Publish at March 09 2004 Updated October 29 2025
Packaging ?
Recently, a university consulted us on how to increase the conversion rate of requests for information about its distance learning courses into firm registrations. Their rate was disastrous, at around one in 1000.
A quick look at what they were offering revealed the crux of the problem: several two- or three-year distance learning programs costing between 4,000 and 6,000 euros each. The price of four computers!
The institution's logic was that this was the same price as its classroom courses... but here's the thing: we're at a distance, and the student doesn't perceive the "prestige" of the institution's old walls and the honorable presence of its emeritus professors in the same way...
Why the distance?
And there's more: the main arguments for choosing distance learning have to do with time, accessibility and commitment. Students generally choose distance learning because of time limitations or availability.
They value distance learning for its flexibility, and now they're being asked to make a three-year commitment, and a full-time one at that! They're already having trouble seeing where they'll be in 6 months' time... Not to mention the not inconsiderable economic aspect.
The basic universal model
That's why established distance learning institutions have all come to the same conclusion: they don't just offer courses, they offer a whole range of educational services including courses, technical, administrative and pedagogical support, financing, technical resources, tools and content, supervision, follow-up, atmosphere, community, diplomas and prestige.
So they don't hesitate to fragment their programs into dozens of different courses, knowing that what unites the whole goes far beyond a single course or program concept. This is how the notion of "package" came about.
By analogy, those who sell cars also sell accompanying services: extended warranties, roadside service, preventive maintenance, financing options, etc., in addition to the associated prestige, the car's own advantages and other considerations. It all adds up to the "package".
The Package
The distance-learning course "package" therefore includes :
The price
Price doesn't seem to be the main barrier to access: courses range from $60 to $600 for 15 hours, and from $150 to $1,500 for 15 weeks... the limit is usually set by the competition.
On the other hand, customers are not prepared to pay for too long a course. In fact, the material commitment a person is willing to make is linked to their availability. A person will be reluctant to pay for a course if the duration of the course goes beyond their ability to clearly estimate their personal future.
Many people want to take a course to change their circumstances; in this context, the predictable period for them rarely exceeds six months. It's hard to charge for one- or two-year courses in this context.
Financing
Many institutions offer a payment plan (so many per month), which reassures the customer. If they drop out, their financial commitment will not go beyond what has been "consumed".
Others make it easier to obtain scholarships, or offer them under certain conditions.
Finally, some institutions have made agreements with bank financial departments where students can apply for a quick credit applied to the payment of the course or program.
Duration and intensity
Distance learning courses are essentially offered in two ways:
In both cases, the time commitment required is compensated by a low intensity, allowing the participant to adapt to his or her changing reality. The time required for a course must therefore be limited so that it corresponds to the real availability of people in the target market; so that it can be assimilated, so that it can be fitted into their life schedule.
Program fragmentation is therefore an important component of packaging. Units should be able to be followed independently of one another, at different times.
In this way, a program can be completed according to a more flexible timetable, which can be adapted to the vagaries of students' lives. A lot can happen in three years, especially for a working person or someone with children...
Offering a distance learning program that necessarily involves a high level of intensity is tantamount to restricting your market to people who are available full-time, which is not the natural market for distance learning and eliminates one of the advantages of distance learning.
The trial period and guarantees
A number of leading institutions offer a trial period during which all requests for refunds will be honored. Indeed, taking a $450 course of which you've only seen a brief description can sometimes prove disappointing.
Often, the caliber of the course exceeds the individual's abilities, the commitment required goes beyond the person's availability, or the content turns out to be something other than what the person had hoped for. For a thousand reasons, a person can change his or her mind. This is why a trial period is appreciated, and can be enough of an incentive to dare to take a distance learning course.
Some institutions offer "guarantees". In IT, for example, some offer a free refund or re-take of the course if the exam to an independent certification authority is failed. Since the exam is easy, they don't take a big risk, but the argument is effective.
The community, alumni and appreciation marks
While in the classroom you can always ask alumni what they think of a particular course, at a distance it's a different story.
So there's nothing like trying out a demo of the course, starting the first lessons freely, and experiencing the community. A test drive, so to speak. In short, when a distance learning course is ready for distribution, the technical team still has one more step to take: produce an attractive demo.
On the other hand, consulting the comments or achievements of former students, or being able to write to (satisfied) students who have already taken the course, is a very interesting way of involving potential customers. It can even be referred to such students if they have given their consent.
Prestige, recognition, opportunities
Anything that can boost the prestige of studying at an institution deserves to be promoted. Studying in its own right already gives a person a status of dynamism and openness to the future. Studying at an institution where so many famous people have passed through, where a diploma accepted by leading employers is offered, increases the value of the diploma all the more.
Even the design of the site and the quality of the external promotion contribute to increasing the value of the course or program offered by the institution.
We can see advertisements where what is being promoted is literally the company logo, combined with the quality of the product.
If the course or institution wins any awards, this should appear on the course "packaging".
Finally, if the fact of having taken the course gives the person who has taken it an edge over others in his or her environment who haven't, or makes it easier for him or her to get a job, then the institution will seem to be offering much more than just a course in its "package"...
Services: before, during and after
Orientation, answering questions, tests or free basic courses (how to use the teaching platform, for example) are all services to which a person may not even know they are entitled or their relevance. It may sometimes be appropriate to remind visitors that these services can be useful to them. These services can help them make up their minds.
In a way, it's the environment of the course, the taming of the idea of "distance learning" that we have to sell in addition to the course itself. In advertising, a person's active participation virtually means that the sale has been made...
Also, the knowledge that during the course the student is not left to his own devices, that he will have support and follow-up, can also encourage him to commit.
Just as they'll tend to persevere if they can clearly see their goals at the end of the course: job, diploma or other. If they know that, at the end of the program, they'll be entitled to an exam retaking service, a placement service and access to the course's didactic resources, they'll understand that they're buying much more than a course; they're really investing in their professional future.
That's a very attractive, well-packaged course...
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