We’re all pumping out lots and lots of educational content these days because we know that’s what we must do in order for the market to find us and trust that we have the answers to their problems.
But, now our customers, prospects and even our staff are drowning in information and it has me wondering just how much education is really going on.
What if instead of simply putting reams of information out to be consumed we started employing tactics that made the content easier to consume, had built in learning paths and even tests that allowed the reader to verify how much they got from the content and the publisher of the content to use their content in much more focused and effective ways?
In short, the most effective content management needs to include learning management strategies, tactics and tools to produce the greatest return on content. We hear lots of talk about content management tools, now it’s time to move the conversation to use of learning management tools and systems as well.
Below are five cases where learning management principles could easily apply.
Customer orientation
What if you created a course that helped new customers understand how you work, who they should contact for any issues, what you need to get started working with them, what they can expect next?
By creating a series of lessons, complete with video introductions, reviews and interactive checklists, you can reinforce everything that was built in the sales process and make sure that expectations are met.
Now, you could certainly do this face to face or with a kit of materials as well, but by initiating an on demand orientation you can create the most flexible reinforcement and know when and how your customer consumed it.
Staff orientation
Staff training should never really end. Every business should produce a course that includes things such as the company story, history, key marketing strategy, marketing messages, product overviews and core values and then begin the process of leadership development from there. By documenting this training you can make sure it’s delivered and consumed by every new hire.
Sales training
Getting every salesperson to use the same approach to communicating the company story, value proposition and “way we do it here,” is essential if you are to build marketing momentum around your brand.
By using a set of courses that require moving through levels of information you can provide your entire sales team with the opportunity to be most successful.
Referral training
One of the reasons many organization don’t receive the number of referrals they could is that they don’t have a way to educate referral sources on things like how they might spot an ideal referral or how to talk about their core difference.
Imagine creating a training that you could use with key strategic partners that taught them all about how to get more referrals – do you think that could make you a pretty desirable partner to work with?
Continuing education
Every product or service that you provide could benefit from training and continuing education courses that help your customers get more from what they’ve purchased, use increasingly advance features and reinforce new behaviors that help increase the value of working with your company.
Content markers need to up the value of their content by employing tools that help drive this value home. Look into services like Blackboard, Mindflash, Bloomfire or Knoodle and starting finding ways to create a higher return on content.
