Open Source Resource

Instructions

Here are some questions that you should answer before you market or implement Open Source Solution projects.

You have to know who your are marketing to, and you have to know what your marketing message is.

Of course, your marketing message should be targeted to the most painful needs that your clients have.

For education, our clients are teachers and students.

Here are the questions. Don’t leave any question unanswered. In fact, think of more questions to add to these.

The time you spend answering these questions will be returned to you, both in time that you didn’t waste and money that you didn’t squander.

Real-World Marketing Questions

1. What motivates the use of Open Source in school districts? Is the motivation for improving teaching and learning, for enhancing instruction and making changes? Or, is the motivation for less than ideal reasons such as “saving money?”
2. Where do the teachers and students that want to implement Open Source Solutions come from? What strategies, techniques, methods and resources will help them?
3. What keeps these teachers and students interested in Open Source Solutions? What payoffs do they expect? Can Open Source Solutions deliver in ways that fulfill these expectations?
4. What are the best methods of reaching teachers and students with the Open Source Solution message? What benefits must this message convey?
5. What marketing methods attract the most teachers and students? What percentage of new “clients” come from each method?
6. How do we test different methods of marketing to determine which method generates the most teacher and student interest?
7. How do we connect with teacher and students to communicate confidence in Open Source Solutions? How much information (how-to documents, case studies, tutorials) and how much follow-up do we need to convince teachers and students that Open Source Solutions offer viable options?
8. What kinds of teachers are more amenable to trusting Open Source Solutions? What teachers distrust Open Source Solutions?
9. Would our marketing be more effective in attracting new teachers and students, or, more effective in providing services and support to teachers and students that have already implemented Open Source Solutions?
10. What factors cause teachers and students to abandon Open Source Solutions in favor of other options?
11. Who else benefits from teachers and students implementing Open Source Solutions? (Family members, Community Members?)
12. How many suppliers, vendors, relatives of school district executives will loose money if school districts adopt Open Source Solutions? How might these special interests sabotage Open Source proposals?
13. What suppliers, vendor and relative of school district executives might become motivated to support proposals for Open Source Solutions if there were payoffs for them?
14. When teachers and students become advocates for Open Source Solutions, what messages to they convey?
15. How do we describe exactly what Open Source Solutions do, describe exactly what the benefits are; and most importantly, how do we measure instructional improvements and student outcomes that are directly tied to Open Source Solutions?
16. What philosophy of education directly relates to successful implementation of Open Source Solutions? For example, project-based, engaged learning; constructivist thinking, creative problem-solving of real-world problems, etc.)
17. When we have upgraded teachers’ and students’ attitudes, knowledge and skills through professional development and training, what other allied skills and applications have we equipped them for?
18. How will teachers and students change for the better by applying Open Source Solutions? What negatives can accrue to teachers and students from the implementation of Open Source Solutions?
19. What numbers of teaches and students opt for Open Source Solutions? Where are these individuals located? What demographics and psychographics differentiate these individuals?
20. What is the length of time that teachers and students stay with Open Source Solutions? Do these groups drop Open Source Solutions as soon as they find other employment, graduate or attend schools of higher education? What is the staying power of Open Source Solutions once teachers and students become familiar with the resources?
21. What about Open Source Solutions distinguish them from freeware and commercial solutions? Which of these distinguishing characteristics matter to teachers and students?
22. Does our Open Source marketing consistently repeat the main benefits to teachers and students in every communication that is made to each of these groups?
23. What mix of marketing will we use to reach greater numbers of teachers and students? How will these methods interrelate?
24. What do freeware and commercial solutions offer that Open Source Solutions don’t? How important to teachers and students are these advantages that are missing from Open Source Solutions?
25. What add on support, products or services do we offer to tip the scales in favor of Open Source over freeware and commercial solutions?
26. What are the greatest gaps in suitability, viability and ease of use that freeware and commercial solutions have, and how do we position Open Source Solutions to solve those needs?
27. What do teachers and students really want from Open Source Solutions? How do we know this to be so? Do teachers and students want Open Source Solutions at all?
28. Do teachers and students want to use Open Source Solutions exclusively, or do they want to use a mix of Open Source, freeware and commercial products? What steps can Open Source advocates take to tip the scales in favor of Open Source Solutions?
29. What does it cost to recruit each teacher and student into becoming Open Source users?
30. How many teachers and students, out of the total number of teachers and students, will we be able to recruit? How long will we be able to hold them as Open Source implementers?
31. How do we communicate to Open Source advocates that repeating the “free and cheap” mantras in selling the Open Source concept is detrimental to the Open Source movement in the long run?
32. What have been the biggest marketing successes of Open Source Solutions so far?
33. What is the biggest marketing challenge for Open Source Solutions? What makes this problem or issue so difficult to surmount? What would it take to eliminate this challenge?
34. In what ways could the barriers to Open Source Solutions be decreased or eliminated? What would decrease the risk of adopting Open Source Solutions for teachers and students? For IT Directors and It Staff? For Curriculum Specialists? For School District executive decision-makers?
35. What marketing methods do we use to keep in touch with Open Source Solution adopters? What methods do we use to gather instructional improvement and student outcome data that is directly attributable to Open Source Solutions?
36. Do we have a method for capturing testimonials from teachers and students that document the value and benefits of Open Source Solutions? Do we have a method in place for capturing case studies? For developing and communicating “Best Practices”? For developing tutorials and professional development?
37. Do we have a system in place to solicit referrals to teacher, students, IT Department and other users?
38. What were the results of attempting to reintroduce Open Source Solutions to teachers and students that had adopted these solutions, but now were not implementing them? What factors, benefits and services would convince these teaches and students to use Open Source Solutions again?
39. What ways can we work with service providers, suppliers, vendors, consultants and other Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to partner for joining Open Source and commercial solutions?
40. What methods do we use to communicate to teachers and students that our efforts at promoting Open Source Solutions are geared to help them? How do we overcome that perception that Open Source Solutions are…
    • Just for “Techies” and for people who like to play with computers
    • Too hard to use
    • Inferior products that the school district wants to “pawn off” on teachers and students to save money
41. What ways can we get teachers and students that have adopted at least one Open Source Solution to adopt more Open Source products and to become more heavily committed to multiple Open Source Solutions?
42. Can we barter our products, services, support or subject matter content for other products or services that will promote greater implementation of Open Source Solutions?
43. What kinds of guarantees can we provide to teachers and students to minimize the risk that these groups take in adopting untried, semi-compatible, non-standard solutions such as Open Source products?
44. How fast to adopters of Open Source Solutions drop off and quit using these solutions?
45. What are the most used Open Source Solutions, and what do these solutions offer that other Open Source products fail to provide?
46. Where do we recruit our best prospects for adopting Open Source Solutions? How much does it cost to capture the names of each one of these people? How much does it cost to keep in touch with each one of these people?
47. What ways can Open Source Solutions be differentiated from (and be seen as different) than the Technology Integration Movement? How can Open Source Solutions distance themselves from what teachers perceived to be an odious requirement (Technology Integration) that tended to interfere with quality (efficient and effective) instruction?

Thanks to Jay Abraham for many of these ideas.
Abraham, Jay (2000) Getting Everything you Can out of All you’ve Got. New York: Truman Talley
p. – 50 – 54.