On every page of the Accordance web-site, you’ll see the slogan “Designed for Mac. Trusted by Scholars. Right for You.” As anyone who visited our booth at the recent annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) can attest, our claim to be “Trusted by Scholars” is anything but marketing hype.
For years now, the Accordance booth at ETS and SBL has been a hotbed of activity. In fact, we now have other exhibitors telling us they request booth space near us because they know we’ll draw traffic past their own booths. We always book a large open booth and pack it with demo stations. At SBL we had no less than eight demo stations and three sales stations, yet even that was sometimes not enough to accommodate everyone.
Why is the Accordance booth always so busy? I think it’s because over the years the scholars who attend those conferences have come to trust us to provide them with cutting-edge features and resources found nowhere else. It’s not uncommon to have an Accordance user drag a student or colleague into the booth and tell them, “You’ve got to see this.” Neither is it uncommon to have someone sit down for a demo and say, “I’ve been following you guys for years, but I’ve finally got a Mac so I know I need to get Accordance.” The scholars and students who enter our booth at ETS and SBL don’t need to be convinced of their need for Accordance; they come knowing that Accordance will save them time, advance their research, and aid them in their teaching.
“Trusted by Scholars” is more than just a marketing slogan. It’s a reputation for excellence among the users whose needs are the most difficult to satisfy. Judging from the activity at this year’s ETS and SBL, that trust remains strong, and we’re committed to keeping it so.