Extended enterprise is the view that your organisation’s success is dependent on an entire network, not just your internal workforce. As well as the above, this network consists of your external groups, including your partners, resellers and contractors.

An effective training strategy for your extended enterprise has a ripple effect. It guides your customer and partner success and its learning benefits are far-reaching, impacting everything from sales to engagement to retention.

When planning your enterprise training it’s essential that you know the real benefits for your organisation. This enables you to plan the key performance indicators you should measure to accurately track its success. Here are six of the most common extended enterprise learning benefits.

1. Faster, more efficient onboarding

This is a critical part of any organisation’s success. Whether employees, customers or partners, onboarding plays a substantial role in helping each audience learn the ins and outs of your product or service and discover the real value you’re offering.

Well planned, there are a couple of key benefits. Firstly, it’s a quick way to get your audiences up-to-speed on your business’s offerings. You can easily outline how to use the product and show its true value from the get-go to your audiences.

Secondly, and most significantly, it enhances your extended enterprises’ chances of success. Customers receive training on the features they should be using, as soon as they sign-up. They gain best practice advice that reinforces the fact that you’re the best solution. Partners are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to deliver results.

2. Encourages higher product adoption and engagement

Extended enterprise learning has a substantial impact on how often your audiences engage with your service or adopt your product, particularly when it comes to your customers.

Training enables your business to deliver a customer experience that goes above and beyond your competitors. You’re providing the know-how to be successful and illustrating how the job and their life in general will be improved. Continuous learning means they’re more likely to adopt and stay engaged.

For your partners, training helps build a stronger, more committed network. You’re helping people become the most involved they can be with your product, your brand and its processes. They become more invested in your business.

3. Lowers the demand for your support teams

You want your support teams to make the most of their time. You want them to have high-value conversations that truly help your customers and partners but your support channels can easily become clogged up with repetitive, simple-to-solve questions.

Training your extended enterprise is a straightforward solution to this. By compiling a list of common Q&A’s, your support team’s time is freed up to provide better support to your extended enterprise in the areas that really matter. This leads to reduced support costs – a better outcome for everyone involved.

4. Boosts your retention rate

Long gone are the days when organisations purely focused on acquisition rate. Today, your retention rate holds just as much weight. It offers insight into the health and success of your customers, partners, and business overall.

Training strengthens the retention rate of your customers and partners as it helps them overcome the pain points that hinder their success. Their heightened awareness of the value of your product and the features you offer allows you to provide a better level of support. Happy, successful clients and partners will stick around for longer.

5. Increases your revenue streams

Educating your extended enterprise impacts your revenue streams two-fold. Resellers and distributors will gain a clearer understanding of your messaging, your product or service, and your sales cycle. This enables all concerned to sell more by meeting customers’ needs. This increases the chance of upselling as happy customers will come back for more.

Training your customers in your range of products, features and services, clarifies how these fit in with what they’re currently using, increasing the likelihood that they’ll invest further.

6. Scales your growth

Every new customer or partner your organisation acquires ignites a cycle of success that intends to help them prosper. However, this cycle takes time to come to fruition. Onboarding, product education and relationship-building, all need to be planned and nurtured.

Luckily, extended enterprise learning, particularly when managed through an LMS, scales this process quickly, achieving the required results for all audiences and in turn for the business as a whole.

Now you know the positive impact, your next move is to plan a strategy. Research how it will benefit your specific organisation, then invest in modern software to help you achieve it.