#95 Program Design: Understanding The Overlap
This week I've spent most of my time analyzing a client's program for improvements. This program features recorded training content (course work), live workshops, community forum discussions, mastermind groups, and 1:1 coaching.
In an ideal world you want everyone in your program to take advantage of everything you're offering. You designed this experience so that every feature has a purpose in helping your clients reach their goals, right?
Unfortunately most people aren't going to take advantage of everything you offer. But the more you understand this, the better you can design your programs and support your students.
As we dug into the data I noticed a pattern that is consistent across all of my client's programs and memberships. I'm calling it "the overlap".
Let’s get into it –
There are generally three types of people enrolled in programs:
People that engage in live events & community
People that consume all of the content & do the work
People that do both
Your goal is to get as many people as possible to exist in the overlap. But this is often the smallest group.
Here's a few things you can do to increase it:
Put everything in one place. The way you organize the program impacts the user experience and success of your program the most. The platform you choose matters and the user experience you create needs to be seamless. If you're offering events, curriculum, and a community forum, please choose a platform that has all 3 of those things behind one easy login. Avoid the Kajabi course, with the Facebook group community, with the calendar of events separate. It's too much.
Keep your program as simple as possible. Overwhelm is the number one reason that people leave communities or give up on the programs they're enrolled in. It's your job to make the experience feel easy and like they can conquer it. Whatever isn't really going to help them move the needle (like that 100 hours of trainings you added as a "bonus"), needs to be cut.
Communicate effectively. Your students are only going to participate if they know what's going on and *exactly* how they should participate. Communicate every aspect of the program, and it's purpose, so your students can decide what they will engage with. Send weekly emails during your program to keep students up to date on where they should be and what's coming up next. The more you hold their hand through every step, the more people will make it to the finish line.
These tips help expand the overlap... but not everyone will end up there.
So how do we make sure they still get the transformation they paid for (or as close as possible)?
You need to help your students prioritize their to-do list because they might not be able to give their 100% or the amount of time required.
What should be their #1 priority to make the most out of their program experience?
First, do some thinking on this. What are the most important aspects of your program? What do they NEED to do to be successful?
Then put this in your program communication in multiple places:
"If you do nothing else in this program, make sure you [watch this training / attend this workshop / participate in your mastermind group / do your 1:1 coaching sessions]"
Measuring The Overlap
The only way to improve your overlap is to collect data – review the platform analytics you have available and start asking the right questions in your end-of-program surveys.
How many students took advantage of each feature? (Masterminds, 1:1 Coaching, Events)
What is your average course completion rate? (Industry average is trash at 12%)
How many students reached their goal from start of program to finish? (this requires setting goals at the beginning and following up)
Aim to increase the overlap every round you run the program!
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