3 Tips to Ensure Your Lifelong Learning Program Hits the Mark

During and post-pandemic, the options for lifelong learning courses, programs, and certificates have skyrocketed. There is no shortage of options for learners looking to upskill and reskill. Here are three tips to have your lifelong learning program stand out among the competition.

Simply put, the best online experience a customer has anywhere becomes the experience they expect everywhere. The reputation of a learning institution drives initial interest, but it’s the experience that keeps learners enrolled (and re-enrolled) in future programs. Recruiting prospective learners and nurturing them requires the ability to provide a differentiated experience, including a simple registration and purchasing experience. Any disconnect between processes that cause additional work for the learner can be frustrating, leaving the institution with an abandoned shopping cart.

Email, phone, text, social media — there are so many opportunities to connect with learners. Understanding engagement preferences of learners and delivering communication, segmented by age group and demographic, can be the difference between over communicating to prospective students and making an impactful connection. To learn more, dive into our recent research in partnership with UPCEA, which is focused on lifelong learner communication preferences.

Anni Schleicher, Salim Bradley, Chris Coppa (aka Salesforce.org team!) at the UPCEA Conference, 2022.

Understanding the needs of today’s students and alumni has never been more important. Personalization is experienced in various ways today — Amazon prompts you to view ‘similar items you may like’, Uber knows exactly where to pick you up, and Gmail autofills your email text for you as you write.

Personalization is important in the way you reach your prospects through customized communications, and in the courses and learning delivered. It’s not just how learning is done, it’s what we learn that is becoming more personalized. For example, digital credentials offer short courses on a single topic, which is relevant and up-to-date, and learners can pick and choose what they need to learn for their professional and personal learning.

Today’s higher education leaders are responding to ever-evolving needs of their students, staff, alumni, and community stakeholders. The nature of the workplace is also undergoing a sea change where job titles and responsibilities are endlessly evolving. Lifelong learning is not only a trend, it’s an indispensable facet of modern life — essential for innovation and economic growth.

About the Authors

Alanna Rasbach
Senior Marketing Manager, Industry Marketing, EMEA

Anni Schleicher
Director of Industry Marketing – Education