That companies are not only concerned with employee training is well-known; what we are witnessing today is the rise of ‘customer education,’ which functions similarly to the lower part of the marketing funnel, dedicated to customer loyalty.
In fact, according to the Intellum Forrester Study of October 2019, 90% of companies have reported a positive return on their customer education investments, with an ROI nearing 600%.
According to the same study, formalized customer training programs in 2019 saw an increase in:
– Revenue by 6.2%
– Customer retention by 7.4%
– Customer satisfaction by 11.6%
– Decrease in support and technical assistance costs by 6.1%
Another study conducted by Conductor.com has shown that consumers engaging with educational content are more inclined to make a purchase:
– 48% more likely to buy from a brand a week after reading educational content.
– This percentage increases to 131% immediately after reading brand-related content.
The reason is explained by the same research. In fact, 64% of consumers perceive a brand as trustworthy immediately after reading its educational content.
How does Customer Education work, and how can you leverage it for your company?
So-called “Customer Education programs” (CEd) can take various forms. For example, you can use an LMS platform like BRAVO! to create a “Massive Open Online Course” (MOOC) and engage anyone interested in the topic. Alternatively, you can offer educational content as a free bonus following a purchase. A reserved online training course can be an excellent incentive for purchase; think about how often we search for DIY tutorials. If these video contents are offered by a brand that sells DIY products, I will be naturally inclined to purchase exactly what I have seen used to ensure the result!
Have you considered how to integrate Customer Education into your strategy for selling online courses? If you haven’t, maybe it’s time to do so.