We recently released the eBook “3 Ways to Create a Best in Class Customer Training Plan,” where we discussed the impact the GET Methodology can have on your overall training plan. Today’s post is about how to improve your program through effective customer education strategies.
Now that you’ve established some goals, the next step is to dive in and reevaluate your content. Look through existing courses to evaluate performance and determine what needs to be revamped. Consider prioritizing your most popular ones and make sure they’re up to date. Also review ratings and feedback if you have them, so you can sunset any content deemed ineffective.
Below, we’ve included a few other best practices to consider as you build out your strategy.
1. Keep content bite-sized
Did you know courses that take 5-30 minutes have completion rates of 80% or more? Beyond that, there is a significant drop off.
Think about it this way: your customers are busy. Even if they’re curious about a topic, they may not want to take too much time out of their day to learn more. Be mindful of this fact, and try to break large content up into more digestible pieces of information, which they can engage with at their convenience.
2. Experiment with video
In the past few years, videos have skyrocketed in popularity. And for good reason! In fact, our research suggests that videos lead to much higher completion rates (51% for courses with video vs. 36% for courses without them).
But of course, not all videos are created equal. There’s a huge difference between an engaging video course and a snooze- worthy lecture. If possible, invite users to interact with your content in some way. This may be through feedback forms, quizzes, branching scenarios or links to other relevant resources.
3. Motivate your students
We’ve said this before, but we’ll say it again: customer training is not mandatory. If you don’t make a deliberate effort to show students the value of your offerings, you may see high drop-off rates.
One way to combat this is to utilize social certifications. With an LMS like Skilljar, you can automatically issue certificates to students upon course completion. Students can then promote their newfound expertise by displaying these certificates on LinkedIn.
Another option is to use in-app notifications and email reminders. You could even create drip campaigns at the start of the customer lifecycle to keep your content top of mind.
Of course, these are not firm guidelines. Your audience may prefer a different type of content or lesson length than what we’ve recommended. Check your analytics on a regular basis to make sure you’re truly driving engagement.
For more information, check out our comprehensive online guide to Customer Education.