Readers of this blog know that the focus is on e-learning with an emphasis on business. We develop e-learning applications for businesses not for academics. This post is the First post in a Series titled The most effective uses of E-Learning based on experiences with our clients. These use cases are presented based on the business result they achieved for our clients.
Sales and Customer Service
Sales and Customer Service go hand in hand. A successful business cannot have one without the other. While these two departments serve somewhat different function, their primary objective should be the same, provide solutions for customers. With that objective in mind sales and customer service have similar training needs as well that can be served by expertly crafted e-learning solutions.
E-learning is an excellent tool to provide training solutions for sales and customer service teams because of its accessibility, consistency and versatility.
Sales and Customer Service staff are the front line for your business, their job is to provide the best possible experience for your customers. Training them is vitally important, part of its success is its accessibility I look at accessibility two ways. The first is simply how it is accessed by the user. This is a area where the delivery on-demand online training makes sense. Accessible 24/7 on the terms of the individual. The second way I look at accessibility in the design methodology. If you require your team to sit in front of a computer for hours reading through text on a screen just to get through a training it is not only ineffective, but lacks accessibility. We are firm believers in short tactical training focused around a specific business objective. 15 minutes or less, something that can be taken on a coffee break. It is more user friendly and accessible!
Consistency is another key when providing training to sales and customer service members of your team. E-learning can be a tool to help integrate your employees into your company culture, this is especially important for those groups on the front line with your customers. People will go to a McDonald’s anywhere in the world, is it because it is the best food available? Hardly, but they know they will get a consistent experience. Your customers expect a certain experience when they interface with your company, using e-learning as a tool for ongoing training for sales and service reps is sure fire way to make sure the message is always consistent with your brand and company culture.
E-learning is extremely versatile when strategically developed around your business and it can offer some excellent residual benefits. One of the best residual uses of online training is the ability to re-purpose training content for use as a job aid. We all have things that we use everyday to help us do our job. For sales and service reps it may be as simple as a cheat sheet with product specs they can call up quickly when speaking with a customer. Many of the assets built for your online training can be reused to create quick, interactive and very visual job aids for employees. This helps to create more confident interactions with customers and more engaged sales and service reps. As mobile technology continues to evolve these job aid applications become more a more viable with accessibility across mobile platforms. The Commitment to E-learning is an investment in time and money, its versatility as a job aid will help generate a greater return.
Sales and Customer Service Reps are on the front line with your customers everyday. They must have the proper tools to create a first class experience for your customers with every interaction. Providing training through an E-learning platform will help create an accessible, consistent and versatile training experience with a significant ROI for your business.
How have you used E-learning successfully in your business for Sales and Customer Service Reps?
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