How to convince your customers to learn

remotely

EBOOK

By Donna Weber, Springboard Solutions

How to convince your customers to learn remotely

2

Virtual instructor-led training is instructor-led training delivered remotely using online tools that

provide the remote classroom infrastructure as well as hands-on lab environments for technical

product training. You might call it live online, remote classroom, synchronous learning, or dis-

tance learning. While self-paced training has its place, it is not covered in this eBook.

What is vILT?

ILT isn’t always “all that”

Are you trying to deliver product training remotely, but find customers are resisting the

change? Have no fear. The time is right to move away from a pure classroom instructor-led

approach (ILT), and towards virtual instructor-led training (vILT). This eBook shows you why

it’s beneficial to both you and your customers, and offers ways to convince your customers

to make the change.

You might be most familiar with delivering courses in face-to-face classrooms, and your

customers might equate training with in-person classes. However, just because your cus-

tomers think they need ILT, doesn’t mean it’s always the right solution for them. The truth

is this traditional approach to delivering learning is often a burden on your customers and

your training organization. Take a look at the challenges both customers and your company

experience with vILT on page 3.

How to convince your customers to learn remotely

3

ILT Challenges vILT Opportunities

For Customers – Productivity loss

– Travel time and costs

– Travel restrictions

– Dispersed teams

– Delayed learning

Flexible, just-in-time learning

Integrate into workday

Take the right class at the right time

Train dispersed teams easily

No travel costs

For Companies – Resources required to schedule, reschedule, and cancel classes that aren’t full

– Travel time and costs

– Added costs to rent classrooms, ship manuals, feed participants and set up computers

Flexibility for instructors

More variety for instructors

Global reach and scale

Multiple time zones

Reduced delivery costs

Higher margins

The Value of vILT

How to convince your customers to learn remotely

4

Some people assume that virtual training prioritizes efficiency and affordability at the expense of

effectiveness. However, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Education, vILT provides

equal if not better educational outcomes while being an affordable, low-overhead alternative to

in-person training. Explore the opportunities both you and your customers gain from the vILT

approach in the table on page 3.

In fact, virtual learning is as effective as in-person learning, as long as you design it well. Dr. Ruth

Clark, President of Clark Training and Consulting, finds from her research that training success

relies on presentation, instructor ability, and good course design, no matter what the delivery

method. Strigo customer Elastic, finds this to be true. Nathan Zamecnik, Director of Education

at Elastic shares:

The proof is in the pudding

After tracking course surveys for several months we discovered our vILT classes rated higher than our in-person classes. Our customers love the virtual classroom experience, especially because of the structure. Rather than an ex-hausting eight-hour day, they enjoy the more flexible four-hour sessions, as well as the interactive experience on the Strigo platform.

When customers adopt quickly, they renew forever.

Most importantly, for both you and your customers, vILT is a great way to increase product adop-

tion and to drive customers to value quickly. The reality is when customers rely on ILT, they often

delay learning your product. You can’t afford to put adoption on hold because, as Mark Ralls,

President and COO at Invicti Security finds:

How to convince your customers to learn remotely

5

Maybe your customers aren’t embracing the new world of remote training. While vILT might be

new to you, vILT has been around for a long time and awesome tools, like Strigo, help you deliver

a great remote offering.

Just like with any new product, take the time to share the benefits with your customers. Rather

than just throwing a new approach to training “out there” to see if it sticks, let customers know

how much it benefits them. Emphasize how vILT makes their lives easier, how effective it is, and

how it helps them make money, save money, and save time. The change may not be instanta-

neous, but if you have clear, consistent, and constant communication about the benefits of vILT,

they will begin to embrace this flexible approach.

People are generally resistant to change, so when creating a new approach it’s important you

bridge the gap from what’s familiar to the new offering for them. In this case, you do this by de-

fining who your new vILT offering impacts. For your customers, this may include the users as well

as the buyers of your products and offerings. When you understand who you are addressing,

then create a plan for how to meet their objections. Rather than hoping they figure out all the

awesome benefits defined above,spell it out for them and then tell them frequently.

How to convince your customers

How to convince your customers to learn remotely

Create slides that highlight the benefits of vILT for Sales and Customer Success teams to share during customer conversations

Work with Marketing teams to build campaigns that raise awareness and generate excitement and demand for vILT

Offer free vILT trial classes for customers to try the new approach, risk-free

Share testimonials from customers who are delighted with the experience

Provide short webinars and/or videos that highlight the benefits of vILT, then place the recordings on your website for Sales teams to reference

Create datasheets detailing the new offering to send to customers and to download from your website

Add banners on your website and in your product to highlight vILT

Ways to “sell” vILT to your customers

About StrigoStrigo is changing the way companies train their customers by offering the industry’s first platform that

provides a unified experience for all training modalities (ILT, VILT, and eLearning), the Strigo Customer

Training Cloud. Since its founding in 2017, software companies around the world have chosen Strigo to

drive their growth by delivering a superior training experience.

www.strigo.io contact@strigo.io

Whether remote classes are a new addition to your training portfolio, or the sole way your cus-

tomers learn, vILT brings a new level of opportunity and flexibility to your business and to your

customers. With an effective instructor and good course design, vILT is effective, engaging, and

impactful for both you and your customers.