Posts in Industry News

For some time annual conference and exhibition events have been delivering the ideal hunting ground for service providers looking to showcase their latest services and products to their target market, and for opportunistic business people to interact with like-minded individuals and buy into the latest ideas and concepts to support them in becoming more effective in their job. The Learning and Technologies Show is no different, and this year the hosts promise to put on another incredible event.

The conference and exhibition formula works, otherwise halls up and down the country wouldn’t be packed out each week with stalls, seminars and presentations filling up packed daily schedules. However, while these events are well-attended, that can’t be denied, how many visitors go to along equipped with a strategy that will ensure they get the most return for sacrificing a day or two out of the office?

From our experience, not very many. So, to ensure that you get the most from the next conference or event, follow accessplanit’s top tips on how to prepare for the next time you leave the exhibition hall you have more than just a bag full of branded pens, pencils and mousemats…

1.           Prepare: Just because the event planner’s marketing team has told you that each and every seminar at the conference is a “must attend”, it’s crucial that you do some prep work yourself. Be clear on what the key issues are for your business right now, and align those objectives with the sessions you attend. Also, find out who is speaking and identify whether anyone is particularly ‘cutting edge’ in terms of where the market is going and how it will develop.

2.           Benchmark: You’ll be inundated with representatives from stalls wanting to talk to you about their latest products and services, but have a strategy in place from the start as you will struggle to have good conversations with every single one. As an example, see this as a benchmarking opportunity, so look at all your current suppliers, find out who is in direct completion with them, and see if you could be getting a better deal somewhere else.

3.           Smartphones: Unless you’re part of an anti-tech clan, you’ll have a mobile phone with decent camera functionality, and a busy conference is the ideal place to use it. Instead of frantically writing down notes on each and every new piece of tech that you think might be able to half your workload, take pics to remind yourself later.

4.           Networking: Don’t be too selfless either, it’s good to seize the opportunity to find out more about how the latest providers can help your business, but also remember that you are surrounded by individuals working in the same industry as you, and the power of networking should never be ignored. Think about those who are a few rungs above you on the corporate ladder, and consider how they could help you to catch up. If you get a chance, find out who is attending and which company they are from, you can make a beeline for then during breaks.

5.           Be ruthless: Exhibition and conferences are a crucial time for service and product providers, and it makes no sense to waste people’s time. So, by following step 1 and having a clear idea of what you want to get from the exhibition you will ensure that you don’t waste anyone’s time. Don’t stand around and let an exhibitor talk and talk if you have absolutely no interest in the product in question or it it’s totally irrelevant to your business. Of course, if there is a chance that you could invest or are keen to learn more about the company, stay and talk, but if not take a ruthless approach and move on to the next stand.

6.           Visit accessplanit: Of course, the best way to get the most from the Learning and Technologies show 2012 is to visit the experts – accessplanit. We’re exhibiting at stand 67 over the two days and will be on hand to explain just how our revolutionary training management software can cut administration and costs, while helping businesses to market and sell their training courses in a far more effective way.

Following the death of Steve Jobs, the war for smartphone custom took a respectful and well-earned break from its assault onto global markets. However, the battle is back on, and with news this week emerging that Samsung has managed to pull ahead of Apple in sale numbers, shows that there is no time to waste.

The question is, what can these businesses do to stay ahead of the pack, especially coming into the crucial festive period? Well, interestingly there is a clear link here to online training, because Chinese telecommunications company Huawei (which is developing its new smartphone as we speak) is investing time and effort, as part of its sale strategy, in training up its customer service staff so that they have a sound knowledge of the product and its functionality. As we all know, we don’t just buy a product, we buy into the brand and all that goes along with that brand, so if a business can assure customers of great after-sale service with highly trained and knowledgeable agents, the value of the product is bumped up significantly.

So, how can manufacturers install this level understanding into the staff out on the front line? Well, this isn’t necessarily a new concept, some manufacturers have gone to great lengths to design training programmes that develop understanding of their products, simply because it allows them to sell their inventions and new creations on a different level.

It makes sense. The creator of Wow Stuff! toys has a similar approach, though he only allows his own trained staff to sell his products in stores during the festive period, because this is the way he knows he can maximise sales and ensure that no custom is lost.

For manufacturers that don’t have the resource to go to such extremes, e-learning programmes hold the key. They can be easily accessed (even on smartphones or when at home), individuals can take ownership and responsibility of when they carry out the training, and for both these reasons it can be a really effective way of developing skills and knowledge of a certain product or service.

The training management system software is available to design bespoke training programmes, without the need for programming or design skills.  How powerful could it be to develop a product and then translate the uniqueness of that product throughout the business, from the boardroom to the lab, and from the marketing team to the sales staff?

For the smartphone sales battle, it would seem that training and development is an option that could generate significant results, and when you consider just how simple it is to develop the training programme and to then share it with staff – why aren’t more companies taking this approach?

If you want to hear more about the accessplanit Composica e-learning authoring tool, just get in touch with the team on 0845 543 0229 or email enquiries@accessplanit.com.  

We’re pleased to report a recent new hire here at accessplanit – a brilliant new software developer who’ll be joining our team in the coming weeks.  What’s interesting about this particular new recruit is that we found him via social networking site Twitter.

Obviously recruitment through online methods is not a new revelation, recruiters and job hunters have been using websites and online job boards for years. However, social media is increasingly playing a role in how companies recruit their staff. So, as recruitment teams tap social networking for increased exposure and success, shouldn’t other industries follow suit and embrace all that online systems have to offer?

When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Social networking platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are ideal channels as they’re a more personable and immediate ways to connect with a mass audience. With Twitter, you have a ready-made, actively engaged pool of people at your fingertips. Presumably, if someone has chosen to follow your organisation or brand, they already have a healthy interest in what you have to say. They also have their own online circles through which to spread your message.

Social networking channels can also promote a more approachable, human side to an organisation. Regular tweets and updates from a brand or company can really reveal a personality behind the business face and give prospective employees a sense of the working culture. Once technology was seen as impersonal and to be avoided where possible, today it’s not only so convenient and effective, it also has lost the impersonal tag and become wholly accepted in society. In the corporate world, an avid online follower may have a clearer idea of the company’s ethos and therefore a stronger sense of whether they’d fit well with the organisation.  

Access is immediate and wide reaching with online platforms, so you can connect with people wherever they are and engage in a relatively informal two-way dialogue. This element of instant interaction also makes social networks a positive and speedy recruitment tool, not to mention a responsive tool for trainers who need to get in touch with delegates to update them on a last minute venue change or ‘don’t forget to bring’-type note.

As our recent hire shows, people are keen to engage with organisations online and will subsequently base large, life-changing decisions on this initial interaction. 

We are huge advocates of harnessing the power and flexibility of online systems. We feel many organisations limit themselves by not fully embracing all that these systems have to offer. Take the training industry for example - many organisations could massively increase their scope of communication through training management systems. By using an online management system, they could save time and money by streamlining the processes of selling, administering and managing training courses and events.  

Try out the accessplanit Training Administration Software by ordering a demo with one of the team, just take a look at the impact it could have on your business. Call the team on 0845 000 or email enquiries@accessplanit.com

For a business that relies on cutting edge technology to ensure that we stay ahead of the game and front of mind for our clients, it would be impossible not to mention the passing of Steve Jobs this week. He captained the team that actually changed the way we communicate; such is the power of technology today.

If the digital age had to have a central midfield maestro, the one brand that pushes industry forward and keeps the general public eager for more, it would have to be Apple. Research this week has shown that Apple, buoyed by iPad and iPhone success, is now among the top ten brands in the world, competing with the likes of McDonalds, Coca-Cola, and Disney. Today, it’s the eight most valuable brand in the world.

And, when you consider that the power and success of a brand is usually down to human behaviour, what does Apple’s assault on the international markets say about us? Clearly, it says that there is a hunger, and an appetite for digital – and there needs to be a knee-jerk reaction to this from business.

Developing and adapting out training management system each day, I work with technology and all things digital all the time, but sometimes it’s shocking to find out that businesses, particularly within the training world, have not accepted the migration by consumers onto digital platforms. You only have to look at the news this week to see how important it is for course providers to tap into the digital age – the Open University recorded 300 million downloads of lectures per year from iTunes.

Apple’s rapid growth is not just about its fantastic brand, it’s also about satisfying a need, which is focused on the fact that people want to learn, communicate and work online. Digital platforms are no longer the scary impersonal places that they once were – today they are the norm, and although the training and course providers that we work with have recognised that, there are still plenty that haven’t.

A poll that we conducted on Linkedin earlier this year showed that any training business embracing the likes of learning management systems (LMS), online booking and email marketing as a way to manage training and win new clients, is part of an elite club. It’s not the norm yet, even though there is so much potential. 

Try out a demo on our training management software  with accessplanit and see how digital platforms can transform the performance of course providing businesses and trainers, just give us a call on 0845 5430 229 or email enquiries@accessplanit.com.

Seeing the traditional establishment and ‘the old way of doing things’ shift to the new and innovative, always catches my eye – and when you work in the technology business, it’s always something worth talking about. The Times, reliable as ever for the technology stories, has picked up on two establishments this week that probably haven’t been too IT-friendly over the years, but have now shown the type of progression that all of us here at accessplanit would like to see the training industry adopt (or should I say, more of the training industry – some businesses do it really well) in the future.

Whitehall is not somewhere you would necessarily expect to be moving at a rapid pace in terms of technology, and it’s not, but it is moving, which is a positive sign that deserves noting if nothing else. The Times report documents the move from handwritten letters to email, and then now on to text – which is the communication of choice for some of the frontbench MPs today. Who would have thought that some of the most important notes and messages are being sent via text between leaders recognised throughout the world?

Then, at the same time, the Edinburgh Fringe has, for the first time, adopted technology in a big way into the creative season this year. Noted for its innovative and ground-breaking performances, the Edinburgh Festival is known globally and visited by arts lovers from across the world. So, it was great to see that technology is being accepted as a route to develop new ideas and explore creative avenues. With soundclouds to Skype, and from video goggles to iPads, the festival has taken one look at the possibilities that technology offers up, and welcomed it in with open arms.

This type of progression means taking a step into the unknown, adapting the way businesses and people operate, but always keeping a keen eye on development and success, and, if some establishments like Whitehall and the Edinburgh Festival are taking strides, what is your business waiting for?

If you want to move your training business into the digital age and embrace the new technology that has proven to save valuable time as well as costs, get in touch with accessplanit today by clicking here or calling 0845  5430229.