Case Study: Building a K-12 Product Strategy for D2L
Conquering the Largest Edtech Market
The Mission
D2L, a leading LMS provider in Higher Education, recognized the immense potential of the U.S. K-12 market. With 50 million students, over $800 billion in spending, strong government support, and robust infrastructure, it is considered the strongest and largest edtech market in the world. However, as D2L expanded into this market, they faced early challenges with competitive differentiation and customer satisfaction. To address these issues, they sought out specialized market and product expertise.
D2L brought in Terry Boyle, a visionary product management leader, to spearhead the K-12 market efforts.
Discovery
Terry and the team took a data-driven approach to building the strategy. They dove deep into the data, analyzing usage patterns, observing user behavior, and engaging with existing and potential customers. They consulted analysts, pursued internal institutional knowledge, and reviewed top competitors.
“Terry is an exceptional product leader who combines deep product management expertise with a genuine passion for the success of his team.” ~David Horne
The team uncovered several insights around the market, customers, and competitors that were unique to the K-12 market.
Market and customer dynamics: Several pivotal factors were discovered.
- Size imbalance: Student populations vary greatly, with the top 100 districts (less than 1%) representing 10m students (~20%) and the top 500 districts (~3%) accounting for almost 20m students (~40%).
- Resource imbalances: Smaller districts with smaller teams and fewer resources require proportionately greater levels of attention.
- Customer stakeholder alignment: The leaders that make purchase decisions, the administrators that implement the systems, the teachers that use them, and the students and parents that benefit from them – are rarely aligned.
- Student needs vary greatly: K, where students can’t read, is very different than 12, where students are preparing to graduate.
Competitive insights: The team’s research revealed that prominent competitors were treating the K-12 market as an afterthought, resulting in little value for middle school and elementary students. Additionally, free tools with sufficient grassroots teacher adoption were creating a competitive barrier.
Customer experience: The team explored opportunities to enhance the company’s already strong values regarding customer partnership. They discovered that some customers were having a disjointed experience, often feeling as if they were ‘meeting the organization for the first time’ at multiple points from sales through training to implementation.
While some insights appeared self-evident and others counterintuitive on their own, collectively, they began to form a cohesive picture. These learnings highlighted the potential to differentiate by focusing on the distinctive needs of the K-12 customers and delivering value across all educational levels.
Armed with these insights, Terry spearheaded the strategy that defined D2L’s market position.
Strategy
As they formulated the strategy, Terry and the team maintained their commitment to a data-driven approach.
“He has a great ability to not only understand the product, but to really understand the market, the users, and the competition— and then translate it into a strategy with specific actions.” ~Tina McAuley
Product Focus: Recognizing the importance of early education and the opportunity that a focus on young learners would represent, the team chose to concentrate on this area. This allowed them to not only differentiate the offerings but also build a competitive advantage and demonstrate the company’s commitment to the K-12 market.
Market Approach: The strategy for market engagement was tailored to the diversity of the landscape, including:
- Larger Districts: Implementing strategic targeting and utilizing key account strategies to address their specific needs.
- Smaller Districts: Streamlining processes and investing in self-service infrastructure to efficiently meet market demands while creating a sustainable operation.
- Stakeholders: Engaging stakeholders at every level, from leadership to parents, ensuring all voices are heard and integrated.
- Value Proposition: Shifting the focus from features to outcomes, the team also adjusted its messaging to emphasize the benefits of the company’s customer-partnership orientation.
Customer Experience: To enhance satisfaction and foster adoption, the team choose two strategies:
- Customer Journey: Starting from initial contact, the team wanted to streamline the customer journey ensuring a cohesive customer experience through training and implementation and into active usage.
- Pilot Program: This program was needed as a way to refine market strategies and collect ongoing feedback to improve the product, processes, and customer engagement.
The goal of integrating these strategies was to deliver a seamless and customer-centric experience that drove substantial outcome and not only met the current needs but also fostered enduring relationships.
With a clear strategy in place, Terry and the team set out to execute their vision and reposition D2L’s K-12 offering.
Execution and launch
Collaboration and teamwork were key to bringing the strategy to life. In addition to overseeing the roadmap and collaborating with the development teams, Terry partnered with dedicated sales and marketing colleagues to engage and support the broader organization.
Product: The team developed tools to help early learners thrive and achieve their goals. The result was the creation of features like a parent portal, portfolio, and a new content experience. All designed to deliver positive outcomes for young learners.
Customer journey – The team aligned the organization and implemented the practice. Although there were early challenges with communication and availability of materials they preserved. Customers that emerged from the new process were happier and ready to advocate for the product.
Go-to-Market Strategy: The team developed new collateral aimed at engaging both customers and internal stakeholders effectively. Key elements of the strategy included:
- Value Proposition: The team crafted new value propositions that focused on achieving customer goals and delivering tangible outcomes. These propositions were carefully aligned with the products to highlight D2L’s strengths as a committed partner in learning and education.
- Sales Enablement: In close collaboration with the sales team, the strategy was introduced during the annual Sales Kickoff. This collaboration ensured that the sales team was well-prepared to communicate the benefits and support the rollout effectively.
- Pilot Program: The pilot program not only tested the go-to-market strategy but also provided critical feedback that refined the approach. Successfully culminating in the go-to-market launch, the program further evolved to serve as an invaluable sales tool.
The hard work and collaborative approach paid off, leading to impressive results.
Results and Impact
The collaborative approach and the new strategy led to significantly improved customer satisfaction and overall business outcomes. As Ivy Lee noted, “He worked closely with the Marketing team to articulate the value proposition which became the valuable framework for all our communications. Terry is a calm and steady influence and a true ally in the organization.”
“He worked closely with the Marketing team to articulate the value proposition which became the valuable framework for all our communications. Terry is a calm and steady influence and a true ally in the organization.” ~Ivy Lee
Customer impact: The refined customer journey resulted in a more cohesive and satisfying experience, which was well-received by both existing and new customers. The company not only met its adoption targets but also saw continuous performance improvements as the pilots concluded and the learnings were integrated, results continued to improve. Previously at-risk K-12 customers were stable and happy.
Product Success: The market responded positively, appreciating the focus on young learners, which differentiated the organization and created a competitive edge. This strategic focus was validated as Brightspace received the CODiE award for the Best K-12 Learning Management System for two years running, further underscoring the product’s excellence and market acceptance.
The success of D2L’s K-12 product offered valuable lessons that can be carried into today.
Insights for the future
The journey into K-12 provided insightful lessons about the market dynamics and strategic approaches that are universally applicable.
Market learnings: The team had several key insights that are important for crafting any market entry strategy:
- Understanding the market: It’s essential to take time to understand not only the investment and opportunities but also the dynamics among stakeholders, the competitors, and most importantly the customers you aim to serve.
- K-12 specifics: Creating a successful K-12 strategy requires an understanding of unique aspects, notably: K is not the same as 12, student distribution is uneven, and the array of stakeholders is complex.
These insights enabled the team to formulate a tailored and effective strategy. Deep market comprehension of the customers, market and competitive landscape is beneficial for any organization looking to grow in new markets.
Collaborative approach: The initiative’s success was underpinned by a strong collaborative team effort from the outset.
- Internally: Engaging organizational partners early, including sales, marketing, customer implementation, and training teams, is critical as these groups significantly influence post-sale success.
- Customers: Engaging stakeholders at every level helps anticipate and address potential conflicts, ensuring a deep understanding of the audience and their experiences.
Data-driven: Effective strategy hinges on the proper use of data.
- Establish Success Metrics: Use these metrics to steer the discovery and strategic planning phases, ensuring that execution decisions align with these established guidelines.
- Objective Data Analysis: Focus on holistically validating strategies and uncovering new insights, rather than merely confirming pre-existing opinions.
Wrap Up
Today, D2L continues to extend its leadership in the K-12 market. The foundation laid by Terry and his team has positioned the company for sustained growth and impact in the market. By staying true to its learner-centric philosophy and partnership approach to customers, D2L is poised to continue to shape the future of education technology.
Let’s Collaborate 👥
Want to discuss product and market strategies for K-12? At TCY consulting we are passionate about the mission of educational technology and experts in the business. Based in New England but working globally, we transform visionary ideas into tangible, successful outcomes. Let’s connect and discuss how we can elevate your product management to new heights.
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Building K-12 Product Strategy
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Building K-12 Product Strategy