MASS CUSTOMIZING THE TRAINING INDUSTRY

Mass customization surfaced more than a decade ago with the publication of several books and articles that extolled the virtues of treating all customers differently, and is now becoming endemic in industries as diverse as personal computers, shoes, apparel, eyewear, and information. It is not about market segmentation. It is about truly understanding the specific needs of each and every customer and then bringing together the right combination of training modules to provide the customers the solution that they really want and need.

Connecting on an individual customer level is no easy task in the world of training because our two customer sets, the buying organization and the learners, have different and sometimes conflicting needs. So how can we create learning programs that fit the individual needs of learners and simultaneously address the client organization’s challenges? Is it possible to cost-effectively produce customized programs exclusively for one-to-one learning? We believe so.

First, it is important to understand that the underlying motivation behind mass customization is scalability. It facilitates high-volume, efficient production and delivery of unique customer-driven solutions.

While the basic principles of mass customization apply to all mass-customized offerings, there are many different ways in which they can be implemented.