Introduction
The modern day highly competitive business environment makes excellent CX delivery an
imperative for any business. Customers simply have too many options to be sticking around
where they are not enjoying the best experience consistently. This speaks to the ever-declining
levels of customer loyalty across industries. For example, in a study by Emarsys (2024), only
69% of customers indicated that they were loyal to specific brands. Interestingly, this was a drop
from 77% recorded in a similar study in 2022, representing an 8% decline. However, some of the
unsatisfactory experiences customers might have do not emanate from inferior product quality,
but some knowledge gaps on the part of the customer. This is more so in today’s environment of
customer self-service (Gartner asserts that 71% of customers prefer self-service than having to
contact customer support teams) through platforms such as mobile applications, websites, IVR
etc. Companies should therefore pay more attention to ensuring customers interacting with their
non-human platforms are adequately equipped to derive maximum value & have the best
experiences. In comes strategic, data-driven and well-planned customer education initiatives
implementation as a key pillar to ensuring maximum customer satisfaction and boosting
customer loyalty.
Why
Customer
Education?
In simple terms, customer education refers to the process through which a company teaches or
shares information with customers how to use or navigate a platform, product, or service for best
experience. The education can also go further to highlight some of the common challenges that
customers may encounter when using the platform/product and how they can troubleshoot on
their own. In a survey by Salesforce, 80% of customers indicated that they were likely to stick
with a company that offered personalized customer education. From a Net Promoter Score (NPS)
perspective, 85% of customers indicated that they were likely to recommend a company that
offered tailored customer education to family and friends (Source: Walker Sands). Some selected
benefits of offering quality customer education include the following:
i. Higher usage rates – when customers are well equipped with necessary knowledge and skills,
they are likely to use your platforms/services more, with a positive impact on revenue. IDC
postulate that companies that invest in robust customer education are likely to record 20% higher
revenues in comparison to companies that do not invest in educating their customers.
ii. Enhanced customer loyalty – empowered customers are more likely to be satisfied with your
platform/service as that eliminates possible frustrations that may arise from not knowing how to
navigate or troubleshoot when necessary. Gartner asserts that companies that actively educate
customers record 50% higher customer retention rates than their competitors not actively
educating customers.
iii. De-congest physical touchpoints – for companies who combine traditional brick & mortar
branches with digital platforms (e.g. banks), educating customers drives them to digital platforms
from physical branches, thereby enhancing efficiency in the branches.
iv. Better CX – quality customer education initiatives are likely boost overall CX. 64% of
customers consider quality customer education as an important component of their overall
experience (Source: Wyzowl)
Some common forms of customer education to consider
While a more appropriate way of educating your customers should be dependent on your
circumstances, here are some common forms/ways that companies can consider implementing:
i. How-to videos – short videos showing step-by-step process of completing a certain function
can be very effective and easy to follow for customers.
ii. Comprehensive Q & A documents – based on aspects likely to pose challenges to customers
on a platform/in a process for ease of reference in need.
iii. Webinars/Seminars – these have the advantage of real-time two-way interaction between
customer and subject matter expert. More relevant when there’s a major change significantly
affecting the way customers were used to carrying out certain functions e.g. a bank launching a
totally new online banking platform may need to consider these for their customers for seamless
transition.
iv. Accessible user guides – these need to be as comprehensive as possible with instructions in
detail on how customers can use certain services/products or navigate certain platforms,
including troubleshooting steps when necessary.
v. Knowledge base (KB) – closely related to the preceding point, a KB acts as an online
repository of key resources that provide answers to common questions and offer some
troubleshooting tips.
vi. Live chat – many companies now provide a live chat functionality on their websites/digital
platforms where customers can click for real time virtual support from dedicated customer
service officers whenever they feel they need assistance.
Important tips for effective customer education
i. Customise for audience – endeavour to fully understand your target audience profile,
including their needs & preferences then create a well-tailored education program that aligns
with the particular audience profile.
ii. Use plain/common language – avoid use of jargon. Use common language that any lay
person can understand so that customers are able to comprehend and find the information useful
to them.
iii. Make the message as succinct as possible – cover all key points concisely and avoid
including lots of information that may not be necessary.
iv. Adopt engaging content formats – e.g. video or gamification to induce customer immersion
and make the learning more enjoyable/fun.
v. Offer continuous support – whenever customer feels they need further support, be there &
easily accessible for them. Avoid the temptation of just loading all the information online and
leaving customers with no fallback for assistance when they need it. Live chat options can be
very useful here.
vi. Continuously track impact/effectiveness of customer education programs and implement
adjustments backed by data/statistics to improve customer experience.
Conclusion
As a business, you should make it a point that you are always looking at ways to empower
customers with necessary knowledge and skills to enjoy your products/services. Have well
planned programs and be deliberate in your approach for best results. The impact this seemingly
simple component can have on customer experience (CX) and your overall business success is
huge. Where you are not too sure, engaging competent CX consultant to help you come up with
a comprehensive plan for rollout can be a worthy investment that will propel your business to
dizzy heights for many years to come.