How Does an LMS Help?

EDITOR’S NOTE: Because extended enterprise learning involves multiple disciplines and perspectives, we regularly invite experts from other organizations to share their insights. Today, Nick Eriksen of Eurekos shares advice on how to manage training as a profit center.

For decades, corporate training budgets have lived under a “cost center” label. Learning leaders know training is necessary but defending it to executives can be hard. This is why a broader agenda matters.

When you extend training beyond employees, the picture changes dramatically. With customer, partner, and member education, the focus shifts to revenue, profit, and growth. Often, I’ve seen these external learning programs create unexpected business value.

In recent years, as more organizations see what’s possible, they’ve been moving past the limits of an internal “cost center” mindset. Already, some analysts estimate that more than 50% of companies offer some form of extended enterprise learning.

This is great news. But lasting success requires a learning management system that can do much more than display a course catalog. What should you look for in an LMS that manages training as a profit center? Let’s talk about that, as well as what makes external learning such a powerful monetization opportunity.

Don’t miss the latest information on enterprise learning technology! Get our weekly email brief. SUBSCRIBE HERE →

What’s Unique About Training as a Profit Center?

Internal corporate training usually proves itself with reduced compliance costs or productivity gains. In contrast, external learning programs must stand on their own, commercially.

Customers, partners, and association members expect more than access to content — they expect value on their terms. This demand for timely, relevant, useful educational experiences fundamentally changes the model.

Often, external programs such as customer onboarding, product certifications, or partner sales training serve multiple purposes at once. For instance, they might ensure regulatory compliance, while also building loyalty and easing pressure on support teams.

I’ve seen clients roll out structured customer onboarding that drove immediate benefits on two levels — fewer help desk calls and faster renewals. The business impact was immediate and undeniable.

The takeaway is simple: consistency and repeatability matter. For best results, each learning experience should be structured, measurable, and linked to commerce. With an LMS built for external delivery, education becomes a service that scales and sustains itself as your business grows.

2026 OFFICE HOURS: If you’re buying a learning system, why not choose with confidence? Join analyst John Leh for this free 6-part webinar series just for LMS buyers. SAVE YOUR SEAT →

4 Ways to Achieve Measurable Impact

Rather than limiting monetization to one approach, successful companies generate revenue with multiple interconnected paths, each requiring different strategies and LMS capabilities. These are some direct and indirect benefits of managing training as a profit center:

1. Reduced Support Costs and Product Returns

One of the fastest wins comes from fewer mistakes. Certainly, customers who feel knowledgeable and confident about a product return it less often. And they call support only when they really need it.

I’ve seen even simple onboarding modules or short elearning courses quickly reduce the volume of routine questions support personnel must process. This is a critical point, because Gartner says the average customer self-service success rate is only about 14%. And improving that number is a top priority for service leaders.

Self-paced learning, adaptive quizzes, and just-in-time resources shift pressure away from frontline teams. So, instead of repeatedly answering the same “How do I…?” queries, support staff can concentrate on complex problems and product improvements. This creates a beneficial ripple effect — happier customers, lower costs, and deeper loyalty.

Also, to build a stronger case, leverage the power of data. Many learning initiatives struggle to prove their worth because outcomes aren’t clearly tied to business performance. But more rigorous training ROI measures, such as balanced benchmarking, can underscore measurable gains.

In addition, by tracking the impact of customer training, you can calculate the value of avoided returns and reduced call volumes alongside direct revenue. These insights turn cost savings into a quantifiable part of learning monetization. They can also reveal new opportunities across various customer segments.

2. Training as a Negotiation Asset

In business-to-business settings, training can also be a source of leverage during contract negotiations. For example, I’ve been in discussions with prospects who expect product discounts. Instead, we offered “virtual credits” for training. This was appealing because buyers saw tangible value in the credits, while we protected our margins.

Of course, this approach only works when your LMS platform can manage credits, eligibility, and usage rules across multiple courses. If it does, training becomes an integral part of your sales toolkit. For instance, you can offer:

• Training credits with a defined monetary value
• Discount tiers for specific learning paths
• Bundled onboarding, plus certification programs
• Renewal incentives tied to actual training usage metrics

Don’t these options tell a stronger sales story than a straight discount?

3. Coupons, Loyalty, and Marketing Boosts

Early in the customer journey, training can fuel marketing campaigns that draw people in and keep them engaged. Learners stay motivated when they earn points for completing courses or providing feedback, because those points translate into real discounts or rewards.

Coupons, vouchers, or loyalty points create a sense of urgency around reward participation. If you rely on an LMS like Eurekos as a backbone, you’ll have a built-in incentives module with rules for things like leaderboards, expiration dates, and product shops. This way, campaigns run from inside the central platform, rather than sitting off to the side.

It also makes it easy to launch, track, and scale a variety of offers, such as:

• Limited-time coupons for the first 1,000 redemptions
• Points-based rewards redeemable at integrated product shops
• Regional promotions aligned with local seasons and cultural events.

4. Certifications and Premium Academies

Here’s another consideration: When people invest in training, they want results that feel substantial. Certification programs support this need, with documented proof that learners can share across their professional circles.

Premium academies extend this concept through tiered memberships. For instance, you might include standard content at the entry level, but sell advanced certification programs as upgrades. In addition, you can foster and protect credibility by offering forgery-proof certificates and recertifications.

When credentials hold up to scrutiny, their perceived value rises, along with their revenue potential. As research from Industrial Marketing Management indicates, mature customer education programs (those offering advanced certifications, tiered academies, and built-in automation) see stronger customer success outcomes and business performance.

A specialized solution like Eurekos builds these capabilities directly into the platform, so you can grow revenue and reputation side by side.

Celebrate the best in learning tech innovation! See our latest annual LMS Award recipients, featuring 65 top solutions in 6 categories. SEE ALL THE WINNERS →

Managing Association and Nonprofit Training

The challenge is different for professional associations and nonprofits. Budgets are tight, admin is heavy, and members want education that feels both valuable and affordable. Rather than maximizing profit, these organizations aim to preserve their mission by balancing revenues with open access.

One practical approach assigns graduated levels of training to multiple membership tiers. Bronze members might receive entry-level elearning courses, while gold members unlock certification programs, premium academies, or advanced content at discounted prices.

When structured well, this model supports an organization’s financial sustainability, without excluding people who can’t afford premium prices.

From my perspective, automation makes this model much more viable. Instead of requiring staff to chase spreadsheets, your LMS platform should automatically verify eligibility, apply discounts, and assign the right course content. This frees your team to focus on more strategic priorities like program design and outreach.

Buying or selling a customer-focused learning system? Get independent insights you can trust, with our in-depth analysis of 16 top solutions. Learn about our Customer LMS Buyer’s Guide →

Selling Training Internationally

Setting up a storefront is easy. The real challenge comes when you go global, because that’s the ultimate test of your commercial engine. Multiple currencies, different payment gateways, VAT handling, waiver rules, and revenue recognition standards like IFRS 15 — all these factors come into play. Miss a detail, and you’ll face tough consequences, not the least of which include refunds, audits, and frustrated learners.

Orchestrating all these moving parts behind the scenes is something we call “advanced facilitation.” In the context of training monetization, it means connecting business rules, payments, and compliance in a way that feels seamless to each learner, while protecting your organization from costly mistakes.

Here are two key factors to consider when selling training worldwide:

1. Payment Gateways and Multi-Currency Options

The first hurdle is payment choice. In global training, every failed payment can mean a lost learner or a lost contract. This means an LMS platform must make transaction processing effortless across regions.

Enterprise clients often mandate a specific provider, while learners in different countries rely on local systems. If you don’t support those options, deals will stall or payments will fail. That’s why Eurekos supports a broad set of gateways out of the box, including:

• Stripe (with Apple Pay and Google Pay)
• PayPal
• PayOne
• Netaxept
• Cybersource
• Vipps (mobile payments in Norway).

Regardless, the real trick is making the checkout process feel trusted but invisible to everyone you serve. Automatic currency detection based on IP or browser settings keeps the process seamless, whether it’s for individuals or enterprises.

2. Taxes, Waivers, and Accounting Standards

Compliance is another critical concern. In Europe, for example, learners who want instant access must actively waive their right to cancel. Without a tick box in place, refunds follow.

Different entities — governments, companies, individuals — also require unique tax treatments. In practice, this often means:

• Active waiver capture for instant access
• Entity-based tax rules
• Location-specific overrides with tax updates
• Revenue recognition aligned with IFRS 15.

I’ve watched teams stumble here. Audits and mismatched reporting can derail global training initiatives. So, embedding these rules in a centralized platform makes training monetization much less risky and much more secure.

Don’t miss the latest information on enterprise learning technology! Get our weekly email brief. SUBSCRIBE HERE →

The Return of Subscription Models

Revenue models are also a critical consideration for anyone who manages training as a profit center. Right now, I’m seeing a strong resurgence of subscription models.

This aligns with a 2023 IJNRD study showing that subscriptions boost retention and make revenue more predictable across industries. Organizations like the steady income, while learners appreciate ongoing access. Still, without constant updates, content libraries can stagnate.

That’s where AI enters the conversation. But AI means different things to different people. Some think of automation or smarter search, while others think of personalized learning pathways. However you define AI, its goal is the same — keep content relevant without overwhelming production teams.

Let’s move through this step by step, starting with model types:

Individual vs. Team Subscriptions

All subscription models are not created equal. For instance, think about the difference between Netflix and Apple TV.

Netflix provides unlimited access for one price. That’s perfect for individuals who want to explore a spectrum of content at their own pace. On the other hand, Apple TV sells curated shows and add-ons. This is closer to the way enterprises negotiate training subscription contracts for select teams or premium academies.

Training subscriptions are based on the same marketing psychology. Perceived value shifts, depending on whether you’re buying for yourself, for a team, or for an entire organization. Primary categories include:

• Individual: One user, personal payment, catalog access
• Team: Pooled seats, admin oversight, centralized billing
• Managed: Enterprise contracts, invoiced externally, tracked in the LMS

The business logic is fairly straightforward. Providers gain predictable revenue, while buyers get easier oversight. And both sides see clear expansion paths, once the value of training is proven.

For flexibility now and in the future, look for an LMS that supports monthly and annual cycles across all three levels. Also, be sure it includes dashboards that let you track adoption, trigger renewals, and grow contracts with confidence. That’s how course subscriptions turn into steady business growth.

Using AI to Keep Content Fresh

Finally, don’t overlook the need to manage content freshness. Here’s my hot take:

Learners don’t care about access to 1,000 courses. They care about finding the right answer when they need it.

This is where smarter tools can help existing assets work harder. For example, a customer education chatbot can automatically pull a step-by-step answer to a specific question directly from course content, SOPs, PDFs, or videos. No one needs to build a new training module.

The same logic applies to adaptive pathways. When a learner aces a quiz, they can skip ahead. When they struggle, extra support is automatically unlocked. This feels personalized without requiring endless manual updates or adjustments.

These capabilities ensure that subscriptions stay relevant and content teams aren’t under constant pressure to create new elearning courses. Meanwhile, when learners see relevant, real-time responses, the perceived value of external training goes up. So curating content with AI supports program monetization.

2026 OFFICE HOURS: If you’re buying a learning system, why not choose with confidence? Join analyst John Leh for this free 6-part webinar series just for LMS buyers. SAVE YOUR SEAT →

Looking Ahead at Training as a Profit Center

Everything I’ve outlined here points to the same conclusion: If you thoughtfully manage external training as a profit center, organizational growth naturally follows. You can create and sustain revenue streams through one or more of these strategies:

• Cost reduction
• Negotiation levers
• Incentives
• Certification programs
• One-time purchases
• Subscription models

This vision is not just wishful thinking. It is already happening.

Many organizations rely on a centralized LMS platform like Eurekos to ensure that extended enterprise education connects commerce, compliance, and learning. By treating training as an investment that yields measurable returns, these organizations can see revenue opportunities that would otherwise hide in plain sight.

And now, you can monetize training, too.

Need Help Finding an LMS for External Training?

Want a learning platform to manage training as a profit center? Get advice from a trusted expert. Schedule a free 30-minute consult with independent learning systems analyst, John Leh:

*NOTE TO SALESPEOPLE: Want to sell us something? Please contact us via standard channels. Thanks!