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An educated consumer is your best customer. When people know more, they can make better decisions, so when you educate someone, you empower them. Teaching people how to maximize the benefits of your products and services is a daily event for many companies. A customer education program formalizes the information from those interactions into a tangible platform that is accessible to everyone at any time. Customer education is particularly important if you’re introducing a new process or your business model is meant to be disruptive. Your efforts should be focused on helping consumers get the most lifetime value out of your products and increasing their self-sufficiency and success.
Educating customers is an excellent way to increase trust and improve customer retention and loyalty. It shows you are confident that when a consumer has all the facts and information they need, they will choose to work with or buy from you. It can also increase your brand value in the market by positioning you as an expert.
Customer education is not just educating buyers and influencers about products and services but supporting buyers throughout their customer journey. A cohesive, extensive customer education program shows buyers you’re invested in their success. When developing your program:
- Think of learning from the consumer’s perspective.
- Consider what your customers want to know and then deliver it to them in a way that makes sense for them.
- Look beyond the sale you just made - help your customer actualize the vision you sold them.
- Stick with them after purchase to address questions or concerns that arise during use.
- Anticipate barriers and breakthroughs a customer might experience and be prepared to meet the customer wherever they may be in their personal journey with your product or service. Consumers want ease, convenience, and video. Your customer education program should include all of these aspects.
Instead of a basic frequently asked questions section, consumers want large, searchable knowledge from articles, videos, and resources to look at on their own time. Write articles that answer questions a customer might have and how to resolve problems they may encounter.
Take it a step further and create tutorials that demonstrate how to use different aspects of your products or services. People tend to absorb and retain more information when they learn it through video rather than reading. Using video in your customer education program will allow you to create an immersive, on-demand learning experience for your customer - think of it as a one-on-one class that students can watch over again and again.
While creating evergreen content - material that isn’t time-sensitive and remains continually relevant - is the basis of a customer education program, creating interactive learning opportunities is important to keeping your program relevant, including:
- Hosting regular webinars during which people can ask questions - especially after rolling out new features or changes
- Taking advantage of other online tools that let customers connect with you in real-time, such as social media.
- Creating an online community where customers can ask questions and share work. Provide answers and guidance when need be, but let consumers also learn from each other and connect over a shared interest or passion
- Developing a formal curriculum and certificate program that emcompasses all the knowledge and skills a consumer needs to be successful with your service or product
A customer education program should evolve as your company and your customers’ needs change. Focus on helping them attain their goals. When you endow them with knowledge, you’re showing them you trust them to manage their success - it’s a demonstration of belief in competence and will. It creates the transparent, honest transactions that Better Business Bureau encourages, to create a marketplace where both consumers and businesses start with trust. For business tips or what it means to be accredited, visit BBB.org.
BBB Serving New Mexico and Southwest Colorado contributed this article.
