What is Customer Education? Everything you need to know

Customer education is the strategic process of providing customers with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to effectively use and derive maximum value from a company's products or services. By giving them the knowledge and skills they need, it not only makes customers happier but also helps them use the products more effectively. This can lead to less need for customer support and stronger loyalty over time.

Quick Answer: Customer education is a structured approach to teaching customers how to successfully use your products or services. It combines training programs, resources, and learning experiences designed to increase product adoption, reduce support costs, and build long-term customer loyalty.

In this guide, we'll dive into the key elements of customer education, covering everything from its main goals and the challenges faced to a variety of helpful resources available.

What is the primary goal of Customer Education?

The main goal of customer education is to help customers use and get value from a company's products or services. By offering thorough training and resources, companies can boost customer satisfaction, increase how often products are used, and lighten the load on customer support teams. In the end, customer education aims to create a well-informed customer base that is more likely to stay loyal and recommend the brand to others.

How is Customer Education different from traditional Learning & Development?

While traditional Learning & Development (L&D) focuses on training employees within a company, customer education looks outward, aiming at customers. Traditional L&D helps employees grow in their roles and advance their careers.

In contrast, customer education empowers customers to effectively use products or services. This makes a big difference since customer education directly influences the customer experience, retention, and overall product success.

Customer Education vs. Customer Success: What's the Difference?

Customer education and customer success work together—education scales the knowledge transfer that customer success teams would otherwise deliver individually.

Where does Customer Education typically sit within an organization?

Customer education can fit into various parts of an organization, depending on its goals and structure. Often, it's part of the Customer Success, Customer Onboarding, or Customer Experience teams, all focused on helping customers get the most from a product or service. By providing valuable resources and structured learning, customer education helps users master product features, boosting satisfaction and loyalty while reducing churn.

But that's not the only place it can be found. Sometimes, customer education is part of the Marketing or Product Management teams. In Marketing, it builds the brand and generates interest by highlighting the product's value and thought leadership. Within Product Management, it ensures new features and updates are clearly communicated and well understood by users, driving deeper engagement.

So, whether it's enhancing customer success, supporting marketing efforts, or aiding product management, customer education plays a versatile and vital role in many organizations.

What are common Customer Education job titles?

In the world of customer education, you'll come across various job titles that reflect different roles and responsibilities. Some common titles include:

• Customer Education Manager
• Customer Training Specialist
• Customer Success Trainer
• Instructional Designer
• Learning Experience Designer
• Onboarding Specialist
• Product Trainer
• Customer Enablement Manager

What's typically included in the Customer Education tech stack?

Customer education teams rely on a variety of tools to deliver effective training and support. Key categories in the customer education tech stack include:

• Content Creation Tools: These tools help create engaging and informative educational content, such as videos, articles, and interactive modules (e.g., Articulate, Camtasia).
• Product Academies: Online platforms that offer structured learning paths and certification programs for customers to deepen their knowledge (e.g., Skilljar, Northpass).
• Event Hosting/Registration Platforms: These platforms facilitate webinars, virtual events, and live training sessions, allowing customers to register and participate seamlessly (e.g., Zoom, GoToWebinar).
• Learning Management Systems (LMS): Centralized systems to manage and track educational content, user progress, and performance metrics (e.g., LearnUpon, 360Learning, TalentLMS).
• Knowledge Bases: Repositories of self-help articles, FAQs, and tutorials that customers can access anytime.
• Community Forums: Online spaces where customers can interact, share experiences, and seek advice from peers and experts.

Why is Customer Education critical for SaaS organizations?

Investing in customer education is a smart move that brings big benefits for both customers and businesses. Key benefits include:

• Increased product adoption: Companies with effective customer education programs reported a 38.3% increase in product adoption, according to a 2024 Intellum study surveying B2B software companies.
• Reduced support costs: The same study found a 15.5% decrease in customer support costs among organizations with mature education programs.
• Lower support ticket volume: Companies with robust customer education programs see a 40% drop in support ticket volume, according to the 2024 State of Customer Education Study.
• Improved customer loyalty: When customers feel confident using a product, they're more likely to recommend it to others, driving organic growth and reducing churn.
• Faster time-to-value: By giving customers the tools and knowledge they need, businesses can speed up product adoption, leading to quicker returns on investment.

In today's competitive market, companies that prioritize customer education stand out by delivering outstanding customer experiences and building long-term, profitable relationships.

What metrics are typically used to measure the impact of Customer Education?

Customer education teams use various metrics to see how well they're helping customers and engaging them with the company's products or services. Key performance indicators (KPIs) often include: 

• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Scores: These scores show how happy customers are with the educational content and their overall learning experience. 

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): This measures customer loyalty and how likely they are to recommend the company's products to others based on their educational experiences. 

• Course Completion Rates: This tracks the percentage of customers who finish the educational courses or training modules. 

• Engagement Metrics: This includes active participation rates, time spent on learning platforms, and interaction levels with the content. 

• Knowledge Retention and Application: This is assessed through follow-up surveys or quizzes to see how well customers remember and apply what they've learned. 

• Support Ticket Reduction: This evaluates how education impacts the number of customer support inquiries. 

• Product Usage and Adoption Rates: This monitors how effectively education encourages customers to use product features and adopt new updates. 

• ROI and Cost Efficiency: This analyzes the return on investment from educational initiatives by comparing the costs of running the programs against the benefits, like increased customer retention and reduced support costs. 

In a BrainStorm-hosted webinar with Dave Derington, the co-founder of CELab, Dave emphasized the importance of staying away from “vanity metrics.” 

“Vanity metrics are just that—vanity. They’re easy to track, which is why they’re so seductive, but they don’t tell us about the real impact on behavior or business outcomes.” 

Ultimately, the key is to focus on metrics that show how education is driving change and adding real business value. 

What are common challenges faced by Customer Education teams?

Customer education teams encounter several hurdles, including: 

• Engagement: Keeping customers motivated to participate in and complete training programs can be tough. It's essential to make learning interesting and accessible. 

• Content Relevance: It's a challenge to create content that resonates with a diverse audience. The material needs to be valuable and applicable to various customer segments. 

• Scalability: As the customer base grows, so does the need for scalable education programs. Ensuring that training can expand to meet this demand is critical. 

• Resource Constraints: Balancing a limited budget and resources while still delivering top-notch education is a common struggle. Teams must be creative and efficient to make the most of what they have. 

• Measuring Impact: Accurately measuring how effective and beneficial customer education initiatives can be difficult. Determining the return on investment (ROI) requires precise tracking and analysis. 

Addressing these challenges is key to building successful customer education programs that enhance customer experience and drive product adoption. 

What learning models are used by Customer Education practitioners?

Effective customer education requires a flexible and comprehensive approach to meet diverse learner needs and preferences. Many organizations are adopting blended learning models, which combine traditional classroom training, online courses, and hands-on workshops. This mix ensures a well-rounded understanding and practical application of skills.

Incorporating microlearning modules and interactive content can also boost engagement and retention. These varied learning methods help create a more personalized and effective educational experience for customers.

What role will AI play in the evolution of Customer Education?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming customer education by improving how content is created and delivered. AI can analyze customer data to pinpoint knowledge gaps and personalize learning experiences, ensuring each user gets the most relevant information.

AI-powered tools can generate content, create interactive learning modules, and automate routine tasks, making the education process more efficient and effective.

If you're curious about how AI can enhance your customer education strategy, check out our Microsoft365 Copilot guide, which details 11 practical AI use cases you can implement in your organization. 

10 important Customer Education voices to follow

Staying up-to-date with key thought leaders in customer education is essential for staying ahead in the field. Here's a list of top customer education industry thought-leaders. Consider following them on LinkedIn, subscribing to their newsletters, and listening to their podcasts so you don't miss their expert insights.

• Vicky Kennedy - Vicky is a thought leader in the customer education space with a focus on driving engagement and learning effectiveness. She frequently shares insights on innovative education strategies and the latest trends in customer success.
• Joe Ryan - Joe is known for creating impactful training programs. He offers great advice on designing education that really helps customers understand and use products. He releases a weekly newsletter called Customer Education Weekly that shares recently published content from people and companies in the customer education industry.
• Eric Mistry – As the Strategy & Shared Services Operations Manager at Contentsquare, Eric loves using technology to improve learning and automation. He provides useful tips on how to integrate educational tools and measure their success.
• Dave Derington - Dave, co-founder and co-host of CELab, is a prominent figure in customer education. He focuses on metrics and best practices, sharing valuable perspectives on what works best in education. On LinkedIn, he shares resources you can use to build your customer education program.
• Debbie Smith – Debbie is the President of CEdMA, a customer education association, with a strong background in instructional design, customer education, and certifications. She often shares her expertise through webinars, eBooks, and events.
• Matthew Tidwell - For nearly a decade, Matthew has been creating training content and program materials as an extension of various teams. He regularly posts short tips and videos on creating engaging content and publishes the weekly Customer Education Blueprint newsletter, which is filled with strategies for growing customer education programs.
• John Leh - John is the founder of Talented Learning, a company specializing in learning technology analysis. His experience in both LMS sales and education gives him a unique market perspective. Give his 2 podcasts a listen: Talented Learning and Customer Ed Nuggets.
• Donna Weber - Donna Weber, author of "Onboarding Matters," is a leading authority on onboarding and ongoing customer education. Follow her on LinkedIn or subscribe to her newsletter for insights on customer education throughout the customer lifecycle.
• Kristi Faltorusso - Kristi, Chief Customer Officer at ClientSuccess, is a recognized leader in customer success and education. She's active on LinkedIn and TikTok where she regularly shares practical advice on engaging customers and building effective onboarding programs.

Also, be sure to check out BrainStorm’s SaaS Therapy podcast, the show that helps you with your most important business relationships—your customers. Dive into popular topics like QBRs, playbooks, building customer education programs, onboarding, and customer success tips with our co-hosts Todd Kirk and Casey Trujillo. 

Don't skip customer education

In today's competitive market, providing excellent customer education can be a significant differentiator. By leveraging the right tools, adopting effective learning models, and staying informed through industry thought leaders, organizations can create impactful education programs that benefit both their customers and their bottom line.

Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your existing strategies, prioritizing customer education is a step towards sustainable growth and improved customer relationships.