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Interactive Support Fuels GTCO CalComp's Success
November 13, 2006
By Margery Weinstein
It's frustrating to think of the interactive technology companies out there that will sell you a gizmo like, say, an interactive whiteboard for the classroom, and then head for the hills, offering no post-sale—or, dare we say, interactive—support for implementation. That isn't the case at Columbia, Md.-based GTCO CalComp. The company employs several trainers who travel around the country providing instruction to teachers in using the high tech whiteboards, tablets and audience response systems it sells. Along the way, says vice president of marketing Rob Meissner, the company has learned a little lesson itself: Offering complementary training really hits the spot for buyers.
"The training we provide goes hand-in-hand with the stuff we sell," Meissner says. "Training is a main component of getting customers familiar with and using it." The company sells to teachers at the grade school through university level, in addition to instructors in the government and corporate sectors. About 80 percent of users are from educational institutions, and 20 percent are corporate and government entities. The majority go the virtual training route, he notes, which involves a synchronous session with eight to 10 customer learners participating. Using online conferencing technology, students view from their own computers the same kind of software they've just purchased as it appears on their instructor's screen, so they are able to observe how he or she manipulates and navigates through it. The vendor holds about five classes a week on average.
All technology vendors claim "ease of use," but putting together structured classes makes a big difference to the implementation, and makes good business sense, Meissner says. "I think our products are fairly easy to use, but, the truth is, there?s nothing worse than selling a product to somebody in education, and having it sit in a closet," he explains. "The quicker we can get a teacher or an instructor, or somebody in a corporate environment, using the product, it's the faster path to the next sale." The vendor believes so strongly in this, the online classes, each about an hour long, are offered for free. There's an up-charge for live instruction, but Meissner says if the purchase of GTCO's products is substantial enough, based on volume or frequency of sale, the classes are sometimes thrown in as part of the deal. Less than 5 percent of all customers, he guesses, opt for in-the-flesh tutelage.
When it comes to product pricing, the vendor's whiteboards range from about $1,150 to $1,700. A set of 32 audience response clickers can be had for around $2,000.
Customer participation in the classes varies, Meissner says. "In the K-12 environment, at a minimum, the tech coordinator will go through the training," he explains. "In the higher-ed arena, a good half of the professors we deal with ultimately take advantage of our WebEx sessions." Like many of its customers, all of the vendor's current instructors are trained K-12 teachers, Meissner says, which helps them relate to the needs of those receiving instruction in the technology.
The greatest challenge facing its trainers, he says, are making sure novices' questions are adequately addressed. "Once you use it for a while, it's pretty easy, and it's pretty easy to lose sight of people who have never seen it before, and trying to remember that you?ve got to start with the basics and work people up," Meissner notes, "and not just assume a level of comfort and expertise that doesn?t necessarily exist." This is especially important given the wide range of familiarity with technology possessed by GTCO users. "You're dealing with people who run the gambit from being very technically sophisticated to people that are intimidated by technology and aren't very familiar with the basic operations of the computer." Since representatives from school districts are typically the ones purchasing the products, the teachers who participate in the vendor's training, are forced to use the technology, like it or not.
Whatever the initial excitement, or lack thereof, customers are usually appreciative of the free training, which Meissner describes as a differentiator between his company's offerings and those of its competitors. "What really distinguishes us is the training we do," he emphasizes. "People love the fact that they can talk to a live person, and through that, feel very comfortable implementing the technology into their classroom."
For more on audience-response systems, download "Reply Requested" from Training magazine.
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