Product champions Now playing, at a city near you...

The situation
Technology companies have a longer process for acquiring customers. First, they have to convince customers to use their product; then, they have to educate customers about how to use the product. This online content provider called O’Donnell & Associates to help them develop a plan for marketing their products for use in college courses.

The process
O’Donnell & Associates developed a comprehensive marketing strategy and plan for our client. We created a 6-step process for turning a lead into an adoption, with marketing activities to support each step.

When it came to educating potential users, we knew that nobody could be more effective than their colleagues. We recruited the early adopters of the product to be product champions. We trained them to demo the product and created marketing materials to support their efforts. Then, we worked with our client to set up and facilitate live and online workshops hosted by the people who already use the product.

The results
Our early adopters were so enthusiastic about the product that they became evangelists for our client. Their enthusiasm was infectious. The workshops were well-attended, and hundreds of cautious faculty decided to plunge into the online world with this product. Hearing about the experiences of other faculty who use the product convinced people that it isn’t that mysterious, and that it doesn’t take too much time to develop their own online materials.