Anna Maria Richards
The online market is bursting with training management solutions each with different industry training specifications, authoring applications, and advanced features. These management systems have become so common that buzzwords like LMS, CRM, and TMS are now part of technical jargon. By understanding their need and purpose ,you can filter out which management system will suit the needs of your organization. This article aims to clear out the air of confusion between the most used eLearning buzzwords LMS, TMS, and CRM and how to make the right choice between them.
1.Learning Management System (LMS)- the virtual institution
A learning management system (LMS) is a piece of software used to deliver online education. An LMS is primarily concerned with the end-user experience(learner). You can use this type of system to produce and administer e-learning content, enroll and connect with students, and track and evaluate their progress.
You’ll need a learning management system (LMS) like Looop to provide on-demand e-learning. It will assist your company in creating and deploying customized learning experiences anytime and from any location.
Leveraging innovative interactive gamification, simulations, and virtual reality aspects, an LMS would allow you to deliver an organized, varied collection of course material for your online or mobile learners.
Who requires LMS?
- Institutions when delivering the lessons and monitoring a student’s progress while enrolled in a remote program.
- Large organizations that give and track their internal employees’ learning experiences.
- Companies and trainers that provide online self-paced or blended learning modules.
2. Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM)- the gigantic phonebook
A customer relationship management system (CRM) is a centralized database that stores all customer data and interactions. Add notations, organize follow-ups, give actionable insights, and link with social media are other capabilities. A CRM is a tool for helping employees give individualized customer care and close sales; it assures that the size of your database has no bearing on the quality of your service.
It’s all about proportion. If you only have a few clients to manage, a specialized CRM may not be necessary to maintain track of your interactions. Many TMSs include CRMs that are adequate for the needs of even medium-sized training companies.
If you’re a much larger company with a huge sales team, you might require a CRM to keep track of your business leads.
CRMs and TMSs are frequently linked. CRM is beneficial if you work for a company that provides services other than training because it allows you to have a single view of a customer across all of your business units.
Who utilizes a customer relationship management system (CRM)?
A CRM is required by every company that maintains a long-term engagement with customers or stakeholders.
3. Training Management System (TMS)- the training administrator
A training management system (TMS) is a software program that automates the administrative aspects of training. A TMS is most effective when supporting instructor-led training organizations. It is a tool used by commercial training enterprises, internal L&D departments, and training arms of bigger organizations. The fundamental function of a TMS is to encourage business growth by automating processes and saving time and money. The following are some of the things that a training management system can help you with:
- Planning courses and events
- Coordinating resources and teachers
- Creating joining instructions and certificates
- Processing money and bookings,
- business intelligence data analyzing
When should you use a TMS?
If you’re a commercial training department trying to bring everything under one roof, a TMS is a way to go. It’s an end-to-end solution, which means it may cover the bases of a variety of existing systems. It works best in busy training departments where employees spend a lot of time on time-consuming administrative tasks including sending communications, arranging courses, and processing reservations.
A TMS does not rely on connectors from other platforms to cover all bases because it has a built-in CRM and LMS.
Conclusion
A learning management system (LMS) may track each phase of the training process, providing management with information on how efficient corporate training is. A CRM, on the other hand, helps you manage your interactions with current and potential customers by providing a completely integrated system that spans the sales cycle to customer management. A TMS often combines the features of both an LMS and a CRM, although its primary goal is to eliminate document administration. It’s a business-process-simplifying tool with an emphasis on operations that can help your training business grow.
