Customer Education with Alison Groves
In this conversation, we’re talking about the power of customer education, with Alison Groves, Customer Education Lead at Help Scout. Together, we discuss the difference between teaching "how" to use a product versus explaining the "why," sharing real-world experiences, the importance of cross-functional relationships, and actionable takeaways for building trust with customers through education.
Key Topics Discussed
Defining Customer Education
While knowledge management and support focus on the "how" of a product, customer education addresses the "why". It's a holistic approach that combines elements of sales, marketing, and support to explain why a user needs the product to solve a specific problem.
"To me like knowledge management is the how and customer education is the why".
Insights from Alison on using this approach to resonate with a diverse range of users, from traditional support professionals to front-office workers.
Scaling Education Through Transitions
Alison shares her experience of hosting numerous classes to guide users through Help Scout's major product transitions. By adopting an empathetic approach and positioning herself as being "in the same boat" as the customers, she was able to build trust and encourage users to embrace the changes.
"I am our customer... I don't think a lot of people who do the kind of work the like any kind of education work I'm very lucky in the sense that like I am our own customer".
Real-world examples shared by the Alison, including migrating tens of thousands of customers to a redesigned platform.
Building Relationships for Success
Alison highlights the critical importance of building strong relationships across departments, especially with product managers. These relationships enable proactive communication, ensuring the education team can prepare materials in advance and provide valuable customer-centric input on product development.
"I really want to advocate for building for anyone who's listening for building the best relationships that you can with various people across your company".
How this impacts seamless collaboration and professional growth.
Memorable Quotes
"The more of yourself that you can give to your teammates, and the better you can get to know them and build those relationships, that's there's really no other way, I think, to to work and to thrive because I need them as much as I need, you know, myself."
"Change is hard." - I like this quite because, well…. it is!
Takeaways:
Focus on the "why": Go beyond simple instructions and help customers understand the core value and purpose of your product in solving their specific problems.
Empathize with users: When managing change or teaching new concepts, acknowledge that transitions can be difficult. Building a personal connection by sharing your own experience can foster trust.
Cultivate relationships: Proactively build strong, cross-functional relationships with product managers and other teams to ensure you are well-informed and can contribute to the development process from an educational standpoint
