Is your learning management system (LMS) fulfilling its full potential? If you’re only using your LMS to train internal folks, it may not be!
The benefits of leveraging an LMS to deliver learning and development (L&D) training courses across organizations are numerous. Strong L&D programs can reduce onboarding times, boost employee engagement and productivity rates, shorten skills gaps, accelerate individual and organizational performance, and, of course, help maintain and manage compliance.
This is all great stuff, don’t get me wrong, but your LMS can do far more than just internal learning programs.
Think about all the people who represent your business who are not necessarily part of your internal employees. These are your customers, partners, contingent workers, franchisees, dealers, channel sales, and other external sales and service providers who are involved in your business in some way, shape, or form. In the learning world, this is known as the extended enterprise, and for many organizations, these folks often interact with customers the most.
So why would you not want to ensure they are up to speed and effectively trained on your organization’s products and services?
By extending your learning strategy beyond traditional HR learning needs, your LMS has the potential to dramatically increase customer satisfaction.
Truth: Happy customers = better business outcomes
High customer satisfaction and brand loyalty are fundamental to your organization’s success, and it all starts with a first impression and unforgettable customer experience.
An external learning strategy, enabled by an LMS with deep extended enterprise capabilities, can drive new revenue streams, improve profit margins, and turn your customers into loyal, stark-raving fans.
Let’s take a quick look at the numbers:
- It is six to seven times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one¹
- You have a 60-70% chance of selling a product to an existing customer. Compare that to the 15-20% chance of selling that same product to a prospect²
- On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase³
- Increasing your customer retention rates by just 5% could lift profits by 50%4
Are you starting to understand why external training is vital to your business? Think about the untapped potential!
If you’re not already, it’s time to start thinking about how you can extend learning and training opportunities to your external network. In 2014, Brandon Hall Group surveyed 174 companies and found that those with extended learning programs realized a:
- 40% increase in sales
- 37% increase in customer retention
- 45% improvement in customer relations
The numbers don’t lie. Businesses offering training and development programs to their extended enterprise are seeing a significant return on investment. However, with so many different ways to capitalize on external training, it’s hard to know where to start.
If you’re new to the extended enterprise concept or just dipping your toe in the idea of expanding your training programs, our best advice is not to boil the ocean. It’s natural for the mind to go in a dozen different directions, thinking about all the different audiences and scenarios that will benefit from external training.