Software Companies: Generate new revenue streams and decrease costs with custom e-Learning content

Written by Synapse SE


It’s no secret that software companies operate in a very competitive space where rivalry is increasingly fierce and where profit margins can be razor thin. New, smaller software companies are sprouting up each month andrepparttar leading software companies continually make strong advancements forward leveraging massive cash flow reserves. This cycle makes it difficult forrepparttar 104058 mid-sized software company to compete because (a) they don’t typically haverepparttar 104059 cash flow necessary to take giant leaps forward inrepparttar 104060 industry and (b) because they need to continually move forward to stay ahead ofrepparttar 104061 smaller software companies that are vying for their slot inrepparttar 104062 marketplace. Consequently, makingrepparttar 104063 jump from an unknown to a mainstream brand can prove to be very difficult forrepparttar 104064 mid-sized software company.

Finding ways to create new revenue streams and to decrease current costs is imperative torepparttar 104065 success of companies caught in this cycle. They need to be thinking on their feet, thinking ahead and thinking creatively, all atrepparttar 104066 same time. This can be a daunting task, as any software executive will tell you.

Despite all ofrepparttar 104067 challenges that facerepparttar 104068 mid-sized software market, there are several ways to create these much needed revenue streams and to decrease current costs. New advancements in technology and its use in training and development make generating these revenue streams possible.

Settingrepparttar 104069 Stage

It is almost taken for granted that when an organization purchases a software package from a reputable vendor, a certain amount of end-user, customer training will be either bundled intorepparttar 104070 purchase price or made available to them for an additional cost. If training isn’t available torepparttar 104071 end-user customer,repparttar 104072 learning curve onrepparttar 104073 new software package is going to be fairly steep, depending onrepparttar 104074 complexity ofrepparttar 104075 software.

Typical training expense categories associated with most mid-sized software companies include:

1.The salaries of offline trainers 2.The travel expenses of offline trainers 3.The costs of producing hard-copy training manuals 4.The time involved in offline, onsite customer training

These expenses should be under a watchful eye and should be consistently viewed as expenses that could be alleviated to some degree to not only improverepparttar 104076 company’s attractiveness in competitive bid situations but to increaserepparttar 104077 profit margins ofrepparttar 104078 supplemental training services provided byrepparttar 104079 company.

Atrepparttar 104080 same time, inrepparttar 104081 background, mid-sized software companies should be looking for ways to create new revenue streams that they aren’t currently capitalizing on to work in collaboration with their cost-reduction initiative.

Step 1: Lowering Training Costs Using Custom e-Learning Content

The first step to any well laid-out cost-reduction plan is to decreaserepparttar 104082 costsrepparttar 104083 organization currently incurs in order to get a better handle on profit potential from sheer cost savings. Previously we outlined what our target cost categories are…now we’re going to lowerrepparttar 104084 costs associated with those categories by leveraging custom e-Learning content.

Take this scenario: A mid-sized software company that develops intranet portal systems currently employs 3 trainers that are onsite with clients for end-user training 3 days per engagement and they each average approximately 50 engagements per year for a grand total of 150 days onrepparttar 104085 road per trainer or 450 days onrepparttar 104086 road collectively.

For these trainers,repparttar 104087 onsite training program forrepparttar 104088 end-user customer may look something likerepparttar 104089 following:

Day 1:Software Introduction and Primary Functions Day 2:Functional Use and Administrative Actions Day 3:Real-World Functions and Labs

Loweringrepparttar 104090 costs: By leveraging custom e-Learning content,repparttar 104091 company used inrepparttar 104092 above scenario, can effectively reducerepparttar 104093 onsite time required for each trainer, thereby reducing all costs associated withrepparttar 104094 training program acrossrepparttar 104095 board.

By using a professionally designed, self-paced, custom e-Learning module to focus onrepparttar 104096 Software Introduction and Primary Functions training that normally occurs on Day 1 and then delivering that learning module online to their end-user customers atrepparttar 104097 time of purchase through an e-Learning Management System (LMS), this company could decrease travel time for all 3 trainers by 1 day per engagement. This would decrease travel time for each trainer by 50 days per year, or 150 days collectively duringrepparttar 104098 year. In additionrepparttar 104099 end-user customers will already be familiar withrepparttar 104100 software package beforerepparttar 104101 trainers ever set foot inrepparttar 104102 front door.

This would successfully: 1.Decreaserepparttar 104103 costs associated with those 150 days of travel that are now being saved.

2.Enablerepparttar 104104 company’s trainers to perform more training engagements OR enablerepparttar 104105 company to decreaserepparttar 104106 number of in-house trainers it employs. 3.Decreaserepparttar 104107 costs associated with creating and publishingrepparttar 104108 sections ofrepparttar 104109 hard-copy training manuals that deal withrepparttar 104110 Software Introduction and Primary Functions training session that normally occurs in-person on Day 1 ofrepparttar 104111 training engagement.

Taking it one step further: Reducing each trainers travel schedule by 1 day is good, but it isn’t good enough. Software companies employing this cost-reduction method should take it one step further to enhance their end-user customer’s experience. They need to make sure that their end-user customers are learning what they need to know to ensure time isn’t being wasted coveringrepparttar 104112 same topics whenrepparttar 104113 trainer visitsrepparttar 104114 customer site in-person.

Business Plans – An Outline

Written by Matthew Tibble


Writing a business plan is a fundamental step to ensuring your business has every chance of succeeding. Common statistics state that 9 out of 10 businesses fail onrepparttar first 5 years of operation, and ofrepparttar 104057 remaining 10%, 90% fail inrepparttar 104058 following 5 years. Why? There may be a number of reasons – from poor customer service, inadequate product, poor logistics management and cost control. However,repparttar 104059 number of businesses that do not define their goals and map out their path to success is phenomenal. Takingrepparttar 104060 step to define your business goals, plan where you want to go and what you want to achieve will place you in an increased position of future success and realisation of your dreams.

Below is a list ofrepparttar 104061 areas you need to consider when writing your business plan. These steps will help definerepparttar 104062 business goals,repparttar 104063 reason for existence (ofrepparttar 104064 business), and definerepparttar 104065 direction you will take.

Step 1 – Define your vision You may know inside your head why you want to start a business, and what business it will be. However, your staff will not know this information, and after a time, you too will also forget some ofrepparttar 104066 details. Write down what your mission is – your purpose and vision forrepparttar 104067 company. This setsrepparttar 104068 tone for all business and actions taken on a daily basis, working toward achieving your mission and purpose.

Step 2 – Set your goals and objectives forrepparttar 104069 business Think big. Do not let your own limitations impact on what you think your business is capable of achieving. Define what you short (less than 12 months), medium (1-3 years time frame) and long term goals (usually 3-5 years timeframe) will be. Think of topics such as how much revenue do you want to generate? How many outlets will you have? How much passive income will it produce for you inrepparttar 104070 future? How many customers on your database will you have? What will be your geographic area of influence? These goals will be a combination of your personal goals for your own life blended with that ofrepparttar 104071 life ofrepparttar 104072 business.

Step 3 – Define your USP In order to stand out formrepparttar 104073 crowd, it is imperative that you know and define your USP – Unique Selling Proposition. What it is that you offer and provide that is different to other people inrepparttar 104074 market? It may be that you offer additional services to your core product; it may be that you have a more personalised customer service approach; it may be your after sales service and warrantee onrepparttar 104075 product. What is it that your customer will be attracted to above other businesses offeringrepparttar 104076 same service or product? Once you know this, then you can use it as a focus for your customers to recognise you and remember you.

Step 4 – Know your market Have you ever thought up a brilliant idea and began to investigate it, only to find out that another business has already started with that exact same idea? This happens daily to many people, but do not be discouraged. The marketplace is huge and can support a number of businesses providingrepparttar 104077 same service. Look at petrol stations and dry cleaners as an example. So, get to knowrepparttar 104078 market – your market. How many competitors are there? What do they offer? What haverepparttar 104079 trends been inrepparttar 104080 industry? What might berepparttar 104081 future trends and predicted growth/decline ofrepparttar 104082 industry? Are there any benchmarks you can base your business performance on, such as profit margins, expected turnover per business size, and so on? Once you have a broader picture ofrepparttar 104083 market you are entering into, you will be better equipped to handle and maximise your potential business growth.

Step 5 – Know your customer Without doubt, this is one ofrepparttar 104084 most important aspects of running a business. You must know your customer. Forrepparttar 104085 most part, products or services that are not a necessity, and where there are a number of suppliers forrepparttar 104086 same item, your customer will buy on emotion. Understanding and defining why they do what they do isrepparttar 104087 key to success. There may be a number of factors that are common amongst your target audience for your business services. By researching and finding out what these are, you will be able to see what areas you can focus on where there is a need, and what areas will not interest them. Write down what your ideal customer will look like, behave like and want from you. Seeing your business through their eyes will help to highlight your strengths and any weaknesses you might have.

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