Customers are an organization's greatest asset. As a result, the question of how to educate customers effectively is key. For organizations looking to grow and scale their business, developing an effective educational content strategy for customers in the early stages of the customer lifecycle is especially crucial.
“Customer success” has become a leading concept in the industry. In March of 2010, this term was only seeing 23 average monthly searches. In March of 2021, that number was up to 4,400 monthly searches. That’s a 200x increase in 11 years.
When educating customers, why is the acquisition phase so crucial? And how can companies ensure success here?
The 2020 State of Customer Training Report reveals that 96% of organizations believe that customer training and education is indeed important. However, only 14% think a majority of their customers are educated adequately.
This 14% is too low. Many thought leaders believe online learning businesses should educate and nurture their customers at every stage of the educational lifecycle, starting with the acquisition stage.
There are a number of ways to educate potential customers in the acquisition process. But first, educating customers requires a deep understanding of what they view as “success”. The Customer Education Playbook lists some important questions that companies should ask themselves in order to understand their customers more effectively:
Some examples of educational programs that companies can create for customers in the acquisition process include:
Given the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, companies should also look into shifting from an in-person instructor-led training (ILT) to virtual instructor-led training (vILT). This helps provide a new level of flexibility around the challenge of how to educate customers in the acquisition stage. It’s also a long-term strategy; remote approaches will remain important for some time.
A great educational content strategy should not just revolve around developing courses, and providing supporting documents and webinars. It should include that; but it should do more. It should go back to the basics of why we’re doing what we’re doing: forever striving to figure out the best way to educate customers. And educating customers is about having a deep understanding of what customers define as success, and building and designing an entire experience from that.
Moreover, even during the acquisition stage, certain features can be underutilized, valuable but misunderstood, or just hidden from view. A successful educational content strategy addresses these consumption gaps. Learning experiences that reduce friction, highlight benefits, and promote awareness of these underused features are helpful.
Finally, organizations need to breathe new life into their “release notes”. Newly released features would benefit well from short video tutorials and animated GIFs that help in educating customers about the new things they can do.
Interested in seeing how others are educating customers in the acquisition stage? Look into Blue Nile’s diamond education resources, Moz’s Help Hub and REI’s expert advice portal.
Better yet, check out last year’s COGNITION 2020 event and hear insights from industry experts about how to educate customers through all the stages of the customer journey! And if you haven't yet downloaded the Customer Education Playbook, a 12-step methodology for educating your customers throughout the lifecycle, now is your chance, below.