--- title: "Strategic Marketing Tactics: Reaching K12 Districts Effectively" description: In this blog post, we will explore effective marketing tactics specifically tailored for reaching K-12 districts, focusing on leveraging word of mouth and aligning your go to market plans to the K-12 purchasing phases. image: https://pcassin.com/hubfs/K-12%20buying%20cycle%20v2.png --- [Skip to content](https://pcassin.com/blog/strategic-marketing-tactics-reaching-k12-districts-effectively#main-content) [![paula cassin personal brand](https://pcassin.com/hs-fs/hubfs/paula%20cassin%20transparent%20logo-1.png?width=448&height=206&name=paula%20cassin%20transparent%20logo-1.png "paula cassin personal brand")](https://pcassin.com/) - [Resources](https://pcassin.com/b2b-marketing-resources-to-download-and-use-immediately) - [Great Marketing Finds](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/great-finds) - [Blog](https://pcassin.com/blog) - [Marketing](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/marketing), - [K12](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/k12) # Strategic Marketing Tactics: Reaching K12 Districts Effectively ![a diagram showing 6 quarters and the k12 buying phases and the parallel go-to-market phases for edtech.](https://pcassin.com/hubfs/K-12%20buying%20cycle%20v2.png) - March 5, 2024 ![Paula Cassin](https://pcassin.com/hubfs/headshot%202.png) [Paula Cassin](https://pcassin.com/blog/author/paula-cassin) B2B marketers and salespeople serving K-12 schools and districts know that the go-to-market strategy for this industry is rather particular. There's a distinct annual purchasing cycle AND a very, very strong word-of-mouth effect. Marketing and sales need to align their efforts to each K-12 purchasing phase and build great relationships with customer champions and evangelists. ## Understanding the K-12 Education Landscape Here's a diagram of the general K-12 buying cycle that's helpful for quarterly planning your sales and marketing efforts: ![K-12 buying cycle v2](https://pcassin.com/hs-fs/hubfs/K-12%20buying%20cycle%20v2.png?width=1366&height=768&name=K-12%20buying%20cycle%20v2.png) Most schools and districts want to launch new tools or software at the *beginning* of a new school year. 🍎 Adding new requirements or changing processes in the middle of the school is extremely risky - just imagine the reaction from staff or educators if you were to switch platforms in the middle of an academic year. 😬 This sets up a general K12 purchasing/acquisition cycle as follows: - Identify top needs/pain points *near the end of the school year* - Set Goals/Initiatives *over the Summer and into Fall* - Gather Information on possible directions/solutions *in Winter * - Research/Evaluate providers *in the Winter/Spring * - Select and Purchase *in Spring/early Summer* - Roll out/Launch new programs/tech *over the Summer, in time for the new school year!* Some general insights for marketing:  - **Focus on awareness and generating signs of interest from school leaders in the second half of the year.** Build your CRM, share thought-leader content, whitepapers, industry trends, etc. Provide value for those whose problems you solve. - **Focus on generating demos/conversations and expand lead generation campaigns in Q1 and early Q2** - it's critical to generate demos/meetings for Sales at this time. - **Be ready with Middle-of-Funnel and Bottom-of Funnel resources/campaigns in Q1** and stay in close contact with Sales to identify any gaps that might impact conversions.   ## Harnessing the Power of Customer Evangelists Word-of-mouth is a powerful marketing tool in the -12 education sector and can greatly influence the decision-making process of other K-12 districts. When educators and administrators hear positive feedback about a particular product or service from their peers at neighboring districts or schools, they are more likely to consider it for their own district. To harness the power of word-of-mouth, it is essential to build strong relationships with key stakeholders in the K12 education community. One assistant superintendent raving about how good your solution has been for their schools at a networking event can generate 'hand-raises' from multiple neighboring district leaders. Celebrate your customers' successes, stay in touch on an ongoing basis, and showcase problems solved and results in their own words. Connect face-to- face at conferences, workshops, and networking events, organize joint speaking sessions, encourage them to author bylines sharing their expertise, etc. Marketing teams should establish an [internal story engine](https://pcassin.com/blog/resource-finding-those-customer-speakers/storytellers), working with Product, Sales and Customer Success to connect with enthusiastic customers with great stories to tell. A marketing piece showcasing a district or school's success, or a webinar showcasing district leaders can attract a lot more attention than purely product-focused content.    Blog Posts ## Recent Articles [![](https://pcassin.com/hubfs/crowd%20at%20concert%20crop-1.png)](https://pcassin.com/blog/resource-finding-those-customer-speakers/storytellers) [B2B](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/b2b), [Marketing](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/marketing), [K12](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/k12), [Resources](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/resources) ### [Resource: Build Your Customer Contact Pool](https://pcassin.com/blog/resource-finding-those-customer-speakers/storytellers) February 28, 2024 How can you source customer candidates for marketing case studies, articles, videos, bylines, speaking engagements... [Read more](https://pcassin.com/blog/resource-finding-those-customer-speakers/storytellers) [![](https://pcassin.com/hubfs/Great%20Finds%20version%202.png)](https://pcassin.com/blog/b2b-marketing-example-of-a-crystal-clear-value-proposition) [B2B](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/b2b), [Marketing](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/marketing), [Resources](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/resources), [Great Finds](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/great-finds) ### [Paid Digital: Example of a crystal-clear value proposition](https://pcassin.com/blog/b2b-marketing-example-of-a-crystal-clear-value-proposition) February 24, 2024 As a marketing exec, I'm targeted with many, many campaigns, and sometimes I find fantastic inspiration. Here's one I... [Read more](https://pcassin.com/blog/b2b-marketing-example-of-a-crystal-clear-value-proposition) [![](https://pcassin.com/hubfs/Great%20Finds%20version%202.png)](https://pcassin.com/blog/webinar-marketing-a-great-tip-from-superside) [B2B](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/b2b), [Marketing](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/marketing), [K12](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/k12), [Great Finds](https://pcassin.com/blog/tag/great-finds) ### [Webinar Marketing: a great tip from Superside](https://pcassin.com/blog/webinar-marketing-a-great-tip-from-superside) February 19, 2024 Here's a webinar tactic from Diana Kolesarova, Content Marketing Manager & Events Lead at Superside. Send an... [Read more](https://pcassin.com/blog/webinar-marketing-a-great-tip-from-superside) Check all articles [![blank Rocket logo-1](https://pcassin.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blank%20Rocket%20logo-1.png?width=150&height=64&name=blank%20Rocket%20logo-1.png "blank Rocket logo-1")](https://pcassin.com/) Thanks for stopping by! 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