how to improve profits

Never before has the corporate world been so fiercely competitive. Businesses are, thus, constantly battling to improve their performance and cut down costs. Hiring the greatest people and providing them with effective training can surely help you put up your A-game. However, in such a competitive environment, the people you pick to collaborate with externally are also extremely important.

As a result, corporate training has recently expanded its scope beyond business employees to include individuals in the ‘extended enterprise’. This includes training external stakeholders, who play a critical role in the success of your firm and thus, should not be overlooked.

In simpler terms, extended enterprise training refers to the training of external business partners who contribute to the success of the business, such as customers, vendors, resellers, distributors, and consultants. The main objective of an extended enterprise training and development program is to make your ‘extended enterprise’ more knowledgeable about the vision, ethics, products/services and every other aspect of your business. Over the years, this practice has proven to be beneficial for organisations in ways that one can hardly imagine. As a result, the demand for LMS platforms, like Totara, that can support a seamless extended enterprise training experience has also skyrocketed.

However, some small organisations are still unsure if extended enterprise training is right for them. So, to help them make the correct decision, here are the top reasons to implement extended enterprise training programmes:

1. Consistent and Stronger Brand Image

Extended Enterprise Training includes educating all your external stakeholders like vendors, customers, suppliers, consultants and many more. Implementing an organised and structured training programme will ensure that the same level of knowledge or training is imparted across all these segments. This will add consistency to your brand.

In addition to this, the external parties can obtain a better understanding of your company’s principles and operations by participating in these training programmes. As a result, they will prove to be more effective advocates or ambassadors for your brand.

2. Improved Communication

For every organisation to operate efficiently, the free flow of correct information is very important. However, as the number of participants in the communication process increases, the chances of information getting distorted or lost in the flow also increase.

Extended Enterprise training aims to fill these communication voids. It allows you to educate your customers about your product offerings and answer the questions that they may have. You can also use these programmes to ensure that your partners are properly informed about the business processes and policies. In short, extended enterprise training enables you to bring all extended members of your business on the same page and thus, streamlines your communication process.

3. Improved Profits

Another reason to implement extended enterprise training is its ability to improve your profits. For example, If you offer training to your customers, they are bound to be more informed and empowered. This can also drive up their satisfaction level which further increases their chance of repeating business with you. They may also bring you more business by referring your products or services to their loved ones.

Similarly, training your distributors can also make them equipped to market your products better. All of this when combined together can surely result in increased profit and market share for your business.

4. Highlights Area of Improvements

One of the biggest benefits of implementing extended enterprise training is that it allows you to understand the existing processes and people better. Deploying an extended enterprise training programme will enable you to discover the areas where the concerning procedures are falling short or where the individuals involved require further training. By highlighting these areas of improvement, extended enterprise training provides you with an opportunity to remove bottlenecks from your supply chain and make your team (both, internal and external) more efficient.

Conclusion

For running a successful business, extended enterprise training is as crucial as employee training programmes. By giving proper training to your extended enterprise members, you can ensure that you have a productive, efficient and financially viable team to support your internal members.

Thus, we hope that you give due consideration to the above-mentioned points and implement effective extended enterprise training programmes in your organisation if you haven’t already.

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