The Benefit of Creating Online Courses for Business

From increasing productivity to increasing the bottom line, course creation is an factor many business use to level-up.

As we move into 2023, could developing a course scale your business? Read the blog to find out m ore.

Online courses have become an increasingly popular way for businesses to educate their employees, train new hires, and develop their skills. Creating online courses can provide businesses with a wealth of benefits, from increased productivity to cost savings.

Tip #1 - Cut training costs by systemizing internal training via courses

For starters, online courses can be an effective way to quickly and efficiently train employees. With an online course, businesses can create a comprehensive training program that can be accessed by employees at any time. This eliminates the need to bring in outside trainers or have employees attend in-person workshops, saving businesses time and money.Additionally, online courses can help businesses stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends and best practices. Online courses can be updated frequently to ensure that employees are always learning the latest information and can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the business. This can be especially helpful for businesses that operate in rapidly changing industries.

Many labor hours are paid to team leaders and mid-level managers while training new employees. Besides the fact that this is an inefficient use of the managers time it also means that every new employee may not be receiving the same training in the same fashion which could prove to be a problem later on.

When working as a manager I would often have my new hire shadow ap lead employee like many companies do. At the end of the day I would sit with the new hire and ask them to recap what they learned in hopes of mitigating any mis-information or ineffective 'shortcuts' the team may be taking. Although this technique freed me up to focus on other managerial duties I found that I often ended up re-training most people after 90 days. When employees are new they are taking in an abundance of information that makes it harder to retain the important information you want them to hear. Plus, they are busy getting to know other people and make human connections.

By creating an online training program companies can ensure that each employee is getting the same information the same way. Doing re-education credits for employees who have been in place for awhile is also a benefit to help reinstall the procedures companies expect to be followed to ensure client satisfaction.

Eventually, I began a training program which was simple LOOM videos demonstrating HOW we wanted things done which was a great reference point for people to rewatch in the event they forgot how to accomplish something during their working days. This also eliminated the need for them to bother other employees by asking questions.

Online courses can also help businesses increase productivity. By providing employees with the skills and knowledge they need to do their jobs, businesses can ensure that employees are working at their highest potential. This can lead to greater efficiency, improved customer service, and higher profits.

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Tip #2 - Increasing Profits

Creating online courses can help businesses build their brand. By offering engaging, informative courses, businesses can demonstrate their expertise and create a positive brand image. This can attract customers and help businesses establish themselves as a leader in their industry while also adding to their bottom line.

Even businesses that serve a local community can benefit from online courses by either offering valuable information to do-it-yourselfers who may not be local or by teaching other businesses the 'behind the scenes' to help them get started in their area.

For example, a local chiropractic may not be able to offer adjustments over the internet, but he could create courses to help people with chronic back or neck pain reduce pain by teaching them exercises or sleep positions that help correct the problem.

Or, perhaps a wedding planner can create a course for sale showing others who want to start a wedding planning business for themselves how to get started, find clients, and offer top notch service, thus teaching the business basics to others in diverse markets.

Sometimes, online courses are a great way to profit from 'looky-loos' or prospective clients in the beginning stages of shopping for a product. Rather than spending a lot of energy or hounding people with phone calls and emails who are just beginning their search and are not ready to buy today, a business can offer a course to help the consumer make an informed decision.

For example, a log cabin builder who offers a mini-course on what to look for in a contractor, or how to find the right build site for your log home. These are low ticket courses, perhaps even free depending on the subject, that are intended to build an email list and offer value in exchange for building a relationship with the prospect. I recommend courses like this for companies that offer high ticket products or services.

"Employee training engagement drastically improves profit margins. Lower costs with higher productivity and customer satisfaction help foster a healthier bottom line." – eLearning Industries

Tip #3 - Educate Your Prospects

Recently I signed up to win a Treager grill at the local county fair. It was being offered by a fire safety company that sold fire preparedness products locally. I did not win the grill but I did win a free emergency kit and a presentation about fire safety. My husband and I and my two oldest boys listened to the two hour presentation and we were convinced we needed a better fire alarm system.

We considered ourselves fire-conscious people. We checked our batteries in our alarms and thought we took added precautions with an escape ladder and an extinguisher, but after sitting through the two hour class we learned that we were drastically unprepared.

Prior to listening to the presentation I was definitely NOT in the market for new fire safety equipment. But since the information opened my eyes to the truth about a lot of the "safe" equipment we had, we realized the truth. Additionally, by the end of the presentation we were ready to buy. Really! We went from being not interested to ready to buy in a matter of two hours because we got educated about a need we didn't even know we had.

If the training course had been online would we have still taken it? Probably not if I knew it was going to take two hours, but a lot of that time was general chit chat. Their training course could have been summarized into a 30-45 minute mini-training that I would have watched.

With the right ad I might have even bought the course to learn how to protect my family in a fire emergency.

Often, prospects are unaware of the how your industry works and how they may be inadvertently choosing a business that is not best suited for their needs. In your business, how often do you fix other businesses mistakes because people didn't know what they didn't know before they got started.

After leaving the automotive industry I often found myself helping people understand how dealerships work so they felt more confident buying a car. I even thought about offering myself as a car buying consultant to help them in the negotiation process. Ultimately, that idea was too close to an industry that I was ready to be far removed from so the idea didn't appeal to me. The point here is that sometimes people know they want a certain product or service, but don't know what questions to ask to determine a quality supplier versus a poor one. Your mini-course could be the clincher that helps them feel more confident in making a buying choice while simultaneously building trust in your brand.

Build Your Course

Overall, creating online courses can provide businesses with a range of benefits, from cost savings to increased productivity. If your business is looking to stay competitive and maximize its potential, creating online courses is a great way to do so.

If you are ready to build a course and are not sure where to start or how to create the course schedule a free pathway call to see your course can come together.

If you are ready to take the leap on your own, here are the basic steps to follow.

1 - Decide what problem your course solves so you can offer a tangible result.

2 - Map out the training topics

3 - Write a script for each video (Consider using Canva.com to offer slides)

4 - Record the videos. I prefer Descript.com

5 - Upload the videos to a course platform or to an unpublished landing page of your website. You can use a company like Teachable or Udemy, or even leverage YouTube to house the videos. If you'd like to incorporate quizzes and tests also consider www.Kajabi.com. Click here to get your free 30 day trial of Kajabi.