Serving Education and Training Markets Since 2006

Business Restructuring & Branding – moodlerooms Case Study

Redefining market position: A learning management system provider re-launches its product portfolio

Abstract
An LMS service provider wanted help with its market development strategy. After an important merger among its key competitors, the company needed to establish a strong market position in a volatile industry. Through a comprehensive overhaul of the company’s product portfolio and brand image, the company was able to establish itself as a market leader and attract important strategic partners and investors.

The Challenge
The company, an officially certified Moodle Partner, provides implementation and support services to organizations that would like to use Moodle as a learning management system (LMS). With a growing customer base of primarily K-12 school systems, its capabilities included course template development, customization, staff training, hosting and technical support.

The company wanted to differentiate itself from its competitors and become the market leader for Moodle-based LMS implementation and hosting. However, the initial marketing efforts had yielded minimal results. Potential customers often could not determine the company’s value proposition based on its advertisements, logo, or marketing collateral. The company turned to the Gilfus Education Group for critical insights into the market and strategies that would reposition the company for strategic growth and gain attention from the market as well as strategic growth investors.

The Solution
After evaluating the company’s capabilities and the market dynamics for LMS platforms, the Gilfus Education Group determined the best solution was to be reposition, refine and re-launch the company’s portfolio of products and services.

The project began by assembling known insights from Gilfus Education Group team members and analyzing the current competitive LMS market. Based on its initial evaluation the Gilfus Education team recommended a change in the companies colors, product positioning, product and market strategy and overall product and market development strategy. A new positioning of an “Enterprise” supported open source platform with full-service capabilities was used as a foundation for the brand image and company positioning. The brand image was completely overhauled with new product names, logos, and marketing messages that clearly communicated the company’s value proposition.

The company was re-launched at major conferences for the K-12, higher education and corporate training markets. the Gilfus Education Group supported the launch through public announcements to its extensive professional network and with personal introductions to strategic partners and potential investors.

The Results
The company had been in operation for four years prior to its re-launch with the Gilfus Education Group. Over the next two years, the company became the fastest growing LMS service provider in North America, expanding into new market segments, such as higher education and corporate training. Its success attracted a valuable strategic partner, a major ERP system provider seeking to enhance the value of its products, as well as industry investors. Within 6 months the company obtained $7M in venture financing. In the third year after the re-launch, the company was acquired by one of the largest worldwide LMS providers.

Contact
If you are interested in speaking with this client about their project please contact us and we can arrange a call. A PDF version of this case study is available here: MoodleRooms – Business Redesign and Restructuring

Scroll to Top