What Is Customer Training? (And Why Does Your Business Need It?)
What is Customer Training?
When I tell people that Skill Mammoth can make engaging customer-facing training and learning solutions, most folks need clarification on what that means. Most people's experiences with training come from a rushed PowerPoint of death with an overworked manager forced to perform training that tries to walk a group of new hires through some crucial policies before they fall asleep.
Rightly, you don't want customers anywhere near an experience like that. Hopefully, with this article, I can show you how valuable customer training can be to your business because the truth is that you've interacted with customer training already, and you've probably spent money because of it.
Infomercials are customer training. The classic presentations from Shamwow, OxiClean, ZooBooks, and SlapChop are all perfect examples of customer training. Sometimes, those infomercials can be over the top, but you best believe that we all understood what flex tape could do when Phil Swift finished telling us about it.
Product videos are an element of customer training. Every time Apple faithfully announces a new iPhone in the fall, you better believe there will be a flashy video where Apple will show off every new feature of the device.
Simply put, customer training educates customers about a company's products or services. It's where marketing meets learning and development.
What are the different types of customer training?
Before-the-sale training focuses on explaining a product or service. These are especially useful if you're offering a brand-new or complex product or service, as your customers will need to know precisely what they're getting into before buying. This training highlights the purpose of the product or service and explains how it can solve a customer's problems.
Installation and Setup training is focused on helping the customer get started using the product or service. Guided videos, get-started guides, and virtual software tours are all examples of this. One great example I want to highlight is Traeger Grill's setup guide on how to put together their famous pellet smokers. The customer gets a link to a video and a clear step-by-step installation guide with pictures and a fun mini-game throughout where it tells you when to drink another beer. And in a genius move, Traeger even gives you a how-to guide to turn your grill's box into a fort for your kids.
Look closely, and you'll see that for every step completed, the six-pack of beer shown has one less bottle.
Onboarding training is essential for software as a service company. 23% of customer churn is due to poor onboarding. If a customer gets frustrated with the software and cannot figure out how to use the tool for their specific need, they will cancel their subscription and try something else. So it's crucial to not only implement good user experience practices but also to make sure your onboarding is great for the customer. Use plenty of videos, pop-up virtual tours, and leverage a knowledge center to make your onboarding as seamless as possible.
Here's an example of a video I did with Kathy Raph from Gotcha Covered to walk customers through the exact process of their custom window treatment service. (Contact us here if you want Skill Mammoth to help you make a similar video or creative customer training solutions.)
Post-sale training can help with expectations on the next steps. A great example of this is how Geek Squad provides customers with a checklist to prepare for a Geek Squad visit. Not only does it confirm that all liability issues are taken care of (an adult will be present, pets are secured, etc.), but it also guides customers through tips to back up their computer data.
What I call "added value training" is present in almost every organization. This type of training involves providing resources and training to help your customers with their business. I'm doing added-value training right now; I'm introducing a concept to you: customer-facing training, which adds value to you and your business. This content includes how-to videos, webinars, free checklists, and ebooks. All of these add to the perceived value of your brand. Your marketing team might call it content marketing.
This free five types of customer training infographic is also an example of added value training.
How to Get Started in Customer Training?
So, if you're looking to get started in customer training, you first need to decide what your business goal is. (If you're looking for a place to start, I recommend reading your reviews and customer satisfaction surveys.)
Once you have your goal, your next step is to define what is preventing the goal. Try to narrow down the barrier to either one of the following:
A Skills Barrier. This barrier is when your audience lacks the specific abilities or competencies required to perform a desired action. For example, a customer's lack of technical skills to use a new application is a perfect example of a skills barrier.
A Knowledge Barrier. This problem exists when people need the understanding, information, or awareness around a process, product, or concept. For example, let's say you're a retailer, and you get a ton of returns on a specific product simply because customers need the background information on the item before they buy it.
A Motivation Barrier. This barrier occurs when your customer needs more interest or is willing to engage in an activity. For example, homeowners might need more motivation to regularly inspect or maintain their roofs.
An Environmental Barrier. These are external factors that prevent customers from engaging in the desired behavior. For example, this could be a customer needing more money for a down payment on a house or the proper permit for construction on their home.
If the barrier is skills, knowledge, or motivation, congratulations, training will help you overcome that obstacle, and you can continue; if the barrier you're running into is environmental, then you need to solve that problem before turning to training.
Now that you know that training can solve your problem, my suggestion is to create a grid with your business on the left and each of the five types of training on the right; then, where the rows and columns meet, write down the training that you think can help you there.
Here is an example I created with some of the industries that Skill Mammoth works with:
After that, the next step is to start designing your training solutions using instructional design practices. You can attempt to do it yourself or contact a specialist like Skill Mammoth. We offer free discovery calls to get you started and answer questions.
Customer training is essential! It's an integral part of your target audience's journey with your product or service, from before the sale to long after it! By taking the time to identify the barriers that your customers are running into, you can overcome those barriers by crafting tailored training. This way, you enhance customer satisfaction and earn sales and success.
When a customer is excited about discovering a new product, or when they're trying out a new piece of software for the first time, and when they're eagerly awaiting a technician to come to their home for service, training is there to be a tool to promote more and more opportunities to deepen the relationship you have with your customer.
Remember: the first step is to understand your business goals. Second, you need to identify the barriers your customers face, and third, you need to strategically implement the best training for the job from the five types of customer training we've identified:
Before-the-sale training
Install and setup training
Onboarding training
Post-sale training
Added value training
Skill Mammoth is here to assist if you're looking to start this journey and need a guiding hand. Don't hesitate to reach out for a free discovery call. Good training shouldn't be extinct.
Thank you for reading, and good luck with your customer training!