Building Expertise In Verticals Via eLearning
A vertical market, also known as a vertical, is a narrow market with specific products or services that only appeal to a targeted niche. There are a number of organizations that build expertise in only a specific vertical because, although it means they have a smaller customer base, each potential customer is more likely to buy their specialized product or service.
Examples of vertical markets include automotive, insurance, banking, real estate, education, energy, heavy manufacturing, oil and gas, food and beverage, retail, transportation, telecommunications, and hospitals—to name the important ones. But, as one may imagine, building expertise in a vertical is no joke. It requires in-depth knowledge of your niche industry; knowledge which takes years to develop. In addition, vertical markets are very sensitive to developing trends, which means that an organization claiming expertise in a vertical must constantly follow trends and educate its employees on how each important event affects the vertical as well as the organization’s customers.
Such continuous education is only possible through a digital learning methodology. As digital learning reduces the time spent learning, it can provide in-depth knowledge about a vertical to an organization’s employees in months instead of years. It can also keep employees updated on the latest market trends. That is why digital learning is the best learning methodology to build expertise in verticals. In this article, we’ll discuss how.
1. By Providing Tribal Knowledge
Simply knowing how to provide the products or services in the chosen vertical isn’t enough to build expertise. Employees in an organization claiming expertise in a vertical must know the ins and outs of their vertical. This includes knowing what impacts the growth of the vertical to the vertical-specific jargon used to converse with clients as well as customers. Digital learning courses excel in providing declarative as well as procedural knowledge through the presentation of facts and their application via a number of styles and formats, which is exactly what is needed to develop tribal knowledge in employees.
2. By Building Expertise In Vertical-Specific Technology
Technology has become enmeshed in almost every industry and vertical in the modern world, so much so that an organization cannot expect to build expertise in a niche without knowing the latest hardware, software, services, and cloud offerings prevalent in the niche. Digital learning courses can be used to provide simulations to employees that help them build technical knowledge and certifications to leverage the prevalent technology in a vertical so that they can better address the needs of their clients and customers. For example, an organization that sells medical equipment to hospitals must know about the latest technology prevalent in the healthcare industry.
3. By Improving On The Product Or Service Offerings
There is one thing an organization can be sure of when they decide to choose a specific vertical to build expertise in. "What is that?" you ask. The fact that someone has been doing it before you. Simply offering quality products or services is not enough in this day and age. Organizations claiming expertise in a vertical must do something extremely innovative or revolutionary (think Steve Jobs revolutionary), in order to be truly acclaimed as experts. Digital learning can be used to make subject experts out of ordinary employees in a matter of months; however, it can also be used to propagate out-of-the-box thinking in employees by utilizing social learning in the program. When employees learn together while communicating which each other easily, they are more likely to innovate. Scenarios can also be used in digital learning courses to develop problem-solving skills in employees. It is necessary to look for problems others haven’t thought of yet and turn it into an opportunity.
The global market moves at breakneck speeds today. The modern workplace requires a learning methodology that is fully embedded into the day-to-day lives of its employees, providing them with continuous information that they can use to get better every day at their jobs. Digital learning can help organizations specialize in the niche market and products, bring more insight to their clients and become an integral part of their business, all while providing employees the flexibility to learn without affecting their day-to-day operations. If you’re thinking of building expertise in a vertical, now is the time to implement digital learning in your organization and reap its benefits.
