Peer to Peer Educational software: Study Grab is a note taking, file sharing, peer to peer educational networking software.

About this project

Risks and challenges

COMPETITION & THE EDGE

The shift of the global app economy is forcing the developers to move towards enterprises for their app creation instead of the other fields like production, communication, or education. This would be the perfect time to present an exhaustive idea dealing in one of the lower developed categories (i.e. education) and attack the market while less people are flooding it in that certain field.’That said there are those who are already taking on this challenge already.

For the purpose of this app the ideas presenting for its functions are not new and already in use, the difference between this app and others is how the functions are used and how they are presented to the user. For example the Barnes & Noble, one of the last barriers still selling palpable reading material, has Yuzu. Yuzu is a recent service that offers many online learning tools and educational packages to students who are better suited to a mouse than a pencil. This is tough competition simply because of the brand behind the app but it is not without its faults and more so it is not the same idea this app offers. What they failed to grasp was the importance of community. Though students have gone to looking at their screens they are still in constant contact with the world, more so even than they could be face to face simply because of the anonymity the online environment provides. This same thing can be said for the school boards K-12 online system currently in place.

Another key difference is the way the information will be presented to the user. By following Gestalt principle graphic design can organize the visual elements in groups or unified wholes with the use of design principle. Money will not solve perception of the materials, design on the other hand can. By incorporating design theory along with cognitive psychology the app will outperform the competition usability and comfort.

BARRIERS TO ENTRY

The only barrier to enter the app market is the ability to build an app. App culture is unique in the fact that free is actually a model for the majority of apps in circulation. There is no large company stopping any developer or entrepreneur from entering however having a good name will push your app up the list of favorited or top charts on store pages. Entry is easy because of the market, succeeding is another story because of the climate and the power of larger companies already investing in app development.

MARKETING ENTRY STRATEGY TO DELIVER PRODUCTS/SERVICES TO THE TARGETED MARKETS

This project could fall into the categories of education, development, tech, and even international development if plans to pass the app in different languages ever arise. Because of the different directions it can take this app can find its position and shift with the times. For instance in 2013 World Bank gave Laureate Education $150M through their arm the International Finance Corporation. These types of numbers are not uncommon either in the top tier of Ed-tech “which combined for nearly $600M in aggregate funding” (CB Insight, web) in 2013. For a small venture like this one it will not come close to these amounts but it proves the money and need is present.

For this venture the position best taken would be one step removed from the top companies by targeting those same ones mentioned in the prior paragraph getting the large sums instead. For instance the company Lynda.com which has a respected online teaching site received $103M in 2013 from a number of partners but instead of positioning this app project to target those partners it would do better positioning in a way that targets Lynda.com itself. By doing this there is a better chance of success since Lynda.com is already in the business of Ed Tech meaning they would be more open to ideas dealing with it. It would also do to position itself in a way that lets communicating this idea towards students from middle school and up easier in order to gain a following; this is best done by looking for partner educators that already target those markets and either collaborating or simply pooling resources in order to market the app. The only hinderance would be ip meaning making sure the idea is not stolen or deluded by the partner should be a top priority even if the partner is a trusted member of the Ed-Tech community.

A brand identity system is “facilitated by intelligent standards and guidelines that are easily accessible to all internal and external partners who have the responsibility to communicate about the brand” (Wheeler 202) in a clear and concise way. The brand created for this endeavor will be communicated through a few different channels that deal in both education and technology based learning. The first channel planned for use is social media; it is the largest and cheapest avenue present to get the app mainstream. The use of social media sites like twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and even Snapchat to gain a following during the creation of the app itself and opening a communication network for Q&A with the community allows a gain to the rapport and insight on the target market itself. The next avenue should be iTunes; they offer app developers a wide range of plans and ad opportunities if the money is right and even if it isn’t they post trending apps and popular free apps on their front page meaning as long as there is a following the app can use iTunes to its advantage. The iTunes app store also gives creators a small space to post the app details and the apps mission statement. The third avenue should be the school board and other educational institutions; though understanding the difficulty of gaining access to the school board itself one could use their message boards to network to find different ways to communicate the importance of this apps existence and the possibility of it being used in the classroom at some point.

REFERENCES:

CB Insights. The 10 Larget Ed Tech Financing Rounds in 2013. Dec 5, 2013. CB Insights – Blog [2015]. Retrieved from web https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/ed-tech-top-10-2013/

Wheeler, Alina. Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team, 4th Edition, 4th Edition. John Wiley & Sons P&T, 10/22/12. VitalBook file.