In the previous post, we covered 6 of the 7 consumer realities– detailing how consumers want to learn. Here, we’ll examine the 7th consumer reality as well as some common obstacles faced when changing the structures of learning in the professional world.
- I WANT THE SAME AT WORK!
Your learners enjoy a lot of convenient perks as a consumer; it’s easy to find engaging, to-the-point learning in their everyday lives. So why don’t they have the same conveniences at work? Learners want the disparity between what they get as a consumer and what they don’t get as an employee to shrink.
Now we know what consumers want, but how exactly can we give it to them? To answer this question, let’s take a look at 4 common obstacles created by this disparity.
- THE SECRET SAUCE PROTECTORS
There are many many weathered, time-tested leaders in the learning industry, who have spent the bulk of their lives teaching one way. To them, this is what works. Of course they would want to protect their methods from change. Navigate these protectors with care; they should be educated on the need for changes, but we also need to embrace their valuable and relevant expertise.
- THE SAGE ON THE STAGE
Our well-versed sages currently commanding the stage may be afraid of giving up their control. They’ve been answering the questions for a long time– it’s hard to share the spotlight with a new source for answers: the internet community. We need to be encouraging curation and inclusion, not control and lectures. Turn the sages from keepers of knowledge into facilitators.
- THE SALES AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CONFLICT
The respective goals of sales and product development don’t always oppose each other, but they don’t always align either. The goal of sales is to sell as much of a product as possible. So they want a neat, uniform, simple product that’s easy to sell to buyers. The goal of development is to change the behavior of consumers in some way. Which is hard to do when limited by arbitrary time blocks and short content lengths. Sales usually triumphs over development, because the sales’ goal aims for profit and money is what keeps the company thriving– which is important, but development is what makes your products’ quality worthwhile.
- THE TRADITIONALIST BUYER
The traditionalist buyer is the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to what training their company uses and how it is used. The challenge here isn’t that they don’t understand the 7 consumer realities. It’s that if they make changes, they have to juggle all the moving parts those changes would impact. In order to move forward with these adjustments, they are going to need support– this means help through the transition and help educating their peers on the need for change.
While it may be difficult to navigate, it’s important for the learning industry to be aware of and consider the impact of the 7 consumer realities. Industries thrive by knowing what their audience wants and responds well to. If you’re ready to jump into this pool of change and get your company moving toward success, contact ELB learning for a free consultation on how to incorporate modern learning technology to overcome the obstacles.
For more information on the 7 consumer realities and the 4 common obstacles download our ebook: 7 Consumer Realities That the Learning Industry Can No Longer Ignore.
