Learning is a process, and especially trainers want to continuously develop not only others but also themselves. One goal is to reach new customer groups: This helps you gain higher visibility and higher revenues. How and with what factors you achieve new customer groups will be explained in this article.
Seven Benefits of Blended Learning
Yes, blended learning is a conspicuous trend in the education sector. No, that alone is not a reason to expand your previous face-to-face training with e-learning. But the significant attention on blended learning does not come from nowhere. This method boasts at least seven advantages in linking face-to-face learning and e-learning. That is the real reason why blended learning is not a quickly fading shooting star in the firmament of everyday learning.
These are the 7 advantages of blended learning compared to traditional face-to-face learning:
You gain new customer groups.
You gain a unique selling proposition.
You gain a new revenue source.
You gain measurability.
You gain flexibility.
You gain reuse.
You gain diversity of media.
In this article, I want to shed light on the advantage of new customer groups and answer the following questions: To what extent do you gain new customer groups with blended learning? Which customer groups are these? And how can you leverage this advantage for yourself?
Three Factors for New Customer Groups with Blended Learning
Switching from traditional face-to-face learning to blended learning is a process that takes time. Those who bring patience and clear goals will be richly rewarded: New customer groups bring you higher visibility and higher revenues.
Three factors lead to new customer groups:
A larger reach through online courses.
The digitalization as a catalyst for corporate training.
A higher number of participants.
Important: Blended learning does indeed help you gain new customer groups – but especially at the beginning, you should publicize your new method to benefit from this advantage. Engage with the new selling points of your training, and you will ultimately convince more customers!
Below, I will elaborate on the three mentioned success factors. It’s best to think about your own training while reading and how these factors can personally help you gain more customer groups.
Blended Learning Gives You a Wider Reach
The first success factor relates to a larger reach: Through the e-learning component, you tend to reach more participants because they no longer need to be at a specific time in a specific location.
On one hand, you can convince HR developers from companies that have branches scattered throughout the country – perhaps even with departments outside Germany. This way, you can expand your online guidance to participants who did not attend the face-to-face training on-site.
On the other hand, you can convince HR developers because participants have to give up less work time with blended learning: Shorten your face-to-face training and move preparatory and follow-up content (for which you do not necessarily need to be there in person) into your online guidance.
Convince your customers of blended learning: Employees and managers at far-off branches can participate in further training through online courses.
With these arguments, you convince customers of the advantage of greater reach:
Free inclusion of employees in branches in online courses.
Less loss of work time in trainings via blended learning.
Digitalization as a Catalyst for Your Training
The second factor relates to the buzzword digitalization. You may be tired of hearing this term, but in many companies, it is the key to approving new methods. While some managerial positions still hold a negative attitude towards change itself, the term digitalization has gained wide acceptance. After all, no one wants to appear outdated.
For professional development, the factor digitalization has two effects:
Firstly, companies improve their image through blended learning – both externally and internally! Development training is an area that affects the inner workings of a company while also being used for positive external presentation.
Secondly, companies benefit when their employees engage in self-directed and digital learning: In addition to the actual training content, soft skills are nurtured, positively impacting work performance. For example, by offering communication training, your participants learn useful skills such as time management, digital management, or agile working through blended learning.
Companies benefit from digital training in the form of improved image and enhanced soft skills of employees.
This is how you convince customers of the advantage of digitalization:
Improvement of their image – both internally and externally.
Employees and managers acquire digital competencies incidentally.
Blended Learning Provides You with a Higher Number of Participants
The third factor for new customer groups with blended learning concerns a higher number of participants compared to traditional face-to-face learning. Not only can, as mentioned in the first factor, employees from branches participate in the training – the online medium is fundamentally designed for virtually unlimited numbers of participants.
With location-bound events that happen face-to-face, the number of participants is restricted solely by the physical limitations of the room. Moreover, each face-to-face training becomes chaotic and unclear beyond a certain participant density. The actual advantage of face-to-face – personal attention – is eliminated with too many participants.
Online, however, it is entirely irrelevant for the learning effect whether there are 3, 30, or 300 participants enrolled. So instead of three individual face-to-face events, each limited to 10 participants, you can offer an online course where everyone can work simultaneously and asynchronously – just as they wish.
And yet another reason for a higher number of participants in blended learning: You can train much more heterogeneous groups online and cover a much broader spectrum at the same time. For face-to-face training, you may have to divide employees into differently advanced groups. In the online course, you can cover all contents and leave it to each individual to skip or engage deeply with certain lessons.
In an e-learning environment, virtually unlimited participants can learn self-directed and network with each other.
This is how you convince customers of the advantage of a higher number of participants:
An online course for unlimited participants means consistent costs for the company and less work for you.
Online, employees connect who otherwise have little contact.
Leverage the Advantage of New Customer Groups with Blended Learning
Did you apply the benefits to your own training while reading? I advise you to write down all the arguments and be optimally prepared for your next sales pitch. With blended learning, you gain a range of new selling points for your training – you just have to have them ready.
Tip: Supplement your personal arguments for blended learning by viewing this infographic. In it, you will learn how to persuade your customers, what effects you achieve with participants, and what added value that has for you personally. Good luck selling your blended learning!
