Any time I meet with a senior management team, I always ask the same questions: “What separates you from your competition?” and “Why would I want to do business with you?”
Almost without exception, these corporate leaders proceed to explain how their products and services are faster, better and more cutting-edge – whatever the unique qualities are that distinguish their business from industry rivals. These answers lead to the follow-up question: “Do your marketing, website and internal training reflect what you just explained to me?”
This is where it gets tricky.
Usually, managers struggle to reach a consensus on what makes their company different. Even when they do, the last question usually yields the same realization: In most cases, their messaging doesn’t fully convey those differences.
My dialogue with these upper-level managers usually confirms two things. First, brand awareness must be agreed upon at the most senior level. Second, messaging produced from that discussion should be consistent both internally and externally.
With this knowledge, we have just uncovered an ideal subject for your first piece of custom courseware. You pick the title: “Why We Are the Market Leader,” “Differentiators that Matter,” or maybe “A Storied Past and a Brighter Future.” You get the idea. You can use a custom courseware initiative to define what makes your company unique and why somebody would want to do business with you.
This is just one of many examples that demonstrate why custom solutions will define the future of enterprise learning. What I can’t figure out is why it’s taking organizations so long to reach this conclusion.
We all know that the training department’s budget is forever shrinking. However, it’s possible to reassign budget dollars that are already being spent to accomplish the same goal. In case you still need convincing, let’s define a few terms.
So far, we have used the term “custom courseware.” Let me introduce you to its closely related cousin, “content marketing.”
Traditionally, custom courseware is used to create a bond or relationship with your existing clients that reinforces the brand and communicates new offerings, which in turn spawn new opportunities. It is also used for internal training by sales, service and product teams.
Content marketing, though very similar, has one main difference: It is outward-facing. The primary goal of a content marketing campaign is to attract new clients. However, the foundation of the content can be almost identical to custom courseware, with the addition of a marketing spin that helps to create brand awareness and increase market share.
It’s often just a matter of semantics. In my experience, custom courseware is mostly associated with the training department and viewed as an expense. Content marketing, on the other hand, comes out of the marketing department, which can use client acquisition statistics to determine a return on investment (ROI). I’ve seen a lot of training departments whittled down to only a few employees, but it seems like there are always dollars available for marketing.
The takeaway here is that you can combine budgets to create a singular content solution that benefits both departments and, ultimately, the entire organization. This new solution has wide-ranging effects that bring teams from different departments together to create a consistent message. Just imagine having all of your departments reciting the agreed-upon branding message that also happens to extend right to the website.
Custom courseware, custom content, content marketing, marketing collateral – call them what you will. The bottom line is that they all have intersecting points, but too many organizations can’t seem to see where they meet. The future is just around the corner. It’s time to get all departments on the same page, standardize messaging, optimize spending and deliver a content solution that mirrors the same vision you espouse in the boardroom.
