Conducting eLearning Audience Research: 6 Benefits To Consider
Conducting eLearning audience research requires both time and resources. So, you may be asking yourself whether it's truly worth the investment? The answer is always YES! Even though you may have to devote a percentage of your eLearning development budget to surveys, focus groups, and interviews, researching your eLearning audience will pay off when it's time to create meaningful and effective eLearning experiences. Here are 5 of the unexpected benefits of eLearning audience research that you may want to bear in mind.
- Improves your ROI and mitigates risk.
The only way that you can provide your online learners with the knowledge and skills they are looking for is by analyzing your eLearning course audience. Otherwise, you may devote a significant amount of time, money, and resources to creating an eLearning course that doesn't even appeal to their wants or learning needs. In order to be truly successful and get a return on your investment you must be able to offer real value to your online learners. It must target a problem they currently have or a skill they are lacking. If you fail to do so, they are less likely to participate, or spend their hard-earned dollar on purchasing the eLearning course if you are selling it. Organizations can also mitigate their risk by determining their employees' performance gaps in advance, thereby ensuring that their online training program is worth the investment and boosts productivity. - Identify gaps in the eLearning market.
There may be a wide range of eLearning courses that are currently available, but there are still some gaps in the eLearning market that you find through eLearning audience research. This can help you avoid niches that might already be oversaturated, so that you can pinpoint problems that need to be solved and skill gaps that are still untapped. Keep in mind that online learners are more likely to participate or purchase your eLearning course if you identify a common obstacle or challenge that they are facing, then offer them the tools and resources they require to overcome it. This information can be obtained by conducting surveys, focus groups, and interviews that concentrate on their goals and skill sets that they would like to develop. On a side note, if you do find that the eLearning market is already saturated, then eLearning audience research can give you the information you need to put a new spin on an already explored topic. - Allows you to offer more personalized support for your online learners.
Without a doubt, one of the most notable benefits of conducting eLearning audience research for your eLearning course is the ability to offer customized support for your online learners. You can figure out their preferred methods of communication, such as email or video chat, as well as the level of assistance they might require. For example, if you discover that most of your online learners are new to eLearning and need some extra help accessing the eLearning course platform, you can offer them an online tutorial or walkthrough that highlights all of the steps involved. Additionally, eLearning audience research allows you to determine the ideal delivery methods for your online learners. For instance, those who prefer on-the-go eLearning can access the eLearning course content via a mobile device, since you've planned ahead and created a responsive design eLearning course. - Identify future eLearning trends.
Many people use eLearning audience research to identify the current learning needs and wants of their customer base. However, it can also give you valuable insight into the future of eLearning Industry. You have the power to analyze current eLearning trends that can forecast what is to come. For example, if all 500 of the online learners who completed your survey mention the fact that they would be likely to participate in a Virtual Reality based course, this tells you that augmented reality may be something to research now so that you can stay ahead of the game. Make certain that your eLearning audience research tools, such as online surveys and interviews, target the areas you are most concerned about. If you want to know what your online learners would like to see in future eLearning courses, for instance, you might ask them which eLearning tools, resources, activities, or delivery formats they find most beneficial. - Pinpoint eLearning obstacles that may stand in your way.
There are a variety of challenges that can prevent online learners from fully engaging in your eLearning course. While some learners might be resistant to technology, others simply have busy schedules, or simply, they are not motivated enough. eLearning audience research gives you the opportunity to identify these hurdles, and then figure out ways that you can overcome them. For example, an online learner who may be reluctant to participate because they aren't tech-savvy may benefit from an online presentation that shows them how to access the eLearning course. You can also emphasize the advantages of taking the eLearning course so that the pros far outweigh the cons. eLearning assessments can achieve the same results, in some respects, but eLearning audience research can reveal much more about the emotions and opinions of your online learners; for instance, you can discover if stress might be standing in their way, or if they have had negative eLearning experiences in the past.
These are just some of the hidden benefits that eLearning audience research can bring to your eLearning project. Which is why it's essential to devote a sufficient amount of resources to surveying, interviewing, and assessing your online learners before you begin the eLearning development process. If there is any doubt in your mind about your eLearning course not aligning with their objectives, or you don't have a good grasp on what they expect to get out of the eLearning experience, then it's always wise to carry out in depth research.
Are you ready to step inside the minds of your eLearning audience, so that you can develop high-impact eLearning experiences? Read the article 10 Questions To Get To Know Your Online Learners to discover the questions that every eLearning professional should ask to get to know their online learners.
