are involved in a study, the harder it is to stay focused on the specific reason for the study. We’ve seen this time … Read more
When creating an educational technology product there are a lot of elements to consider. There’s a lot of features that are expected in K12 and higher ed products. And that’s before you get into the content of your product that makes it unique to others on the market. So, how do you ensure that you’re … Read more
By: Gina Boedeker
In today’s competitive landscape knowing why, exactly, you won or lost an adoption is *critical* information.
But win/loss interviews cannot, and should not, be considered as a one-time event. Companies that implement a win/loss market research process are able to gain crucial insights on a regular basis about customer behavior, competitive positioning, and product performance.
By: Gina Boedeker
Questions to Ask a Potential Market Research Partner.
If you are looking for a trusted market research partner and you’re not sure how to best source companies that specialize in this area, below is a list of questions to consider when interviewing potential partners.
By: Gina Boedeker
Unfortunately, no. No one can say with 100% certainty that a product will succeed.
But, there are ways to minimize the risk of failure and significantly increase the odds of a successful launch.