In my many years reading about and working on presentation training, I’ve seen a trend that not many people talk about — the separation into silos — or sectors — of course creation into educational training, corporate training, and personal training.

I’ve come to think that these sectors could learn from each other.

Just to clarify…

Personal training means courses that individuals pay for, whether for their personal benefit or to advance in their career or business. For example, entrepreneurs often take courses to learn how to grow their business.

Corporate training means courses taught to employees of an organization, either created in-house or outside. The company pays for the course.

Educational training means courses taught by an educational institution, usually a college or university, including 2-year colleges. I’m not talking about K-12.

What’s the difference?

Customary practices are very different in the areas of:

• Marketing
• Testing / assessment
• Structure

1. Marketing

Let’s start with marketing and look at all three sectors.

Personal training

Coaches, consultants, and others sell their courses and the students pay for them. (That’s sort of true in the educational field, since colleges students pay for courses, but they are not motivated by the price of individual courses, the marketing, or whether or not there will be testing as there is almost always testing.)

Therefore, in the personal training field, the teachers have to convince their students to buy their courses. There’s usually lots of competition, so they have to explain why the students should buy their course over a course from a competitor. They have to justify the price. They have to explain the benefits very clearly to motivate people to invest.

Marketplace courses target a wide audience, including hobbyists, freelancers, and professionals looking for specific skills. The instructors themselves promote their courses directly to consumers via email, SEO, digital ads, blogs, YouTube channels, and social media. Reviews and ratings from users (testimonials) play a huge role in marketplace success.

This type of marketing emphasizes affordability, flexibility, and variety. Platforms frequently run discount campaigns (e.g., holiday sales), offering courses at a fraction of the listed price to entice consumers. Overall, prices vary widely. A common technique is to have a range of price points. So an entrepreneur selling courses might have one at a low price point and then, when the students finish, offer another course at a higher price point. Maybe the higher-priced course goes into more depth or offers more personalized instruction/coaching.

Online courses often highlight niche topics or skills that may not be available in formal education or corporate settings.

Corporate training

In corporate training, companies use email campaigns, intranet/LMS notifications, and manager endorsements to promote courses to employees. There are times when the training is required, but that’s not the most common situation.

Now, let’s say you are in the corporate training field. What would you do differently if your students (employees) had to pay for your courses and there were alternatives on the same topics? You might:

• Pay more attention to your marketing — how you describe the benefits of the course
• Make the course more interesting by adding gamification (offering points and prizes), group projects, outings, role-playing exercises, etc.
• Change how you test employees, perhaps using “inbox” exercises instead of written tests

Educational institutions

Now, let’s say you’re in the educational arena. Educational courses are marketed through academic institutions, leveraging their reputation and accreditation. Marketing is focused on formal qualifications (degrees, certificates), career paths, and professional development opportunities.

Marketing often highlights the availability of scholarships, grants, or financial aid to attract students who need assistance to enroll.

How to get marketing ideas from other sectors

If you are in the educational arena, how could you learn from the personal training field? Maybe you promote one course for a low price and then convince them to continue to get a degree. Or you could promote an upsell for a course that offers more personalized attention at a higher price, perhaps with a Teaching Assistant. You could collect testimonials from previous students talking about their experience with the content and/or the professor.

If you’re in corporate training, maybe you could use testimonials from previous learners to attract employees to a course.

If you’re in marketplace training, maybe you could provide a certificate to attract buyers.

Maybe you’re doing some of this. I’d love to hear what you think about these ideas and what other ideas you have.

2. Structure

The three areas also use a variety of structures for their courses.

Educational institutions structure their courses around a set curriculum and adhere to a fixed timeline, such as a semester or academic year. They include regular lessons, assignments, and exams. (In some cases, they might be required to do this, not only because of tradition but because of accreditation requirements.) Courses are usually synchronous and they use LMS (Learning Management Systems) platforms to host content, facilitate student discussions, and handle tests/course homework.

By contrast, corporate courses are more likely to be short. The content is broken into small, easy-to-consume segments, enabling employees to fit learning around their work schedule. These courses are often self-paced as well. The content is meant to be applicable immediately to a student’s job. Gamification is a common trend.

Marketplace courses use a variety of structures. Some are asynchronous and self-paced. Others are synchronous, using a “cohort” model. Some are short, others are longer, with corresponding price differences. Courses are more likely to be video-based, or maybe live and recorded (so students can attend live or watch the recording).

How to get structure ideas from other sectors

Here are some ideas for cross-pollination, so to speak…

• Educational institutions could offer a wider variety of course structures, such as short, practical courses. They could offer self-study courses, as well. Some are doing this as part of Adult Education or Certification programs.
• Marketplace courses could make more use of LMS platforms, including student discussion and gamification. Both are rare in marketplace courses.
• Corporate courses could offer longer, more comprehensive programs that lead students to promotional opportunities.

Are you using some of these ideas? Do these ideas spark some possibilities in your field?

3. Assessment

Similarly, the 3 sectors take different approaches to assessment…

Educational institutions have a formal grading system involving tests, written assignments, and projects. Acceptable grades are necessary to get credit for a course and to get a diploma.

Corporate courses rarely grade learners but often track progress, especially when the course is required for the job. Companies may use a pass/fail system. There may be simulations or role-play exercises to prove competency. Requirements will be stricter when the course fulfills regulatory or legal requirements.

Marketplace courses don’t usually have formal assessments. Quizzes, exercises, homework, or projects might be offered, but they are often optional and designed for self-assessment rather than grading. However, certificates of completion may be offered.

How to get assessment ideas from other sectors

One idea would be for marketplace courses to test students and give a discount for further training based on the grade. They could also offer certifications more often.

Educational institutions do have non-graded courses in their Adult/Continuing Education programs and these could be used more often to get students into regular programs.

Corporate courses could add grades and give a bonus or even a raise based on those grades.

What other ideas do you have?

What’s next?

Think about the obstacles you face in your arena. How could you use techniques from the other arenas to solve your problems with marketing, structure, and assessment? How could you improve learner satisfaction?

Please leave a comment!