How to differentiate yourself on the training market?

4 strategies to get noticed in a market full of competitors.

How to differentiate yourself on the training market?

4 strategies to get noticed in a market full of competitors.

Each small business competes against either competitors of the same size and much larger companies that offer similar services. For this reason, it is essential to find the factors that can make your company stand out in the market.

1. Develop a market niche

Is your offer different from that of other companies? Do you offer something that no one else (or very few other companies) offer?
Even if you offer many courses on different subjects, it does not mean that you can not develop a niche by focusing on some of the lesser-known titles (as long as there are not many other training companies that deliver these courses). To support the visibility of your company on the specific topic of the course you can put in place some marketing activities: newsletters, sharing on social networks, communication via the home page of the company website and in the promotional material of your company.

2. Build partnerships

To get noticed by potential customers you can activate partnerships. Let's see how partnerships will make your business more appealing:

  • Obtaining accreditation: if you offer training courses accredited by specific institutions, you will not only be able to promote accreditation of the courses in question, but probably the institution will in turn promote the fact that you are an accredited training provider. This could provide you with a broader customer base.
  • Networking: if you create a partnership with other educational institutions to create a complete and complementary educational path for the training of students (who may want to start their training with you and then move on to a training course offered by another institute/University), you will have the opportunity to get a cross promotion. How? Your partner's students will be aware of your offer (and will know the reasons for accessing it) and your students will be placed in the same condition with respect to the partner's offer. It's a win win solution (even for students).
  • Looking for exclusivity: Some accrediting bodies allow only a certain number of training providers to manage training for them. If your company manages to reserve this type of exclusive training before anyone else, you can get great opportunities.

3. Do not hide your problems

Do not try to hide the negative reviews and the problems passed to potential customers: they are usefull to show how you handle problems and this is what makes the difference for the customer!
If you hide negative feedback on your website or social media, potential customers may think that you hide them or that the reviews you show have been commissioned! Furthermore, all feedback obtained is useful for improvement. As a result, a better strategy is to respond to negative comments by letting your customers know that you appreciate their feedbacks and by showing the way you are dealing with problems so that they do not happen again. You will demonstrate that your company is reliable and really puts customers at the centre.

4. Make it easy to become your customer

Is it really easy for prospects to become customers? If your company uses complicated procedures to get students enrolled in a training course, you could lose them.
How to simplify the process to become a customer?

  • Provide all useful information on the course through the website. Potential customers should be able to find answers to any questions about the course (price, duration, lesson schedule, qualification obtained at the end ...);
  • Sell your courses (also) online so that potential customers have the opportunity to purchase quickly and independently;
  • Provide help to potential customers, making support options clear. If your potential customers have concerns during the purchase, it is very important to make sure that they know where to look for the answer in your company / site, under penalty of finding the answer in other training companies and the loss of the sale. Display contact information (phone numbers, e-mail addresses) and a link to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.

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