Cracking The Everything Problem

These articles aim to elevate the relevance and impact that Customer Education can drive within a business, through stories, experiences and tools you can use today, as in immediately, as in, what are you waiting for?

Today I want to start with what I like to call The Everything Problem.

A former-colleague on Google's Organizational Development team was over one evening for a drink. I hadn't seen her in years and asked, "What's the biggest thing you've learned since moving from L&D into O.D. and working across so many teams?" "Easy," she said. "You can't want change more than your client wants it. I can help, but if I want it more than they do, it's just not going to happen. If I want it more than they do, I've realized I'm wasting my time."

Ouch, I thought. How many times have I made that mistake, wanting something more than my clients or business partners? Answer: Many, many times. Think about it. Do your business partners "want" what you can do? Do they really, or (as painful as it might be to admit) do you run around saying "Hey, everybody, hey! Guess what? I have XX-thousand enrollments, yay!" and then budgets are cut the following quarter?

I call this misalignment of expectations, one person or team wanting something more than another, The Everything Problem. And it's not unique to customer education, no way, ask anyone. It's everywhere. So what can we do?

There's an easy fix for The Everything Problem. Let's do a quiz, like in the back of a magazine. It'll be fun, and you can send it to your friends and compare your scores. OK, here goes:

List out all the folks in the C-suite, or your equivalent.

Ask and score yourself along the following lines:

• Do they know who I am, and what my team does? (1 point)
• Have we had a meaningful conversation about linking what my team can do with what they care about (leads, tickets, sales, churn, etc.)? (2 points)
• Are results from your work included in the reports they provide to leadership? (3 points)
• BONUS: Have they said, "Thank you, this has been a huge help for my team and for the business?" (5 points)

RESULTS!

• 0-4 Points. You probably care more than your partners, so don't be surprised if you don't get a reply to your email about your quarterly enrollments (even if it has rockets and hearts and celebrate emoji aplenty.)
• 5-7 Points. You beginning to crack The Everything Problem. The right people know who you are and are getting a sense of where and how you can help in terms that are meaningful for them.
• 7-10 Points. You and your partners both care, probably the the right amount - and chances are they will be asking you for metrics that they want to include in their quarterly reports. With any luck you will likely have other teams reaching out for your help, and you're on your way to growing a strong internal brand. Nice work!
• Over 10 Points. Let's talk about it. Leave a comment; share your guidance, tricks, and wisdom!

Regardless of your score, you can use the following two-step process to better align your efforts and to systematically chip away at The Everything Problem.

Step 1: Talk about it-- Ask Your Business Partners

Chief Marketing Officer (CMO):

• "What challenges are we facing segmenting and targeting our leads? Is there a segment of leads would be more attractive if they knew more about our products?
• "Where do you have gaps or lags in moving leads down the funnel? Can education help?"
• "Can we make our marketing materials work harder to educate and convert prospect, and what might that look like?"

Chief Revenue Officer (CRO):

• "What are the common knowledge gaps during our sales process that impact our conversion rates?"
• "How can ongoing customer education enhance upselling and cross-selling strategies?"

Chief Operations Officer (COO):

• "What are the frequent customer issues that could be resolved through better product education?"
• "How can we leverage customer education to reduce the workload on our support team?"

Step 2: Get creative-- Ask the CustomerEd Strategist & Growth Advisor GPT (requires GPT 4) to help you turn business issues into customer education strategies and programs your colleagues will thank you for.

Use the sample prompts below to get started. #TopTip, ask for Crawl, Walk, Run strategies to help you plan your work and "sell" a vision of what you can achieve to your partners.

CMO, Chief Marketing Officer

• "Based on the segmentation challenges identified by our CMO, [LIST CHALLENGES] what targeted educational programs can we develop to enhance lead qualification?"
• "What educational content strategies can be implemented to increase the effectiveness of our marketing efforts and customer conversions?"
• "How can I go about linking my customer education metrics, enrollments, completions, etc. with our CRM?"

CRO, Chief Revenue Officer

• "How can we design a customer education program that addresses the knowledge gaps [LIST KNOWLEDGE GAPS] impacting our sales process?"
• "What steps can we take to integrate educational initiatives that support upselling and enhance customer retention?"
• "Our sales process for [PRODUCT] is too long. What could we potentially teach customers that would have the effect of accelerating our sales cycle?"

COO, Chief Operating Officer

• "Can you suggest ways to utilize customer education to decrease the volume and complexity of [PRODUCT or SERVICE] support tickets?"
• "How can we measure and communicate the impact of customer education on operational efficiency and [PRODUCT or SERVICE] customer satisfaction?"

Remember, the most effective customer education programs are deeply intertwined with the needs and goals of the entire organization.

Take the time to ask the right questions, leverage tools like the CustomerEd Strategist & Growth Advisor GPT, and get creative to demonstrate the tangible impact of your work.

Comment below, keep me posted. I love stories of success or failure which would make these articles even more valuable. Together, we can drive meaningful business outcomes that leave our partners saying, "Thank you, this has been a huge help for my team and for the business!" That's your sure sign that you've cracked The Everything Problem.