By Catherine Thomas-Varcoe.

The fan in my oven recently stopped working, which automatically sent me looking online for a replacement oven. My more technically minded husband took a different approach, found some online videos produced by the oven manufacturer about how to replace the fan and had the replacement part ordered within half an hour. I didn’t even have the opportunity to contemplate what take-aways I might be able to order for a few nights while I dragged the ordering of a replacement oven out a little! In all seriousness, my husband’s approach cost us £25, rather than £700. Needless to say we are currently looking very favourably on the manufacturer of our oven, and this is thanks to their customer focused digital learning strategy.

Digital learning has the potential to work hard for your organisation by:

• enhancing your brand awareness
• marketing your products or services
• gathering feedback on your products or services
• creating product experts and loyalty
• contributing to your corporate social responsibility.

Let’s take a moment to look at each of these in more detail.

Enhancing your brand awareness

• Digital learning is an opportunity for your branding to convey good customer relations, quality products/services, expertise and knowledge.
• Freely available digital learning can increase brand awareness on a global scale and drive ‘accidental’ traffic to your goods/services.
• Digital learning, when used for content marketing, can help establish your organisation as a centre of excellence. If it’s appropriate for your audience, have your learning accredited/certified.

Marketing your products or services

• Create a drive for your product by building a community of need through digital learning. For example, if you sell wool, create a course about knitting.
• If legislation around your industry permits it, including details of your products in the learning can help ‘sell’ your product.
• Unlike print marketing materials that have a limited shelf life, digital learning can be regularly updated.

Gathering feedback on your products and services

• Digital learning can help you gather feedback from your customers about your products and services. This will help you improve and innovate.

Creating product experts and loyalty

• Providing professional development for your customers while also educating them about your product means you are embedding your product into their work activity. This is often done through case studies.
• Useful overviews on products lessen frustration and improve customers’ loyalty and retention.
• Increasing expertise of your products reduces the burden on support required, so reduces your expense.

Contributing to your corporate social responsibility

• Depending on your industry, increasing the skills of your customers may help them provide a better service to the community.
• Increasing the information about your products/ services online reduces the need for printing so helps the environment.

In a competitive marketplace, digital learning can help you stand out from the crowd.

 

 

Catherine Thomas-Varcoe is the Managing Director of Mirrabook Development Trust CIC working in higher education environments, with a particular focus on the development of online distance learning and teaching with technology. Cathy has been involved in all aspects of course development and delivery, including curriculum development, researching and writing, quality assurance and teaching.

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