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I worked at Hootsuite when the social media management leader launched its first paid certification program and am fortunate to have witnessed the development of such a leading industry. customer education. But I know that income was not the main goal.
Back then, the courses were meant to support lead generation and customer success initiative, but as course uptake grew, the company realized the true potential in its course program and today, Hootsuite Academy it is a real income generating center.
For many companies, however, customer education isn't working as hard as it could be to get results. WHEREAS The success statistics are undeniable — 90% of companies have experienced positive benefits from investing in customer education — the reality is that companies today need tangible ROI that goes beyond positively correlated metrics like increased customer satisfaction and lifetime value. They need another income stream.
Hootsuite and others like Hubspot AND LinkedIn have paved the way for customer education programs with a full impact. And if your company hasn't started using customer education as a revenue driver, now is the time. Here's why and how to get there.
Full throttle impact is the way forward
Since the pandemic, customer churn has reached record levelsputting pressure on marketing and customer success teams to redouble their efforts to attract, engage and retain customers. With businesses feeling the financial squeeze of the economic downturn, many have sought new revenue channels in addition to reducing costs.
Marketing and customer service teams are a goldmine here, with their wealth of customer insights and data—from their understanding of the purchase journey to the challenges customers experience after onboarding. Customer success and marketing teams can leverage the knowledge base and support assets they've already created and work together to package their assets into tangible offerings that customers will pay for. They can shift the customer experience to self-serve learning and reposition themselves to generate income, ease demands on their time and empower clients to achieve their goals more independently.
At my current workplace, we've seen tremendous value in onboarding and activating customers as quickly as possible using self-service courses. However, this strategy is not just for SaaS companies. I've seen it in clients from a wide range of industries – from broad-based public education programs THE highly specialized training. One thing I've noticed across the board? Creating full-funnel impact is only possible through the collaboration of different business units and a unified business plan.
Related: 4 ways brands can educate their customers and win hearts
Start with a strategy
Unless you're an educational institution, you'll quickly discover that offering courses and certifications is different from creating software or selling widgets. Treating it like a unique business will help you get the resources you need to succeed. This includes marketing support and integration into your overall product strategy.
As tempting as it may be to bundle existing content and put a price on it, the reality is that you'll need a plan that anticipates and facilitates growth. Carefully consider what your customers will pay and what you have to offer them all. This may include creating paid access levels that match engagement levels, such as paid certification for standard customers and one-on-one training for your top performers.
I recommend looking at least a year or two ahead at potential growth and what is required to support it. For example, once your courses are started and established, you may want the ability to develop a private community where students can collaborate and share what they have learned.
Part of Hootsuite's success came from choosing a platform that allowed it to leverage the power of its growing subscriber base. Choosing tools that can grow with you will allow you to add new features when you're ready and avoid the hassle of migrating your content to a more powerful platform as it gains traction.
Related: Your startup's most important investment is customer education
Use technology and augment it with creativity
If creating the kind of value people will pay for feels daunting, technology can help here, too. Generative AI tools make it easy to transform existing assets into curricula, and the delivery platform you choose can have built-in requirements and features to turn your vision into reality with minimal effort. Case in point: we've managed to reduce video edits from six hours to just one using AI – an impressive increase in efficiency!
Also keep in mind that you don't necessarily need to produce dozens of high-quality videos. Think about how to leverage what you have and then fill in the gaps with new content that clearly addresses your customers' pain points. And don't be afraid to get creative. Sure, there are playbooks how to develop coursesbut you can always go your own way.
If you need inspiration, take a look at what others are doing – especially worthy rivals in other sectors. One of my favorites is Access to Cricuta paid account for Cricut makers that provides resources, support and project ideas. The company caters to consumers, who are not my company's target audience, but I think it's always a good source of food for thought.
Finally, don't be afraid to try things – even if they might not work. After all, the best way to learn is by experimenting. And learning alongside your customers can be the most authentic way to accelerate their productivity and revenue—and yours.