Customer Training & Development Centers--The Coming Wave?

Lately we're seeing an increasing interest in providing customer education.  Many of our own customers are taking a subset of their training catalog and delivering it to their customer audience through online training centers.

The customer training center movement usually takes on either of two flavors (and often times both):

1. Customer Training & Resource Centers--these are primarily online sites that serve the universal customer audience.  These site typically feature fee-based models and content that's a "scrubbed" subset of an existing distribution channel curriculum.
2. Branded Customer Training & Resource Centers-- these online sites are part of a "value added" strategy and oftentimes incorporated into a proposal to a major customer.  For example, a company attempting to make a major sale of capital equipment to a key customer might include in the proposal the availability of a training center branded and customized to the needs of that specific customer.

The goal of these centers, whether branded or generic, is to build customer loyalty, gain customer feedback through online interactions, and to grow after market sales throughout the lifecycle of the customer's products.

These sites are often ecommerce enabled and some, or all courses and curriculums have a price.  Thus the site can often generate significant revenue and pay for itself.  In some cases, these sites can even function as a profit center for the manufacturer.

When contemplating one of these sites please remember that you don't want to disrupt your channel sales and service relationships.  This is a risk because these sites can bypass the distribution channel and route the customer...and related sales...directly back to the manufacturer.

If properly planned and executed these sites can deliver on the promise of  building customer loyalty, enabling customer feedback, and growing after market sales throughout the lifecycle of the products you've sold to your customer.

Who "Owns" Distribution Channel Performance?

We are laser focused on channel management so not surprisingly we attend many meetings where the focus is on improving the performance of distribution channels. Each of the major functional disciplines from within the corporation are represented at these meetings by people with a share of the responsibility for channel performance. At these meetings we rarely find someone who really "owns" the performance of an indirect distribution channel, unless the CEO is in attendance!

Unlike direct sales the reality in the market is that indirect channel performance is usually a shared responsibility. With direct sales channels, it's pretty clear where the buck stops - usually with the VP of Sales. All the metrics associated with the direct sales force are the responsibility of the VP of Sales, and that is where the functional folks go when they need to engage with the sales force. Not so in an indirect channel where regional sales VPs typically have a goal number for their dealers or distributors without the authority to conduct or coordinate the other disciplines that are actively engaging with the channel.

Everyone else has goals tied to their functional discipline, not to the performance of the indirect channel. Marketing has plans for rolling out new products; training and operations manage the never-ending cycle for ramping up distribution partner new employees and for on-boarding new partners; IT is busy pushing systems out to partners and so it goes on. However, rarely do we see any single executive "owning" the collective performance of the indirect distribution channel.

Technology has evolved recently that allows product managers to more effectively manage the inputs from each discipline (IT, operations, training, marketing, etc.). All too often, channel partners have to access multiple IT systems - one for incentives, another for placing orders, another for concessions, another for training, etc. - just to represent a single manufacturer's product. For distribution partners that represent multiple brands, this complexity of systems grows exponentially with each additional brand they represent. Today, product managers who sell through indirect channel partners must make it easy for their partners to sell their product. The interface that channel partners have into these disciplines must be seamless and integrated.

In our experience, the marketing function typically finds itself coordinating the various inputs into the channel in order to achieve the firm's sales goal in the channel. Being a product manager for a product sold through an indirect channel in this kind of environment is akin to conducting an orchestra. You have many contributors to the end product.  You need them all to perform well individually to deliver. More importantly, each individual performance needs to be synchronized by the conductor to create the collective performance - the music.

What product managers need is akin to the sheet music - a common, single systems that integrates best practices, workflows, and other sources of data and content from various disciplines that contribute to overall performance in such a way that the music sounds great. Our Performance Center product at LogicBay does just that.

John Panaccione

Top priorities for 2010 (and every year for that matter!)

 Are you fed up with all those "top ten" things to do next year or "best ten" lists of the year just past?

Well I'm not because it has always made sense to assess goals for the short, medium and long term and to review them regularly.

So what better time than the New Year to prioritize and launch collaborative efforts with your channel?

Emerging from the festive season the folks at Franchise Business Review http://www.franchisebusinessreview.com/ are saying that Franchisors should be focused on driving unit-level economics... revenue / profitability for franchisees in 2010.

Here are their key priority areas for 2010, and they just happen to be ten ...

1.) Clearly defined and MEASURABLE business goals centered on the business's key performance indicators (ie. new customers, average ticket price, customer visits, etc.) and broken down into actionable goals... hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly activities.

2.) Research/development/testing of new and improved products/services that fit within your core business offering. (Primary goal of increasing revenues from existing clients and customers)

3.) Better training and education of both new and existing franchisees and their staff focused on making the business more efficient and profitable, improved marketing/sales techniques, and better customer service.

4.) Improving and/or providing a better internal communications platform to foster more interaction between franchisees with the goal of sharing more business best-practices.

5.) Provide franchisees with the knowledge and tools to accurately and consistently measure customer satisfaction system-wide, with the goal of making small but meaningful improvements in customer loyalty. (a small, 5% improvement in customer loyalty can drive a 95%+ improvement in revenue)

6.) Get franchisees more involved! If you don't have a franchisee advisory council (FAC), create one. If you already have an FAC, brainstorm with franchisees on how to make it more effective. And make sure FAC members communicate regularly with their fellow franchisees on progress of various projects and priorities.

7.) Start a mentor program... where your more senior franchisees provide coaching to your newer franchisees.

8.) Survey every one of your franchisees and ask them the top three things the corporate office could do to help them grow and be more successful... and then follow up and do those 3 things!

9.) Get to know your franchisees better on a personal level. What are their goals, dreams, challenges... both in and outside the business? Take every franchisee out for lunch... call them personally on their birthday... invite spouses and children to your annual convention... send them a hand-written note to let them know that you care. You would be amazed at the huge impact a small, inexpensive gesture can have on franchise relations and ultimately business profitability.

10.) Cut your 2010 franchise marketing budget by 50% and reallocate those resources to services for your franchisees designed to increase unit-level performance and profitability. Any reduction in franchisee candidate inquiries will be more than offset long term by franchisee referrals and improved unit performance.

What would be in your list of key areas to focus on for 2010?

This article was written by David Phillips. 

Working adults and the financial opportunity for higher education

One of the most memorable "aha moments" I had was during a conference sponsored by the Stevens Institute. It was held in New York City, and it was a gathering of continuing education leaders who focused on online programs for working adults. As part of the day's presentations, they video teleconferenced in an employee from Boeing in Seattle who was a student in one of Stevens' (in NYC) online programs. This employee made an interesting comment that has since been stuck in my head. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that "one of the things that I like most about this format is that I learn just like I work. At work, I'm routinely using email, collaborating from a distance with my fellow employees, attending teleconferences and web meetings. The program I'm enrolled in at Stevens is in the same format that I work in."

That comment was striking. It's a great summation of why well designed online programs delivered by universities can be uniquely valuable to working adults. However, it's been our experience that quality is driven equally by two variables. The first is the content, which is driven by the experts who developed it and the university brand behind it. The second is the packaging. The design of online programs is absolutely as important as the content. Putting great content in poorly designed packaging results in a poor program. Conversely, poor content in a well designed program may be efficient but not effective. The real trick is to combine great content, brand, and design into a single package.

The recent news from the University of California that tuitions are being raised by over 32 percent despite deep cost cuts in the recent past is alarming many. I believe that it's a symptom of the problem. In a New York Times article about this issue, part of the remedy, according to a spokesperson, is to implement an "online 11th U.C. campus" to bring other students from other states and countries to the institution.

Universities have a tremendous opportunity to tap untapped markets - working adults like the Boeing employee. However, it's easier said than done. There is a great deal of misunderstanding among university staffs and faculty on what it takes to create an effective, quality online program for working adults. The landscape is littered with past failures, mostly the result of poor design. The trick is to not think of technology as something that's going to make the traditional ways less expensive. Rather the challenge is to think of technology as an enabler of innovative, new ways of educating that ONLY a technology-driven approach can deliver. The convergence of the traditional educational contexts and new technology-enabled "packaging" is truly exciting.  It offers access to self-improvement for working adults while also providing much needed new financial opportunities for higher education institutions that can get it right the first time.

This article was written by John Panaccione.

Aligning Your Distribution Channel Around Corporate Objectives

In our many dealings with distribution channels we've found that most channels are very poorly aligned behind corporate strategies and objectives. This is not surprising. Aligning a distribution channel is very difficult, but while the barriers are many the value in doing so is key to your success.  Some of these barriers include:

1. Dealers, distributors and franchises are often geographically far from the corporate headquarters.

2. More often than not, they are privately owned businesses with their own agendas for success.

3. The people you need to reach...the sales, service, parts and finance folks that have the most impact on your success...are often a layer or two below the executives that are on your radar screen.

4. Those key customer-facing workers may never, over the entire course of their careers, actually meet you face-to-face or even communicate virtually with you.

With all these things working against you, how do you align your channel and ensure that they are working with your best interests in mind?

Well, doing things the same way you've always done them is not the solution. Instead, you need to try something new. First you need to eliminate the middleman. You cannot rely on dealer executives to effectively communicate your goals and strategies to the customer facing people in your channel. Once your reach these key people, and establish a relationship (even if it's a virtual relationship), you are in a position to align them behind your corporate goals and objectives.

This obviously begs the question: How do I establish a relationship with these people when they're a couple of layers down within my channel and geographically dispersed throughout the nation or the world? The answer to this is to find a way to become integrated into their work flow or work process. The way to do this is to introduce a dealer information system that becomes tightly integrated with their work life and provides immediate and ongoing value to their financial well-being. Once you do this you will have the Trojan Horse where you can infiltrate their work life with communication and branding that brings them into alignment with your goals and strategies.

For actual case studies on how this has been achieved at Fortune 500 companies contact your LogicBay representative.

This article was written by Paul Tobin. 

Tension in 2.0

Teaching with Twitter means students are more involved.
And that can take classes in risky directions.

A recent article ("Teaching with Twitter: Not for the Faint of Heart") in the Chronicle of Higher Education relates the challenges experienced by a few professors who apparently got more than they asked for when they offered their students the opportunity to use Twitter to post questions and comments about lecture material. In real time!

Unfortunately the report emphasized the sophomoric responses of a few rather than the spirit of inquiry that motivated these professors to open their lecture halls in the first place. Bravo to these open-minded educators who understand that their mission is to enable inquiry as much as it is to impart knowledge. In this regard, higher education should take a lesson from the world of business as it has embraced the tools of social networking to engage internal and external audiences and nurture innovation.

In "The Innovator's DNA" in this December's Harvard Business Review, Jeffrey H. Dyer, Hal B.Gregersen and Clayton M. Christensen point to five "discovery skills" that signal and nurture innovation:

1. Associating
2. Questioning
3. Observing
4. Experimenting
5. Networking

The authors share quite a few rich examples of how these skills have been practiced by some of today's greatest innovators, like Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Pierre Omidyar, Ratan Tata, Michael Dell and others. Connecting the dots between seemingly unrelated factors, probing into the status quo, gaining insights by seeing what is going on around them in a different light and putting yourself on the line by seeking contact with a diverse field and testing out these insights with those around you are some of the ways that these great innovators got their ideas off the ground.

It's true that some people seem to be born with these abilities but it is also true that such behaviors can be modeled, encouraged, and . . . taught.

In Web 2.0, we have the tools to nurture the depth of inquiry and breadth of networking as well to foster the level of knowledge sharing that can lead to the degree of association, observation and experimentation that fosters innovation. These tools form the essence of the programs LogicBay is partnering with our clients in higher education to deliver via our Enrichment Center platform.

A lecture hall that is "safe" for its professor is a dead end for inquiry. Open it up, I say, and when the kids get tired of tweeting nonsense, they and the rest of the class will see the real benefits of taking chances, and we will have done our job of making the world "safe" for innovation.

This blog article was written by Sheri Handel @ LogicBay.

Getting closer to customers

 

The 2007 annual Booz Allen Hamilton survey of 1,000 publicly held companies that spend the most on research and development found that there is no statistically significant connection between the amounts of money a company spends on innovation and its financial performance. The report did conclude however that the companies directly engaging their customer base around new products had twice the return on assets and triple the operating income growth of their peers.

At the same time, according to the AberdeenGroup, companies identified the integration of product lifecycle management systems (PLM) with other enterprise applications as the #2 growth area for technology adoption between 2008 and 2010, with an 88% growth in PLM system integration with enterprise applications such as ERP, SCM, CRM.

LogicBay has long held the view that manufacturers of all sizes must recognize and exploit the global "collective intelligence" of their users and the people that support the sales and servicing of their products throughout the distribution channel for product innovation.

So shouldn't companies be investing more in systems to get closer to customers rather than first putting major investments in the internal systems that I describe above?