How Can EdTech Adopt an Omnichannel Approach?

As we recalibrate and reimagine our everyday lives around a confluence of NFTs, Metaverse, Generative AI and Quantum Computing, it has become inevitable to rethink our omnichannel presence in this world as humans. An integrated existence in physical form, digital form as avatar and hyper-personalized preferences saved in the cloud. As we ease into a phygital world, consumers now expect a seamlessly integrated customer journey across channels – brick and mortar, digital or virtually immersive Metaverse. Like any other industry, expectations are similar for higher-ed. As the Gig Economy becomes widespread and business models transform, making it easier to create value-producing opportunities, most learners now want to educate, upskill and retrain themselves on-the-go. Access to education intertwined with speed and scale is inevitable to economic and social progress. In a new world we’re entering into, Industry 5.0 married to Web3 and Generative AI – the demands and economic needs are what the world has never seen before. The division of labour between humans, machines and AI will demand ever-evolving skills and capabilities. The EdTech(s) and traditional institutions will need to bring internationalised higher-ed and robust pedagogies to meet students where they would like to be met. 

With a Gross Enrollment Ratio of 27%, India, the fastest growing economy per IMF, has over 4.1 Crore people enrolled in tertiary education. India is projected to emerge as the third largest economy by 2035 with a GDP of 10 Trillion USD and likewise, the GER projected to soar to 51%. Such a mammoth economic growth trajectory, can only be realised and at large, sustained by giving our young learners and leaders greater access and equity in their academic and upskilling pursuits.

As more corporate giants and industrial powerhouses build their own facilities to retrain and upskills employees to expand human capital and optimize immediate outcomes, the role of higher-ed entities is to think beyond immediate results- towards sustainable domain expertise, interdisciplinary skills, cross-cutting capabilities and career-readiness. The task at hand is to identify which disciplines of study, skills or behaviours does the learner need and finally, hyper personalize the offering – the length, the level of proficiency, the qualification and the medium of delivery. The next step is to ensure a consistent and integrated experience whether you’re taking a lecture in the classroom or mobile channels. 

Another facet is building a phygital (now extending to AR/VR) infrastructure to enable consumers to evaluate/explore courses on-campus, on an app, or hybrid interactions. Marketing will need to hyper-personalize the experience of purchasing a course – reaching the right people on the right channel at the right time. What could augment an omnichannel buyer experience is the role of predictive analytics in ascertaining the key moments of influence at each step and designing cohesive & cogent actionables to move them to the next stage, even as they navigate stages across multiple channels.

To bring all of this together will require agility in cross-functional units, training and capabilities to pull off the design and delivery of integrated experiences across channels. Above all, a laser focus on customer centricity to design strategy and experience most suited to their needs, lifestyle and circumstances.

At upGrad, we’re a step closer to building a robust omnichannel delivery of education. From a fully online setup to a blended model that allows learners to work while pursuing initial coursework online in India before an on-campus transfer abroad and now, a fully on-campus model at our recently-set up institutions across India and Singapore.