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Selling and Marketing Digital Products: New Course Launching June 2009

 

March 2009

 

 

Rebecca Jones will be one of the tutors teaching the new Selling and Marketing Digital Products course. Here she answers a few questions about the course.

What are the digital products covered in this course?

Digital products here refer to a teaching or learning resource that teachers can use to teach the curriculum, monitor pupil progress and measure attainment levels. It is produced in a digital format that teachers can integrate into their day to day lesson plans using technology in the classroom.

 

The most successful digital products are the ones that do what teachers are currently doing - but better! The reason a teaching or learning resource is published in a digital format is because it enhances the teaching and learning experience. The main benefits that digital resources bring to the classroom are:

• Personalised learning (high on the government agenda across all areas of the curriculum)
• Inclusivity (there is more scope to be inclusive using digital delivery than in book format)
• Differentiation/levelled learning (as these can be seamlessly presented to pupils in a way that is more difficult in printed resources)

Automated marking, record keeping and assessment tracking are also of huge benefit to teachers and can save them considerable time, especially if the teaching and learning resources are integrated with back-end systems such as SIMS.

 

How is it different, in marketing terms, from a traditional book?

The key difference is the decision-making process – teachers want to see a digital product working before they will make a buying decision. This requires very different methods of conveying information about the product, the calls to action and the selling process.

 

A traditional book can be marketed through printed material using sample pages, a mechanism to request an inspection copy and an order form. Textbooks will sell better in a face to face setting, but free book mailings can also produce orders.

 

With a digital product, there are more steps that a teacher will go through in their buying decision, including seeing the product working. Online trials and demo CDs have their place, but each rely on the customer to sell the product to themselves at the end of the day. The trick is to make the process as straightforward as possible. The customer needs to be reassured that they will not be faced with technical issues they can’t resolve once they’ve bought it – this is not easy!

 

What are the particular challenges or opportunities facing marketers, sales people and publishers at the moment?

Opportunities

The market has evolved quite a lot over the last five to six years and teachers are more receptive to digital solutions than they used to be. The knowledge and experience level in the classroom has grown, giving teachers more confidence when it comes to using new products. What’s more, the government has invested substantial amounts in hardware (including Vertical Learning Environments) and training for schools, making it easier for schools to use digital content in the classroom.

 

Challenges

Even though the market has progressed, there is still a long way to go and it is really only still in its infancy. As technology develops, products can become out of date and need up-grading. Digital products require a greater level of investment compared to print resources, making it more difficult for publishers to compete in this area.

 

What experience do you have that will be useful to share with others on this subject?

I have learnt a huge amount, through trial and error, about the way teachers want to evaluate and choose digital products. I have a much better understanding of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to the marketing and selling processes and I have a good idea as to where schools are at the moment when it comes to using technology to deliver curriculum content in the classroom. The number of schools that have adopted a VLE to use across the school is surprisingly low and many schools (particularly Secondary) prefer to buy and use products particular to their subject area.

 

Why do you think this course is timely now?

There is a lot of good practice out there and a wealth of experience that can be shared in a relatively new market!

 

For more details, go to our course page: Selling and Marketing Digital Products

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