The Power of Customer Education to Drive Growth

Host:
Hello, everybody, and welcome to this month's Underscore! Today, we’re going to be talking about the power of customer education to drive growth, specifically growth earlier in the customer lifecycle, in the marketing and sales journey.

Before we dive in, just a few quick housekeeping notes. First, this webinar is being recorded, so if you’d like to share it with others, revisit it later, or need to leave early for a meeting, no worries—you can access the recording afterward. With this new platform we’re using, you’ll actually be able to access the recording right where you are now as soon as we finish.

Additionally, there should be a Q&A box at the bottom of your screen. As we go along, if you have questions for Chris, our featured speaker today, feel free to drop them there. We’ll also have some dedicated time for Q&A at the end.

Why Are We Talking About This?

Earlier this year, we partnered with Forrester to conduct research on customer education. We surveyed 300 customer education decision-makers to understand what they’re investing in, how their programs have evolved, and, more specifically, which metrics they track to measure impact.

One key trend we identified was an increased focus on customer education earlier in the lifecycle—not just for retention and engagement, but as a way to win new customers and increase win rates. That’s exactly what we’ll be exploring today: How can customer education be leveraged as an acquisition channel for marketing and sales?

And there's no better speaker to discuss this than Chris LoDolce! Chris is an advisor at SaaS Academy Advisors and a founding member of HubSpot Academy. If you're like me, you know HubSpot Academy is a gold standard in customer education. They've pioneered how to integrate education into marketing and sales, making it a core growth driver.

Chris will walk us through his perspective on customer education, how he advises clients, and how businesses can implement these strategies effectively. So, without further ado, I’ll turn it over to Chris.

Chris LoDolce:

Thank you, Shannon! Before we dive in, let’s start with a quick poll.

(Host launches a poll.)

Poll Results Discussion

Alright, it looks like many of you are here simply to learn more about this topic, which is great—you’re in the right place! I’m also seeing that some of you are putting together a strategy pitch, which is exciting. That means we’ll have a great discussion around practical applications.

So, let’s start with a fundamental question: What is customer education, and how does it work as an acquisition tool?

Three Quick Wins for Using Customer Education to Support Marketing & Sales

If you have an existing customer education program, here are three simple ways to align it with your marketing and sales strategy without creating new content:

1. Include Customer Education in Sales Pitches and Follow-Ups

• Many sales teams overlook customer education as a selling point.
• If you already have training, courses, or certifications, highlight them in sales conversations.
• Work with sales enablement to create 1-3 slides that show how education helps customers with adoption and change management.
• If your company uses sales call recording tools like Gong, analyze win rates when customer education is mentioned in sales calls.

2. Create a Dedicated Marketing Page for Customer Education

• Your education content is an asset—treat it like a product.
• Add a page to your website showcasing your academy, certifications, and learning resources.
• Sales teams can include this page in follow-ups to reinforce the value of your program.

3. Allow Prospects to Access Customer Education Content

• If your LMS or education portal is gated, consider allowing prospects to access free courses, webinars, or training materials.
• This builds trust and lets potential customers experience the value of your product before they buy.

These three strategies can increase sales win rates and build stronger customer relationships without requiring new content development.

Long-Term Strategy: Customer Education as a Growth Driver

Beyond these quick wins, we also want to consider long-term strategies that establish customer education as a key part of customer acquisition.

Rather than just creating content for existing customers, businesses should expand their educational content to prospects. This can take the form of:

• Industry certifications
• Thought leadership courses
• Workshops and bootcamps

These resources help build trust and position your company as a leader in your space, attracting customers before they even enter the sales funnel.

Common Challenges in Aligning Education with Sales & Marketing

Of course, using education for customer acquisition comes with challenges, including:

1. Sales Teams Not Incentivized to Promote Education
   • Solution: Work with Sales Ops to integrate education into sales playbooks and training.
2. Operations & CRM Limitations
   • Solution: Ensure education data integrates with CRM systems for lead tracking.
3. Marketing Buy-In
   • Solution: Align with marketing KPIs to make education part of demand generation efforts.

Education-Qualified Leads (EQLs): A Game Changer

A key metric that’s emerging in customer education-led acquisition is Education-Qualified Leads (EQLs).

EQLs are prospects who have engaged with educational content—such as taking a course or certification—and are more likely to convert than the average lead.

Why are EQLs valuable?

• They’ve already spent time engaging with your content (often 60+ minutes).
• They understand your industry and approach before speaking to sales.
• They have higher intent compared to cold leads from ads or content downloads.

By tracking EQLs and integrating them into lead scoring models, companies can shorten sales cycles and improve conversion rates.

Final Thoughts & Takeaways

Before we wrap up, here are some key questions to consider:

• Is your customer education program supporting customer acquisition?
• How can you integrate education into sales and marketing processes?
• Are you tracking the impact of education on lead generation and conversion rates?

Customer education isn't just for retention—it’s a powerful tool for acquisition when implemented strategically.