[Communication Strategies for New Customer Retention]

Course Design Document Latanya Blakley EdTech 512 Online Course Design (Fall 2011)

PROBLEM ANALYSIS

Introduction This instructional design document is created for the management team of KNA, a service-based franchise organization. The project plan herein will be used for the creation of an online course for franchisees of the local Branch Office with potential deployment to other branches in the Region. Investigation of the existing professional development options revealed that this course will be the first online course of its kind for the franchisees. Franchisees receive extensive training prior to opening their business, yet no other online communications related courses exist. The available materials are workshop based and designed to be delivered in a short workshop format. All franchise owners are expected to complete a certain number of professional development credits each year. This course will be eligible for professional development credits. Problem Symptoms and Root Causes The branch is responsible for consulting with more than 90 franchise owners to confirm proper practices and support their growth and profitability. In addition to qualitative feedback, each month franchisees receive a report that outlines key statistics about their franchise. As with any business, a significant investment of time and effort is involved in acquiring a new customer, therefore the areas on which the franchise performance is measured are enrollment, quality and retention. The company has conducted studies on the aspects of successful franchises to determine what makes them profitable. While there are several factors that contribute to overall profitability, the following has been noted with regards to retention: franchises with strong 1-year retention of customers tend to be most profitable. Therefore, the company established a set of baseline goals for each franchise to work towards which includes 1-year retention of 70% (cumulative). The monthly report referenced above also outlines the 3-, 6- and 9-month retention statistics for each business. When reviewing the branch reports, the management team noticed that some business owners were having trouble maintaining strong retention numbers in these categories representing less than one year. At least 25% of franchises had 3-month retention below at or 80%. It is apparent that to achieve the 1year retention goals, business owners must work to retain customers in the early months of the customers life cycle.

To research the issue further, the branch turned to customer exit surveys from the past year. Three main reasons for customer attrition emerged from the exit surveys: financial issues, lack of understanding of the service, poor communication with the franchise owner. The first factor is typically beyond the control of the business owner, although there is an opportunity to share the financial hardship options available to customers. Opportunities to address the latter two reasons happen in the form of customer communication meetings such as the orientation and customer conferences. This instructional designer conducted a qualitative review of these communications through observation and discussions with branch support staff and found that they are often unorganized and inconsistent in the timing and messages being conveyed. To summarize, the survey results combined with the 3- month retention statistics and the current condition of customer communications reveal the main symptoms associated with the root cause of poor communication between the business owner and the customer. Problem Statement Communication issues appear to be a major contributor to customer attrition. Currently, there exists no ongoing instruction to properly guide existing business owners through the proper communication strategies to increase customer retention. Franchise owners need guidance on the best way to implement consistent and effective communication to new customers. Table 1 provides a summary of the actual performance and the desired optimal performance. The gap between these levels of performance identifies the problem. Actuals Inconsistent and unorganized initial communication 3-month retention of 80% or lower Problems (Gap) Communication skills are weak and there is no plan for consistency in communication Customer attrition well before the 1-year period Table 1. Optimals Strong initial communication and the ability to execute consistent communication 3-month retention of 100%

Instructional Solution The key to solving these problems involves providing the learning opportunities needed for franchise owners to increase their communication proficiency. Communication skills can be learned and enhanced through instruction, which is an appropriate solution for closing the knowledge gaps. Though classroom and blended instruction could be as effective, this instructional solution fits well into a WBI strategy. One example of this is because the majority of learners are familiar with computers and the Internet due to the frequent use of these tools in their business. Franchisees are currently accessing professional development courses via a new company LMS (which recently replaced Moodle) and through participating in or accessing the recorded links to Adobe Connect webinars. Other online tools used include Google Docs and a franchisee portal for accessing reports and other information pertinent to the business. In essence, online tools and instruction is not a novel concept for the franchisees. In fact, the asynchronous nature of many of the LMS courses and Adobe Connect webinars are preferred because of the flexibility they provide. There are various benefits for delivering this instructional solution via the web, such as: Deploying the course via the web prevents the need for coordinating schedules. Learners can take the courses when and where they desire. Eliminates the costs associated with travel and venue rental. Learners can control the pace of the course to some degree, giving them the opportunity to move past familiar content or review content as needed.

This course will be created as individual modules, however, they must be taken in chronological order due to the procedural knowledge that will be conveyed and scaffolded. Students in this WBI would receive the resources, interaction, feedback and practice afforded in other types of instructional media. Instructional Goal Statement Upon completing this WBI, learners will be able to effectively execute a communication plan with all incoming customers and for the first three months of a customers life cycle. The learning outcome for this instructional goal will be at the intellectual skill level of procedures which is derived from Gagnes Categories of Learning.

Context Analysis Organizational Infrastructure Currently, the company has a corporate university structure for its training and is using an LMS to house online curriculum. If students needed to use computers on-site, there are more than four state-of-the-art training rooms that can accommodate 40 - 50 users with computers and Internet access. All of the computers have been purchased within the last two years and exceed the minimum requirements needed to support online course navigation and tasks. The management team is very involved in the daily decision making. The corporate university is the result of a centralization of functions recommended by management. The strategic planning is handled by middle management and they must report diligently to the executive management. Organizational support for WBI has recently increased with the adoption of a new LMS. The culture has long been accustomed to Instructor-Led Training. There is still a need for more belief in synchronous courses and follow up to asynchronous lessons. Regarding ownership, any materials created for this company would be licensed to the company and branded for the company. Allocation and competencies of personnel The course designer and author of this proposal, Latanya Blakley (Tanya), is the designated Instructor of this course. Tanya has about 15 years of experience in adult education and curriculum design. She has also been a part of this franchise organization for about 4 years. Tanya has designed five previous online courses for a larger audience of 1200 franchisees, which includes the 90+ from the local area. Tanya is currently obtaining a Masters of Educational Technology degree from Boise State University, scheduled for completion in May 2012. There will be only one Instructor for the course until others are trained after the initial pilot. Most tasks design and administrative will be handled by the instructor as well. The course registration and promotion will be done by the LMS administrator. The eLearning Manager would be available for approving content and providing feedback as needed. This individual is also responsible for procuring resources for the designer/instructor to assist with completion and delivery of the course. The IT department is on-site and well equipped to handle any issues that might occur during training. There are dedicated IT resources for the corporate university. The

learners will have access to an 800 number as well as online help desk support. This support is available for 16 hours daily from Monday to Friday. Learner Location and Technology The 90+ learners are located in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana and are supported by the branch office associates of which there are currently 5. It is expected that Instructors from all three states will participate in the initial roll out of the course, though for the pilot a select group will be chosen to participate. To participate in the course, learners will need a computer with high-speed Internet access. Detailed computer specifications will be provided later in the design process. However, it is anticipated that most of the learners will have sufficient access due to previous business and learning requirements that had to be met in order to become a franchise owner. The corporate university computer lab will also be available during the supported hours. Learner Analysis General Characteristics The learners are comprised of about 80% women and 20% men. While the franchisees have become more diverse, the primary ethnicity of the learners is Asian (this includes a large percentage of individuals from India). The age range is wide and includes learners who are age 23 - 70; the largest percentage of learners is over 40. Generally speaking, about 55% of these learners have a high level of computer ability (based on previous survey data). All learners are required to have a bachelors degree as a requirement of owning the franchise. Many also have graduate level degrees or higher. The work experience again ranges greatly in years and includes 70% from the private sector and about 30% from the public sector of business and education. Motivations This audience of learners is comprised of all entrepreneurs who own one or more franchises with the company. Therefore, they are motivated by business performance initiatives. The retention and quality statistics mentioned in the introduction of this proposal are used to calculate incentive pay for each business owner. Most requests for learning and professional development opportunities include some aspect of

business management, communication and marketing. With recent increase in competition for market share and a change in the incentive structure, the interest level for these types of topics is high among learners. Learners are also required to have a certain amount of professional development hours per year. With most courses and meetings currently offered in person, the desire for online courses is strong to avoid the travel and benefit from the convenience. Prior Knowledge, Communication Skills, Technical Skills Although a formal assessment hasnt been done at this point to determine the learners prior knowledge, it is expected that most of this audience has some basic understanding of customer communication strategies. However, there exists a discrepancy in the training provided on this subject years ago versus what is promoted today. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the baseline knowledge may be different for every learner even though communication updates have been afforded to all existing business owners. As indicated by the ethnic makeup, most of the learners speak English as a second language (ESL), though many have been in the US for over a decade. From previous assessments and current daily tasks integral to the business, we know that all learners possess acceptable keyboarding skills as well as proficiency with email, chats, threaded discussions, Web navigation and searches. Many also have a high level of familiarity with file types and creating documents, spreadsheets and PDFs. There is probably a lesser number of learners who work well with multimedia and graphic file types. A handful of learners have a computer science or programming background, but very few have contemporary programming skills. This will continue to be assessed prior to and during course participation. Entry Level Skills Because of their involvement with the franchise, learners are expected to have the following entry skills: Knowledge of the customer orientation materials provided by the branding department Identify materials for informational packet provided to new potential customers Conduct and grade diagnostics test given to customer Create progress goals using the information from the diagnostic test and customer interview

Knowledge of one or more screencasting software and asynchronous web casting software

Abilities and disabilities The extent of this area is not well known, though it is unlikely to be very significant considering all of the learners run businesses daily without accommodations. However, all learners are invited to inform us of accommodation needs prior to taking any professional development. Other learner characteristics Because of the needs of the business, learners do not often have time to be away. A high premium is placed on time spent on professional development as the expectation of the learner is that it must be worth their time. Standards This designer was unable to find industry related standards for this course. Therefore, the standards used will be from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE): http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007.aspx 1. Creativity and Innovation Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students: a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes 2. Communication and Collaboration Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students: a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats c. develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures

3. Research and Information Fluency Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students: c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks 5. Digital Citizenship Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students: a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning 6. Technology Operations and Concepts Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students: a. understand and use technology systems b. select and use applications effectively and productively d. transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

Task-Objective-Assessment Blueprint (TOAB) Learning Task Execute new customer communication plan 1.0 Manage initial customer contact Objective Outcome Level Intellectual skills: Procedures Assessment Item

Given a scenario, follow all the steps to qualify the customer for an invitation to a customer orientation.

Intellectual skills: Procedures

1.1 Gather contact info from customer

1.2 Ask for referral source

1.3 Determine customer need

When asked what items should be collected during an initial contact, select the appropriate answer. When asked about the sequence of steps, correctly identify ask for referral source as the second step. Given a scenario, write at least three appropriate questions that would determine the customers need.

Intellectual skills: Procedures

A customer calls in to your business, describe the steps you would take to determine if they would benefit from the service and can attend the orientation What information should be collected when speaking with a customer for the first time? What is the second step in the process of managing an initial contact?

Intellectual skills: Procedures

Intellectual skills: Principles

1.4 Briefly explain service

Given the guidelines, learn and write the 60 second description

Declarative Knowledge

A father calls in to talk about his son who is struggling with math. What questions would you ask him to determine if our service can help? Please write the 60second description of the program in your own words. Be

1.5 Schedule customer orientation

2.0 Deliver customer orientation

2.1 Create customer info packet

of the program that includes all of the required elements. When asked about the sequence of steps, correctly identify schedule customer orientation as the final step of managing the initial contact. Given the guidelines for delivering the orientation, students will create several mini-presentations of specified elements of the orientation. Given a list of potential customer materials and nonmaterials, select at least 3 correct items for inclusion in the customer info packet.

sure to include all of the key words. Intellectual skills: Procedures What is the final step in the process of managing an initial contact?

Intellectual skills: Principles

Learners will be asked to create several presentations using Web 2.0 tools for the instructors review. Review the materials in the module and choose 3 items that you would include. Write a brief justification of your choices and explain how you would use them. Using an audio, video or screencasting program of your choice, create a 5minute presentation accurately sharing 3 features and 3 benefits from the prescribed customer

Intellectual skills: Principles

2.2 Talk about features and benefits

Given the benefits and features from the orientation materials, create a 5-minute presentation correctly describing at least 3 features and benefits of the service.

Declarative Knowledge

2.2.1 Demonstrate product

Given the customer Intellectual skills: orientation materials Concrete concept as a sample, correctly and competently describe the product in less than 5 minutes.

2.2.2 Answer questions

When asked specific questions about the program in a scenario, select the appropriate answers with 80% accuracy.

Intellectual skills: Problem Solving

2.3 Observe diagnostic test

3.0 Conduct enrollment meeting

Given a mock diagnostic test, correctly identify all three of the main topics you would discuss with the customer. Given the guidelines for delivering the orientation, students will create several mini-projects including specified elements of the enrollment meeting.

Intellectual skills: Principles

orientation. Post a link to the URL of your presentation. Using an audio, video or screencasting program of your choice, create a 5minute presentation accurately sharing 3 features and 3 benefits from the prescribed customer orientation. Post a link to the URL of your presentation. Mrs. Ramos asks if it is possible for her daughter to take two months off the program. How would you address this? Choose the best answer for this scenario. Please study the attached diagnostic test? Describe the three topics you would discuss with the parents.

Intellectual skills: Problem Solving

3.1 Review test results and progress goal

Given the results of a test and mock progress goals, practice describing the information to a customer with at least 80% of the rubric score.

Intellectual skills: Problem Solving

Set up a Skype or Vyew session within your group of three. Each of you will take turns describing the test results and progress goals in five minutes. Your peers will score you using a rubric and anonymously submit the scores to me.

3.2 Teach grading system

3.3 Explain tuition & business policies

Given three videos, evaluate each to determine how effectively the grading system has been described. Given a list of required elements to include and guidelines, submit a 1-2 page tuition policy and contract with 100% of elements included.

Intellectual skills: Principles

Declarative Knowledge

3.4 Complete enrollment process

Given a scenario and elements to include, create a 5 minute screencast, audio or video presentation practicing the

Intellectual skills: Principles

Please review your current tuition policy to confirm that all the required elements are included. Your final product will be reviewed for accuracy, conciseness, clarity and grammar according to a rubric. Students will be asked to do this more as a final practice exercise, it will not be graded, but feedback will be provided.

3.5 Confirm first class day

completion of the enrollment process. Given the customer application, select the statement that best describes how to confirm the first class day.

Intellectual skills: Procedures

Read each statement and choose which one best describes how to confirm the first class day. Write a brief comment to justify your selection.

4.0 Initiate customer conferences

4.1 Contact customer after 1st week

4.1.1 Schedule 1 & 3 month conferences

4.2 Contact customer at 1month mark

4.3 Contact

Learners will create a plan that incorporates the steps below for a mock customer. All steps must be included and 80% of elements must be present. Given a list of items choose the correct discussion points for the 1 week contact with 80% accuracy. Given guidelines from the lesson, create a plan that includes 80% of the appropriate elements for 1 & 3 month conferences. Given a discussion question, write a description of the 1 month customer conference to share with peers in a group. Given a scenario

Intellectual skills: Procedures

Intellectual skills: Procedures

Intellectual skills: Procedures

Intellectual skills: Procedures

Intellectual skills:

customer at 3month mark

and the selfauthored plan, create a ten minute presentation demonstrating the 3-month customer conference. Upon review with a rubric, achieve a score of 80% or higher. N/A N/A

Procedures

Entry Level Skills 0.1 Learn customer orientation 0.2 Identify materials for info packet 0.3 Conduct and grade diagnostic test 0.4 Create progress goal 0.5 Create screencast presentations 0.6 Use synchronous web conference software

Declarative Knowledge Intellectual skills: Concrete concept Intellectual skills: Procedures Intellectual skills: Problem Solving Intellectual skills: Procedures Intellectual skills: Procedures

N/A N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A N/A

N/A N/A

N/A

N/A

Potential Instructional Sections and Objective Clusters Currently, the curriculum addressed in this WBI is best delivered in a very linear fashion as the majority of the skills are based in procedural knowledge. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Welcome to Communication Strategies Introduction and overview A Customer is Calling, Now What Do I Say? (Objectives 1.0 1.5) The Orientation: Getting Customers to Hear Your Message (Objectives 2.0 2.3) Conducting an Effective Enrollment Meeting (Objectives 3.0 3.5) Good Communication: The Road to Customer Retention (Objectives 4.0 4.3)

WBI Strategy Worksheet for Communication Strategies for New Customer Retention
Orientation to Learning 1. Provide an overview of the entire course Instructional Strategies for Introduction and Overview Welcome statement (text) explains why communication in is important in general and in business terms Graphic art will provide a visual metaphor relevant to the welcome statement Text based overview will list the learning objectives for the entire lesson Explain what portion of activities will be graded Provide minimum passing score needed and discuss grade book use Same overview will include a best case of customer communication and retention Explanation of how the mastery of each lesson objective will lead to more effective communication and the proper execution of a communication plan after enrollment A short video addresses the importance of good customer communication Same overview in #2 will refer to past customer orientation and communication training in which learners have participated Learners will be asked to provide a short introduction of themselves on the discussion board including a description of their current customer communication style Remind students of the entry level skills that they will be using throughout the course Same overview in #2 will include a mention of references to Moodle help for site navigation Directions on how to use the site and access resources for help from Instructor, learners and technical support are posted A link is supplied to a tutorial on how to use the LMS Overview of Instructional Strategies for Lessons 1-5 A welcome statement is presented via text

2. State the objectives and desired performance outcomes

3. Explain relevance of the instruction

4. Assist learner recall of prior knowledge, skills and experiences

5. Provide directions on how to start, navigate, and proceed through the lesson

Orientation to Learning for Lessons Strategies repeated at beginning of each lesson

 Instruction on the Content Subcomponents 1. Present content information

A recap of what was learned in the last lesson is shared A description or scenario is used to highlight the content topics The lesson objectives are presented Instructions on getting started are provided

Overview of the Instructional Strategies for Communication Strategies Course For each lesson, content will be structured so that students will follow a linear path through a new customer scenario Short lectures via text, audio and multimedia presentations Group discussions about specific scenarios Collaborative learning situations Problem solving exercises via text or audio Project-based learning Examples and non-examples Recommend readings on communication and customer retention Website links to internal and external references Graphics such as charts and other visuals to enhance exercises Socratic method to stimulate ideas Provide checklists or visual aids to help with procedural tasks Highlighting key information using slides along with audio Questions asked for discussion threads Exercises and questions to work through Projects Case studies Discussion groups Peer review via synchronous and asynchronous methods Instructor responses and feedback to learner discussion posts, practice exercises and projects Providing answer keys after submissions

2. Provide Learning Cues

3. Present opportunities for practice

4. Provide feedback on practice

5. Provide review of and close the lesson Orientation to Learning 1. Provide an overview

Feedback from the presentation software Instructor creates an announcement to preview the next lesson and topic

2. State the objectives and desired performance outcomes 3. Explain relevance of the instruction

4. Assist learner recall of prior knowledge, skills and experiences 5. Provide directions on how to start, navigate, and proceed through the lesson Instruction on the Content Subcomponents 1. Present content information

Instructional Strategies for Lesson 2 - A Customer is Calling, Now What Do I Say? Welcome statement and introduction to lesson 2 via text A recap of what happened in the last lesson Graphic art will provide a visual metaphor relevant to the welcome statement Lesson overview will list the goals and purposes of lesson 2 Same overview as above will describe the importance of first impressions and content topics to the initial customer contact management procedure and establishing good communication and business practices Same overview in #2 will ask learners to reflect back on past initial contact experiences Same overview in #2 will explain how to proceed through the lesson and the assignments Instructional Strategies for Lesson 2 - A Customer is Calling, Now What Do I Say? A multimedia presentation (with graphics) will restate the main lesson objective of Manage Initial Customer Contact and: Define what initial contact means and its purpose Introduce the main scenario of the course and explain that learners will guide a virtual customer through these procedures starting with initial contact Explain the steps and sub-steps that are taken to manage the initial customer contact Introduce the program description that learners need to memorize Share an example and non-example of a good initial contact interaction

 2. Provide Learning Cues

Allow for review of the material if the students choose

3. Present opportunities for practice

4. Provide feedback on practice

5. Provide review of and close the lesson

Suggest that students memorize the steps and the 60 sec program description Provide the initial contact checklist and other visual aids to help with learning the procedure Recommend that learners practice and refine the procedure in role plays before trying it with customers Present exercises and questions for learners to work through on various aspects of the initial contact procedure Ask learners to share how they would execute steps in the procedure by writing some of the questions that would be asked to the customer Ask learners to write a description of the program in their own words in a discussion thread Provide incremental deadlines for the assignments Remind students how to use the discussion areas and other contact points Learners provide peer feedback to one another on the discussion thread assignment with each learner reviewing the descriptions of at least 2 of their peers Instructor provides feedback to discussion thread The presentation software provides immediate feedback on exercises Instructor created announcement shared at the conclusion of the lesson will preview the next lesson and topic

Orientation to Learning

1. Provide an overview

2. State the objectives and desired performance outcomes 3. Explain relevance of the instruction

4. Assist learner recall of prior knowledge, skills and experiences

5. Provide directions on how to start, navigate, and proceed through the lesson Instruction on the Content Subcomponents 1. Present content information

Instructional Strategies for Lesson 3 - The Orientation: Getting Customers to Hear Your Message (Objectives 2.0 2.3) Welcome statement and introduction to lesson 3 via text A recap of what happened in the last lesson Graphic art will provide a visual metaphor relevant to the welcome statement Lesson overview will list the goals and purposes of lesson 3 Same overview as above will describe the importance of a strong customer orientation and related content topics to the success of their business Remind learners of the experience of being trained on the content and how to deliver the customer orientation and seeing it modeled Same overview in #2 will ask learners to consider what elements make up a good customer orientation as a rhetorical question Same overview in #2 will explain how to proceed through the lesson and the assignments Instructional Strategies for Lesson 3 - The Orientation: Getting Customers to Hear Your Message (Objectives 2.0 2.3) A multimedia presentation (with graphics) will restate the main lesson objective of Deliver Customer Orientation and: Define the customer orientation and its purpose Continue lesson with the main scenario of the course, including the outcome of the first step and explain that learners will guide the virtual customer through an orientation Explain the guidelines and advice for delivering an effective orientation Share some dos and donts of the orientation Explain how the customer info packet is key to the orientation as visuals Explain what benefits and features are and discuss the role of each in the orientation

2. Provide Learning Cues

3. Present opportunities for practice

4. Provide feedback on practice

5. Provide review of and close the lesson

Create exercises that demonstrate how to answer customer questions with a few examples Allow for review of the material if the students choose Provide the customer orientation materials and other visual aids to help with learning the procedure and completing the exercises Recommend that learners practice and refine the orientation in role plays before trying it with customers Recommend strategies for customizing and learning the orientation (this may be via video or notes) Present an interactive exercise to review entry level knowledge Present exercises and questions for learners to work through on various aspects of the customer orientation procedures and principles Create a discussion board on types of customer questions and answers that can be provided Provide incremental deadlines for the assignments Remind students how to use the discussion areas and other contact points Provide a self-assessment checklist for learners to determine their strengths and areas for improvement on presenting the customer orientation The presentation software provides immediate feedback on exercises Instructor created announcement shared at the conclusion of the lesson will preview the next lesson and topic

Orientation to Learning

1. Provide an overview

Instructional Strategies for Lesson 4 Conducting an Effective Enrollment Meeting (Objectives 3.0 3.5) Welcome statement and introduction to lesson 4 via text

 2. State the objectives and desired performance outcomes 3. Explain relevance of the instruction

4. Assist learner recall of prior knowledge, skills and experiences 5. Provide directions on how to start, navigate, and proceed through the lesson

A recap of what happened in the last lesson Graphic art will provide a visual metaphor relevant to the welcome statement Lesson overview will list the goals and purposes of lesson 4 Same overview as above will describe the importance of an effective enrollment meeting and related content topics to communication, retention and the success of their business Same overview in #2 will ask learners to consider what elements make up a good customer orientation as a rhetorical question Same overview in #2 will explain how to proceed through the lesson and the assignments

Instruction on the Content Subcomponents 1. Present content information

Instructional Strategies for Lesson 4 Conducting an Effective Enrollment Meeting (Objectives 3.0 3.5) A multimedia presentation (with graphics) will restate the main lesson objective of Conduct Enrollment Meeting and: Define the enrollment meeting and its purpose Continue lesson with the main scenario of the course, including the outcome of the second step and explain that learners will guide the virtual customer through an enrollment meeting Explain the concepts and principles that are part of the enrollment meeting while citing that several steps include entry level skills Share examples and non-examples of how to describe enrollment meeting elements Explain why it is important to share the communication expectations and plan with the customer Share the potential for customer objections while citing that the content will be provided in another course Allow for review of the material

2. Provide Learning Cues

3. Present opportunities for practice

4. Provide feedback on practice

5. Provide review of and close the lesson

Provide the enrollment meeting checklist and other visual aids to help with learning the procedure Recommend that learners practice and refine the procedure in role plays before trying it with customers Provide articles for handling customer objections while citing that the content will be provided in another course Provide the rubric that will be used to grade the practice exercises Present exercises and questions for learners to work through on various aspects of the enrollment meeting Assign groups for learners to practice describing the test results and progress goal using a synchronous communication program Ask learners to create a project to practice the completion of the enrollment process Provide incremental deadlines for the assignments Remind students how to use the discussion areas and other contact points Learners provide peer feedback to Instructor on the synchronous assignment and Instructor summarizes the feedback and gives an average rubric score Instructor provides feedback on the project for the completion of the enrollment process The presentation software provides immediate feedback on exercises Instructor created announcement shared at the conclusion of the lesson will preview the next lesson and topic

Orientation to Learning

1. Provide an overview

Instructional Strategies for Lesson 5 - Good Communication: The Road to Customer Retention (Objectives 4.0 4.3) Welcome statement and introduction to lesson 5 via text A recap of what happened in the last lesson Graphic art will provide a visual metaphor relevant to the welcome statement

2. State the objectives and desired performance outcomes 3. Explain relevance of the instruction

4. Assist learner recall of prior knowledge, skills and experiences

5. Provide directions on how to start, navigate, and proceed through the lesson

Lesson overview will list the goals and purposes of lesson 5 Same overview as above will describe why it is critical to create and establish a customer communication plan Same overview in #2 will review the context of the customer communication plan as it was described in initial training and how it relates to customer retention Same overview in #2 will explain how to proceed through the lesson and the assignments

Instruction on the Content Subcomponents 1. Present content information

2. Provide Learning Cues

Instructional Strategies for Lesson 5 - Good Communication: The Road to Customer Retention (Objectives 4.0 4.3) A multimedia presentation (with graphics) will restate the main lesson objective of Initiate Customer Conferences and: Define a customer conference and its purpose Continue lesson with the main scenario of the course, including the outcome of the previous step and explain that learners will guide the virtual customer through customer conferences Explain the steps and sub-steps that are taken to initiate customer conferences Describe the elements of a customer communication plan citing the list of minimum requirements Share an example and non-example of a good customer conference Allow for review of the material Share examples of communication plans that have been effectively used to provide learners with ideas Share a list of the minimum requirements for customer communication plans Recommend that learners practice and refine the procedure in role plays before trying it with customers

3. Present opportunities for practice

4. Provide feedback on practice

5. Provide review of and close the lesson

Rubric for final project is shared with learners Present exercises and questions for learners to work through on various aspects of the initial contact procedure Present learners with discussion questions regarding the 1-month communication plan to discuss in a group Ask learners to create a project to demonstrate their execution of the 3-month communication plan Provide incremental deadlines for the assignments Remind students how to use the discussion areas and other contact points The presentation software provides immediate feedback on exercises Learners provide peer feedback to one another on the discussion thread assignment with each learner reviewing the descriptions of at least 2 of their peers Instructor provides feedback to discussion thread Instructor provides feedback on final project using a rubric scoring process Instructor created announcement shared before the final project is due will wrap up the entire lesson and reiterate final steps

Measurement of Learning Subcomponents 1. Assess performance or progress toward the goal

Instructional Strategies Informal formative assessment tools will be utilized during each lesson and include the following: Question routines and review exercises in the multimedia presentation of the content Projects to demonstrate accomplishment of the learning task objectives done through synchronous and asynchronous means In the final module, students will submit their communication plan and a ten minute presentation of the 3-month customer conference

2. Advise Learners of scores

as a final informal assessment. Feedback on the questions and exercises will be provided through the multimedia presentation software Projects will be peer assessed or Instructor assessed using rubrics Students will be advised of all scores Remediation will be discussed if needed The formative evaluation scores will be used to determine the effectiveness of the course in meeting the objectives. A baseline has been established of 70% accuracy/scoring for all company professional development. Instructional Strategies Additional cases or examples will be shared to reinforce learning Course summary will be provided to learners through text in the final module Students can review any of the previous modules as they will remain open for learners If many students have failed to meet a certain objective, remarks will be added to the above text summary for the course with recommendations for sections to review Learners will be asked to work with their business consultant on certain objectives Additional exercises and materials will be provided in each lesson, the suggestion to review them in greater detail will be reiterated Wrap up remarks via the summary Reference to future professional development activities will be provided in the summary

Summary and Close Components 1. Provide opportunities for retention

2. Provide remediation for unmet objectives

3. Enhance and enrich learning

Overview of the Motivational Strategies for Communication Strategies For Orientation to Learning Learners will be asked to provide a short introduction of themselves on the discussion board primarily through a description of their current customer communication style Photos and biographies of learners will be made visible to all students to create a sense of community Instruction on the Content

The lesson content is very relevant to learners because it will contribute to the improvement of their customer retention Learners already communicate and share ideas on discussion threads outside of the course and will do the same within the course Learners are interested in being in courses with franchisees from other parts of the country Learners will be given a range of scenarios to work through including some challenging ones Instructor will model positive participation and constructive feedback Measurement of Learning Instructor will provide timely and constructive feedback through email and discussion boards when appropriate Multimedia presentations will provide immediate feedback to promote competence and learner attitudes Multiple opportunities for practice with a range of difficulty levels can help support learner confidence Summary and Close Learners will be encouraged to keep in touch with classmates to share more ideas on these topics Learners will be able to review the course as needed and will be encouraged to do so

Plans for Handling Other Factors Related to WBI Project Class Size The class size will be limited to 18 participants because of the group work and the level of interactivity required for the course Navigation and Learner Control The class will be about 50% learner controlled and 50% instructor controlled, this is due to the linear nature of the content and the need for students to review the multimedia content before attempting to complete all of the other activities Buttons and links will be mirrored on each page for consistency and ease of navigation Feedback Immediate feedback is imbedded into the multimedia content presentations Instructor will aim to answer all emails within 24 hours Feedback will be provided in the grade book for learners on graded projects Interactivity Content interaction through multimedia content, automatic and facilitated question routines and LMS notifications is provided Thread chats, email and synchronous communication will be used to encourage interactivity Feedback from peers as well as Instructor on projects Group or partner projects An icebreaker/introduction will be used early in the course Activity will be encouraged inside and outside of the course

Implementation Plan for Communication Strategies for New Customer Retention Time and Budget Allocations for Communication Strategies
Personnel and Duties Instructor: Tanya Blakley Select participants of pilot course Instruct the course Hold online office hours Respond to email and texts Troubleshoot instructional issues Review, grade and provide feedback on assignments Submit grades to LMS transcript Miscellaneous activities Estimated Time Requirement 2 hours (one time) 4 hours 2 hours 3 hours 3-4 hours 4 hours 2 hours 2-4 hours Total: 22-25 hours weekly Salary determined by the management team 2 hours (one time) 2 hours (one time) Costs Salary determined by the management team

Administrative Assistant: Diana Taylor Work with team to select participants of pilot course Compose correspondence to explain the pilot and participant roles Supervise registration Email course materials IT support: No specified person Troubleshoot technical problems

2 hours (one time) 2 hours (one time) Total: 8 hours 3-4 hours Total: 3-4 hours weekly Salary determined by the management team

Initial Learner Contact and Registration

Preparation Tasks for Implementation What is the initial contact for learners? How will the WBI be advertised? Responses Pre-pilot: via a monthly meetings and email; post-pilot: using the intranet, LMS dashboard, discussion boards and email Starts in January 2012 and runs for 8 weeks The branch administrative assistant will compose a welcome e-mail to all pilot

What is the course schedule? Who makes the initial contact? How will the initial contact be made?

What is the role of the instructor? How do learners know where and when to register? Are the technical requirements for communication and distribution in place? How do learners identify the software or plugins that they need? How do learners know their roles and responsibilities? Who do learners contact for technical support? How will support materials be supplied to learners? What are the communication tools for participants? How will learners and the instructor contact each other? How are course expectations shared? How do learners share and send documents? Do participants need online skills training? How will the course instructor be trained?

participants. To facilitate the course and answer all content related questions This is included in the welcome e-mail and will be provided on the dashboard of the company LMS

All software and hardware requirements are described in the course outline document Learner roles and responsibilities are described in the course outline document Learners will contact the IT department for technical support All support and course materials will be made available through the LMS and email when necessary

Correspondence between the learners and instructor will take place via e-mail text message phone and within the LMS Course expectations are described in the course outline document Documents can be sent via e-mail or uploaded to designated areas in the LMS

How will learners be trained?

Instructor has taken graduate-level courses regarding pedagogy and andragogy, designed classroom and online courses. The pilot will provide an opportunity for hands-on experience facilitating online Learners will have access to an online PDF tutorial that they will be encouraged to complete prior to the course commencement

Strategies for Effective Facilitation

Facilitation Activity Keeping discussions alive and on track Strategy All discussions will take place asynchronously in the LMS. The instructor will pose questions and learners will respond to them. To encourage discussion and expose learners to new ideas, they will be asked to respond to at least two other postings. A "hallway" forum will be used to encourage informal discussion and questions of peers. The instructor will also periodically respond to postings if the discussions appear to have gone off track. At least one project will be done as a group and each person in the group will be assigned a specific role. Students in groups will be directed to take a few minutes at the beginning of a group session for an icebreaking activity. Learners are encouraged to keep in touch with classmates at the conclusion of the course. In the introductory e-mail, the instructor will share that assignment feedback should be received in approximately 5 to 7 days. The course outline document will indicate that initial e-mail responses should be expected within 24 hours. E-mail will be checked at least once a day. Weekly office hours are available to learners for questions and discussion. At least one synchronous chat session will be offered through learner sign up around the middle of the semester. Notification of class events will take place through news, calendars, announcements and e-mail. Technical issues will first be addressed by e-mail, then by phone, and finally through remote access if necessary.

Creating group synergy

Provide timely feedback

Engage learners in the WBI

Strategies for Managing Day-To-Day Activities

Management Activity To be completed by IT support Technology troubleshooting Strategies To be completed by the instructor Activating links The course can be moved to a backup server if the primary server fails. In the event both servers fail, assignments will be distributed via e-mail. Send e-mails and post announcements to indicate that weekly lessons are available. Class starts on Mondays and learners will have until the following Tuesday to complete and post assignments. Inform learners about weekly time commitment and reiterate expectations from course outline document. E-mail learners who do not participate for two consecutive weeks Review assignments and projects

Sharing time expectations

Addressing participation issues Assessing learners To be completed by learners Course Participation

Access course and complete activities according to schedule Participate in discussions and help build a sense of community Obtain necessary skills and knowledge to be an effective online learner. Utilize discipline, time management and organizational skills