Career Management

Delivered September 12th, 2017

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Naviance - Market Sentiment & Sales Structure

Hello! Thank you for using Wonder to ask about market sentiment toward Naviance and its sales structure. The short answer is that the platform is considered reliable and helpful both by the media and customers. Naviance's sales are structured geographically, with sales directors assigned to particular countries and regions. As requested, the outcome of my research is on the attached spreadsheet. Below you will find a deep dive of my methodology.
MethodologyFor the first part of your question, I started by searching for the media coverage of Naviance from the last three months, using Google's tools. I reviewed the results and put the highlights in row 9. One thing I decided to omit is the change of Hobsons' CEO, as it was not directly related to market sentiments.

Then, I analyzed social media profiles and mentions of Naviance. Customers' input there isn't evaluative. However, it shows that they feel happy, or even privileged, to be able to use Naviance or participate in its events. I also found reviews on G2 Crowd. Even though it's not a typical social media site or app, it's a platform that specializes in software reviews. The insights from the users that could be found there are all from 2016, which I noted on the spreadsheet.

As for internal sales structure, I didn't find a direct answer, i.e., a case study or an expert article. However, after analyzing Naviance's (and Hobsons) employees on LinkedIn, I noticed that sales directors are assigned to particular regions and countries, which shows that sales are structured geographically.

It's worth mentioning that Naviance is just one product in Hobsons' portfolio. It seems like in certain areas it's sold separately from others, while in most the sales are managed by teams that are also responsible for other Hobsons' solutions.

I used company's website to check how the product is purchased.
CONCLUSIONTo wrap it up, market sentiment toward Naviance is very positive. Both the media and consumers perceive it as helpful and trustworthy. Also, Naviance's sales are structured geographically. You will find the outcome of my research on the attached spreadsheet. Thank you for using Wonder! Let us know if we can help with anything else.

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Naviance - Market Share, Competitive Advantage

Hello! Thanks for your question about Naviance's strategy, market share drivers, and competitive advantage. The short version is that Naviance's uniqueness and advantage is in partnering with school districts to provide students with educational tools from K-12, then leveraging the information gained about the students to better assist in the college application process. The details have been entered into the project spreadsheet and have been copied below with the relevant links.

METHODOLOGY
Neither Naviance nor its parent company, Hobsons, is publicly traded or publishes an annual report. We therefore started by reviewing Hobson's press kit and the white papers published on Naviance's website to understand their own vision of their company strategy, both now and in the future. Armed with that information, we studied educational and industry sites to get an outsider's view of Naviance's strategy, market share drivers, and competitive advantage.

COMPANY STRATEGY
Since neither Naviance nor its parent company Hobson's publishes a public annual report for their investors, we have to infer their strategy by their actions.

Naviance's principle strategy has been to reach the students by partnering with both individual schools and school districts. The school districts, not the students themselves, foot the bill. Those schools then provide students with Naviance logins and a primer explaining the service. Their outreach is bolstered by a yearly conference, the Naviance Summer Institute, which brings together hundreds of counselors, teachers, and administrators "for three days of high-quality product training, knowledge sharing, and networking opportunities." Essentially, Naviance and Hobson's strategy has been to reach students and families by building strong relationships with the gatekeepers of the educational establishment. They have been remarkably successful, creating partnerships with over 12,000 schools in over 100 countries. 

Naviance is pursuing a long-term strategy by reaching increasingly younger students. Though marketed primarily as a tool for high-school students considering their college options, Naviance also provides a program for middle school students "that helps them develop critical non-cognitive skills and college knowledge and instills confidence so that they’ll persevere to reach their long-term college and career goals." In April 2016, Hobsons announced the launch of Naviance for Elementary School: "Students are able explore what makes them unique, what kind of options lie ahead of them, and what types of preparation and planning can lead to exciting opportunities." From this, we infer that the long-term strategy is to develop a reliance on and trust in Naviance from an early age, thereby creating an expectation among students and parents that Naviance will be used by any given district.

DRIVERS OF MARKET SHARE
Hobsons is also continuing a long-standing strategy of acquiring properties that it sees as compatible with its core products. In fact, Hobsons acquired Naviance in 2007 to add it to Hobsons' own suite of solutions for students. Most recently, in January 2017, Hobsons acquired RepVisits, a site that helps students schedule visits with college admission reps, with the intent of integrating this service with Naviance. As a result of its growth, Naviance has a 2.9% market share of the Academic Learning Management software market. However, Naviance is "the college engine of choice for most school districts" because "it is the only site where students can maintain one account from middle through high school." 

Hobsons, Naviance's parent company, has had two recent developments which are likely to serve as drivers: First, Hobsons recently appointed Kate Cassino as its new CEO. Cassino joined the company as COO, with oversight of the Naviance, Intersect, and Starfish product lines, and her subsequent appointment as CEO may indicate an intention to aggressively expand those lines. Second, Hobsons recently (July 2017) won an over $1 billion Federal contract.  While this contract does not seem to bear directly on the Naviance line, it is likely to serve as a driver for increased market share across all of Hobson's lines.

COMPETATIVE ADVANTAGE / DIFFERENTIATION FROM COMPETATORS
Naviance's competitive advantage is that it isn't only a college admissions aid or an educational supplement, but combines the two in one "K-12" package. As noted in the above sections, they are expanding their suite of educational solutions into even the elementary school level, allowing students to maintain a single account from grade school to college. Naviance can then use the data gathered over the course of the child's education to help guide them through the college application process. So, for example, Blackboard offers an excellent suite of solutions for both K-12 and Higher Education, but does not offer the same assistance as Naviance for bridging between the two. Conversely, Overgrad offers more financial assistance information than Naviance, but does not include the K-12 educational package. 

CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, the above information that we learned about Naviance has been entered into the project spreadsheet. We found that Naviance's uniqueness and advantage is in partnering with school districts to provide students with educational tools from K-12, then leveraging the information gained about the students to better assist in the college application process.

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Naviance - Partnerships and Marketing Initiatives

Hello! Thank you for your request to provide you with information on Naviance's partnerships and marketing initiatives. I understand that for this assignment, you would like us to complete column B, rows 13-15 of the attached spreadsheet. The short version is that Naviance has had numerous partnerships in the past, but only one that has occurred within the past three years. Its marketing initiatives are geared toward school and district leadership because its products cannot be purchased by the general public. Therefore, there have been few marketing campaigns within the past three years, preferring instead to rely on brochures and product demonstrations. The details of my research have been entered in rows 13-15 of column B on the attached spreadsheet. You will find a summary of my methodology and results below.
MethodologyTo research Naviance's partnerships and marketing initiatives, I began with Naviance's website. I was able to find some information on past and current partnerships, but there were not many details in terms of when those partnerships occurred. There was also very little information on marketing initiatives. For this reason, I searched outside of Naviance's website to find media mentions of partnerships from trusted sites to help fill in the missing details from the Naviance press releases. There have been many partnerships from more than three years ago, but only one recent partnership that met your requirements, which is the partnership between Naviance and Human eSources that resulted in an assessment that "provides a comprehensive profile of students' strengths and personal attributes that gives students the tools they need to take charge of their own learning." 

In terms of marketing initiatives, there is very little information regarding recent campaigns. I believe this is because Naviance only sells its products to schools and districts, so it does not need large-scale marketing campaigns. Instead, the company relies on product demonstrations and brochures that explain the benefits of implementing one of the career planning programs in schools. There are likely B2B marketing campaigns that take place in industry publications and other internal channels, but information regarding those types of campaigns are notoriously difficult to find. 

 Naviance's popular Summer Institute is often marketed on its social media pages, but again, this institute is geared toward industry leaders. The only direct marketing strategy I found that focused on students was for Naviance's AASA Scholarship, which is a contest that asks high school seniors to submit videos and essays via Twitter in an attempt to win a scholarship. This was a successful campaign, as there were many winners throughout the United States.

I was able to determine who Naviance's audience is and who they market to, which mainly constitutes schools and school district leadership. Their tools are geared toward students, but school leaders are the people responsible for getting those tools in front of students. Still, there is some parent and student marketing on the website, but primarily, it is focused on administrators who make software decisions for schools.
ConclusionTo wrap it up, since Naviance markets its products almost exclusively to schools and school districts, there was little to find on successful marketing campaigns. Although Naviance has formed many partnerships since 2002, only one partnership has occurred within the past three years. I have entered all details of my research in the appropriate column and cells on the attached spreadsheet.

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Naviance - Competitors

Hello! Thanks for your question regarding the competitive analysis for Naviance. The short version is that the top 3 competitors for Naviance are Informed K12, Achievable, and BridgeU. The results have been compiled in the attached spreadsheet. Below is a deep dive of my research and findings.
Methodology
In order to identify the top 3 competitors for Naviance, I had to understand the type of business that they were in and their target market. Although Owler lists a number of competitors for Naviance, I have identified the top 3 competitors with similar types of business and target markets.
I have identified innovations made by individual competitors by going through their online presence. Innovations for brand awareness include free guides, free exam practice, and blogs.
Summary
To wrap it up, the top 3 competitors for Naviance are Informed K12, Achievable, and BridgeU. The results have been compiled in the attached spreadsheet.

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Naviance and Competitors - Social Media Presence

Hello! Thanks for your request to identify Naviance’s and its competitors’ social media presence by platform, including number of followers and type of content posted. The short version is that I have completed rows 17 and 19, Column B for Naviance on the spreadsheet. Please view the findings on the attached spreadsheet.

SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE OF NAVIANCE AND ITS COMPETITORS
Naviance 
 Facebook - 1,929 followers
 Twitter - 10,933 followers
 LinkedIn - 234 followers
 Google+ - 3,358 followers

Informed K12
 Facebook - 169 followers
 Twitter - 490 followers
 LinkedIn - 297 followers
 YouTube - 5 subscribers

Achievable
 Facebook - 99 followers
 Twitter - 10 followers
 LinkedIn - 25 followers
 YouTube - 1 subscriber

BridgeU
 Facebook - 1,430 followers
 Twitter - 595 followers
 LinkedIn - 291 followers
 Google+ - 6 followers

CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, I have completed rows 17 and 19, Column B for Naviance on the spreadsheet. Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!

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Naviance Company History, Leadership, Products & Services

Hello! Thank you for your request to find the history, current senior leadership, and product information for Naviance. I understand that for this assignment, you are looking for us to complete column B, rows 2-4 for Naviance on the attached spreadsheet. The short version is Naviance was founded in 2002, acquired by Hobsons in 2007, and received the Best College and Career Readiness Solution Codie award in 2017. Its services include college preparation, career exploration, academic planning, test preparation, and a student-college matching tool. You will find the details of my research on the attached spreadsheet. A summary of my methodology and results are below.
Methodology and resultsAs this request was fairly straightforward, I began searching for Naviance company history on its website. There was little information there, directing me instead to the Hobsons website. On the "About" page of Hobsons, I learned it was a subsidiary of Daily Mail and General Trust, but nothing about Naviance. Therefore, I accessed Crunchbase's company database and found that Naviance had been founded in 2002 and was acquired by Hobsons in 2007. There was no information on Naviance's founders, so I performed a targeted search that resulted in a 2002 Washington Post article that detailed Naviance's history, including its founders and original purpose. This, along with the minimal information given on the websites and Crunchbase, allowed me to complete row 2. 

For row 3, I searched both Naviance's and Hobsons' website for corporate leadership. I discovered the several executives on Hobsons' site, but none strictly for Naviance. I performed an x-ray search on LinkedIn, and identified two more executives that seemed more connected to Naviance, since one of them, Stephen Smith, was a co-founder of Naviance.

To complete row 4, I used the information on Naviance's solutions and services pages. Some products have been designed for both middle school and high school students, while others are specifically for high school students. There is one tool, ActiveMatch, that is strictly for institutions of higher learning. There are consulting and professional development services for school districts and leadership, and a special portal just for parents and students.
ConclusionTo wrap it up, I was able to find information on Naviance's history, current executive leadership, and products and services. I have completed column B, rows 2-4 for Naviance on the attached spreadsheet.

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Naviance Customer Portfolio and Target Market

Hello there! Thank you for your question on Naviance Customer Portfolio and Target Market. The short answer is that I have completed the provided spreadsheet in rows 5 and 6 to depict all findings on Naviance. Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.

METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS
I conducted a comprehensive search through government databases and reports, industry reports, trusted media sites, and corporate websites for any relevant information. Throughout my search, I have endeavored to extrapolate any relevant statistical information. In order to provide a full scope of information, I looked at trusted media sites, user forums, and review sites to develop an understanding of the opinions and trends surrounding Naviance.

In order to portray my findings, I have detailed all relevant insights and quantitative information in the spreadsheet table. Throughout my entries, I have endeavored to maintain the formatting of the previous editor. All corresponding sources can be found here. One limitation arose through my research, revenue data in regard to Naviance was particularly difficult to triangulate and so I have endeavored to compile supplementary information to answer each query. However, it can be seen that although Naviance has a rather small market size of 2.9% it is growing at a steady rate. This growth can be seen through the software's use in the education sector, where the majority of users are located.

CONCLUSION
To round it up, I have updated the provided spreadsheet to encompass all possible findings. Any information that I couldn't portray in the spreadsheet I have further detailed here.

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Naviance - Thought leadership and industry reputation

Hello! Thanks for your question about publications and the industry reputation held by Naviance. The short version is that there are nine publications on Naviance: five white papers, three study reports and one survey. Hobsons has 12 partnerships with educational associations and has been awarded for Best College and Career Readiness Solution, a testament of its reputation among peers. As per your request, I compiled my findings between row 7 and 8 of the shared spreadsheet. Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.

METHODOLOGY 

To complete this request, I reviewed the following information sources: Academic databases, Corporate websites, Industry reports, Trusted media sites. I sourced all the publications by Naviance from its website while the information on its perception by peers was based on information its industry associations. 

FINDINGS 

1. PUBLICATIONS

I came across nine publications made by Hobsons, the company that owns the Naviance products. Of the nine, five were white papers, 3 were study reports and one was a survey. As per your request, I compiled my findings between row 7 and 8 of the shared spreadsheet. Below is a brief description of each of the publications. 

I) White Paper - Increasing College Access through the Implementation of Naviance: An Exploratory Study - The paper explores how counselors can leverage technology to increase college access. The paper was published in July 2017. 

II) White Paper - Dialogue to Improve Readiness - Hobsons and AASA partnered to organize a dialogue between school superintendents and community college presidents on how to improve college readiness and create a seamless K-14 system. The paper was published in September 2016. 

III) White Paper - Supporting LCAP with Naviance in California - The white paper details how Naviance features support and align schools, specifically, with the California Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCPA) requirements. The paper was published in August 2016. 

IV) White Paper - How to Increase Student Engagement at Your School - The paper examines different strategies for engaging high school students on 3 dimensions: academically, socially, and emotionally, in a bid to connect learning to life and encourage student engagement. The paper was published in November 2015. 

V) White Paper - Development, Validation, and Impact of the Naviance College & Career Readiness Curriculum - The paper provides an overview of the Naviance College and Career Readiness Curriculum, its alignment to standards, validations and successes among students. The paper was published in June 2015. 

VI) Report - Individual Learning Plans for College and Career Readiness: State Policies & School-Based Practices - An extension of a 2015 study on Individual Learning Plans: Improving Student Performance. The report was published in September 2016. 

VII) Report - Expanded Pathways for Access and Success: K-12 and Community College Students - The report summarizes the discussion on strategies to accelerate the creation of effective K-12 college pathways. The report was published in January 2016.  

VIII) Report - Individual Learning Plans: Improving Student Performance - The report highlights the findings of a national study on the operationalization and effectiveness of Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) in public high schools across the United States. The report was published in November 2015.

IX) Survey - Dual Enrollment in the Context of Strategic Enrollment Management - Hobsons, the parent company of Naviance, collaborated with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions (ACCA) for a review of the current status of Dual enrollment courses in the US. The results of the survey were published in November 2016.

2. INDUSTRY REPUTATION

Partnerships, awards and the extent of adoption of Naviance's solutions are the best proxies for how the company is perceived by peers. Hobsons, the owner of the Naviance product, has 12 partnerships with key educational associations among them: The International Education Association of Australia, European Association of International Education, National Association for College Admission Counselling and the American Association of Community Colleges. Uniquely, Hobsons is as one of the five partners of AASA, The School Superintendents Association. In 2017, Naviance won the award for Best College and Career Readiness Solution, after a peer reviewed process by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA).

Further, Naviance's reputation among peers is evident from its collaborations with educational associations on studies and supporting the financing of college education. Hobson has collaborated with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions (ACCA) on a dual enrollment study and AASA, The School Superintendents Association, on creating a seamless K-14 system. The uptake of Hobson products by 12,000 academic institutions and more than 13 million students affirms its strong reputation in the industry. 

CONCLUSION

To wrap it up, there are nine publications on Naviance: five white papers, three study reports and one survey. Hobsons has 12 partnerships with educational associations and has been awarded for Best College and Career Readiness Solution, a testament of its reputation among peers. As per your request, I compiled my findings between row 7 and 8 of the shared spreadsheet. 

Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!