The Silver Lining that Training Companies Need to Act on Now
Two outcomes and one big opportunity:
Whether you train employees, customers or association members, there are two emerging trends that present great opportunities in the midst of all this chaos.
For twenty years, analysts and prognosticators have said that digital training will replace traditional classroom training, but the actual numbers have never born that out.
Things are changing rapidly, and many of those changes are permanent. But with any change comes great opportunities for those who can see past the chaos.
Wash your hands but stop the hand wringing and let’s go after this opportunity. In times like these are when rapid growth companies are born.
Trend #1:
The workforce is moving out
It’s safe to say that the majority of office workers are now working remotely. A year or two from now, this will be the norm. Right now, companies who demand people to come into an office are scrambling to do the opposite.
After a few months they’ll figure out that they can actually survive without expensive office space (and that constant face-to-face interaction is overrated).
Our guess, a year from now the number of remote workers will jump from 3% to 10%, 15% or beyond, depending on how long the pandemic lasts.
Trend #2:
Rapid transition to eLearning, virtual ILT, video and other on-demand content
Many companies were incorporating online content, but now everybody’s scrambling to save their revenue by jamming content into anything virtual. Cancellations for the classroom have them spooked.
Those who were already good at digital learning are making that change rapidly and profitably. Those that were dependent on face-to-face training are really struggling. Especially training companies who were classroom-only.
Many of those old, established companies will be out of business over the next six months. Zero revenue does that.
On top of that, they’re scrambling to move their classes to virtual ILT, but they don’t have much experience with it and there are so many differences that they’re going to stumble quite a bit before they get it right.
Who Benefits?
The new reality presents some game-changing opportunities for training content companies, tech vendors and LMS companies who have strongly embraced digital learning.
Just to name a few: Thought Industries, Zoom, LHT Learning, Totara Learning, WebCourseworks, GoToMeeting, INE, Webucator, Course Container, LearningCart, OttoLearn, xapimed, and remote collaboration tools like Slack.
There are hundreds more.
On the flip-side, I worry about traditional LMS companies like Cornerstone, Saba, Docebo, and training content vendors who develop or deliver mostly face to face classroom training.
Carpe Diem
All of this translates into big opportunities for many training companies, content developers and learning tech companies who begin right now to accelerate the best solutions they have for our new reality.
To seize this opportunity you need a plan, because it will require major changes relatively quickly. You might stumble over success, but likely not.
For your consideration, we have deep experience in the business of learning, with specific expertise in go-to-market strategy, product marketing, voice of customer research, product evaluation, recommendation and technology.
We’d like to set up a conversation, not a sales pitch. We’d like to listen, and give you at least one solid recommendation that will put you ahead. Here’s how to reach us.
Click here to book a 30-minute call.
Scott Hornstein
203.470.3395
scott@hornsteinassociates.com
Gordon Johnson
919.522.0133
gordon@gordonljohnson.com
You can also view our eBook: 10 Marketing Strategies that No Learning Tech Vendor Can Live Without