As marketers, we spend countless hours tending to customer advocacy initiatives to build our products’ reputation through peer reviews, testimonials, case studies, etc. Today’s buyers can quickly and easily gather information independently via digital channels, meaning our sales teams have fewer opportunities to influence customer decisions and our reputation tactics are more important than ever. In fact, according to Gartner “…when B2B buyers are considering a purchase‚ they spend only 17% of that time meeting with potential suppliers.” The pressure to build brand awareness and product differentiation keeps us in a continuous cycle of surveying customers for critical feedback and broadcasting customer advocacy in every way possible.
Although the process is tedious, marketers have an unswerving focus on the voice of the customer because no matter how many eBooks or whitepapers we publish, those publications will never hold the value of – or build trust and credibility as quickly and often as – feedback from like-minded peers. Because this has proven to be the most valuable and persuasive asset in the evaluation and selection process, we rely heavily on our “Promoters” – often leading to fatigue and burnout of our most coveted advocates. Not to mention, the moment Sales runs up against the latest trend in online review sites, we’re off chasing the next set of reviews to keep up with the competition.
Unfortunately, this online review conundrum is not likely to go away in the foreseeable future for us marketers. And as our grass roots efforts lose spark, we find ourselves increasing budget as we seek a greater level of online profile visibility and integration with our Account Based Marketing (ABM) initiatives. It’s no wonder we find this ongoing effort tedious, costly, and downright exhausting.
Surveys, Reviews, and Product Feedback
The most comfortable and convenient time to ask customers to share positive feedback is often immediately following semi-annual or annual satisfaction or Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys. And, of course, this allows strategic selection of voices “heard” online by potential buyers. In addition, we are often tasked with collecting product feedback through these same surveys to help influence product capability and roadmap decisions. But is it ever sufficient product feedback? No. Therefore, our Product Teams set out on an entirely different mission to find the appropriate level of rigor and scrutiny both within and outside of the current customer base. Insert budget line item for product roundtable/forums.
Unbiased Assessment and Actionable Insights
What if I told you there was a third-party service that collected rigorous data and insights from 40+ hours of experienced educator assessment on your products and delivered those unbiased and validated findings in a verification report to help substantiate your products’ claims? Which do you think your potential buyers would find more credible – online reviews or in-depth third-party verification?
Veracity Verification Solutions can help bridge the gap between Educators and EdTech Providers. The Veracity Verification Report builds trust and credibility, leverages Educator expertise, gains buy-in with Procurement stakeholders, and expedites the dreaded – but necessary – RFP process.
An Alternative Approach to Differentiation
School Districts are leaning into Veracity’s Verifications to maximize resources and gain trust in the EdTech purchasing process. EdTech Marketers can get ahead of this movement and showcase product differentiation, gain internal alignment, and influence positive product development velocity that will drive new business and increase customer lifetime value.
Dare to compare the return on investment with online reviews versus true, verified product assessment that enables buyers to make purchasing decisions quickly and confidently. Contact us to learn more and make the move towards rapid time-to-value and improved student outcomes for every school district.
Author: Amy Robertson
Chief Revenue Officer, Veracity Verification Solutions
