1. Industry Insights

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• December 2003: Update on Federal Anti-Spam Legislation
• November 2003: Direct Mail Tips
• October 2003: Impact of Spam on Direct Email; Value of PR (Part III)
• July 2003: The Value of PR (Part II)
• March 2003: The Value of Public Relations (Part I)
• December 2002: Reader Feedback on Hawthorne's 50 Tips
• November 2002: Making Sales in a Tough Economy
• September 2002: The Secrets of Effective Communication with Customers, Employees and Partners
• June/July 2002: ROI & Distance Learning
• May 2002 Newsletter: Accelerating E-Learning Adoption Inside Organizations
• March 2002 Newsletter: Trends in the Training & E-learning Industries
• October 2001 Newsletter: Marketing Thoughts
• August 2001 Newsletter: E-Mail Direct Marketing Tips
• June 2001 Newsletter: Marketing E-Learning Inside Organizations
• May 2001 Newsletter: Sales & Marketing Tips for Tough Times
• March 2001 Newsletter: Search Engine Visibility Tips
• February 2001 Newsletter: Trade Show Tips
  
• January 2001 Newsletter: Marketing Tips

Industry Insights

We've all been speculating about the state of the training and e-learning industry, especially after the difficult times we've all experienced during the last six months. Recently I learned, first hand, at the Training 2002 Conference in Atlanta some things about where we've been and where we're going. I'd like to share some of these ideas with you.

A conference is a terrific place to get a sense of any industry. There's a feeling in the air and a buzz among the attendees and vendors. Despite the recent setbacks in the economy and the consolidation in our industry, there are some interesting and even positive trends:

• The industry is starting to mature. For the past several years the companies in our business only talked about delivery systems when, in fact, these are merely vehicles for delivering the content into the hands of a learner. The content had gotten lost until now and that confused end-users. At this conference, I found that vendors are now recognizing this fact and the balance that has been lacking is starting to return. In fact, I couldn't find one really new technology that had been introduced. I took that as a positive sign.
  
  
• For the last couple of years we've only heard about e-learning. That's natural. E-learning is the new kid on the block and the media, vendors, and end-users focused only on it. Now we're realizing that, though e-learning offers tremendous advantages, it's only one tool in the learning kit. Leader-led training, for example, is a very mature part of the training industry and it's still a very viable and healthy business. Video companies are also doing just fine. People understand video training and it solves many training problems. It was clear at the show that this whole training/learning industry is maturing and there is room for everyone. No industry sector will take over all others. Each has its own benefits.
  
  
• One new phrase that I heard at Training 2002 really struck me. Bundled learning. Though blended learning has become a popular description it's not an accurate description of an ideal training model. With bundled learning companies choose the kind of training that is appropriate for their particular organization. Instead of trying to mix them together they're choosing one and then another one. Though the phrase is just another buzz word, the concept is an important one.
  
  
• A new industry direction ERM or employee relationship management. ERM involves the blending of traditional HR functions such as 401Ks, health plans, and other benefits with learning into a single platform. Both Genesys and Siebel exhibited their new ERM systems at the show and I think this is an area that will become very important.

E-learning remains an infant industry. As a result, it's impossible to find a perfect definition of what it is because it's evolving. All of us are in the process of discovering the right business models and how to define our value proposition in the market place. Customers know that e-learning is an effective solution. They know they'll save money, they'll keep employees at work more with lower travel costs, but that may not be enough.

The conference reflected the fact that we'll have to accept a certain level of confusion while we're working hard to continue defining the essence of what training should be. Right now there is no common language and no clear definition but I think we're getting much closer.

Christine B. Sullivan
President