Here's How I Drove My Company's Revenue By Taking One Often-Overlooked Step More and more brands are tapping into the earning power of paid certifications. Here's how yours can, too.
By Christie Horsman Edited by Maria Bailey
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
I worked at Hootsuite when the social media management leader launched its first paid certification program, and I'm lucky to have witnessed the development of such industry-leading customer education. But I know that revenue was not the main goal going in.
At the time, the courses were intended to support lead generation and customer success initiatives, but as course uptake grew, the company realized the true potential in its courseware, and today, Hootsuite's Academy is a bonafide revenue generation center.
For many companies, however, customer education isn't working as hard as it could for the bottom line. While the success stats are undeniable — 90% of companies have experienced positive benefits from investing in customer education — the reality is that companies today need tangible ROI that goes beyond positively correlated metrics like increased customer satisfaction and lifetime value. They need another revenue stream.
Hootsuite and others like Hubspot and LinkedIn have paved the way for customer education programs with a full-funnel impact. And if your company hasn't jumped on board in leveraging customer education as a revenue driver, now is the time. Here's why and how to get there.
Full funnel impact is the way forward
Ever since the pandemic, customer churn has hit record levels, putting pressure on marketing and customer success teams to double down on their efforts to attract, engage and retain customers. With businesses feeling the financial squeeze of the economic downturn, many have sought out new revenue channels in addition to reducing costs.
Marketing and customer service teams are a goldmine here, with their wealth of knowledge and data about the customer — from their understanding of the purchase journey to the challenges customers experience once they're onboarded. Customer success and marketing teams can leverage the knowledge base and support assets they've already created and work together to package their assets into tangible offerings that customers will pay for. They can shift the customer experience to self-serve learning and reposition themselves to generate revenue, alleviate demands on their time and empower customers to reach their goals more independently.
At my current workplace, we've seen immense value in getting customers onboarded and activated as quickly as possible using self-serve courseware. However, this strategy isn't only for SaaS companies. I've seen it in clients from a wide range of industries – from broad-based public education programs to highly specialized training. One thing I've noticed across the board? Creating full-funnel impact is only possible through the collaboration of disparate business units and a unified business plan.
Related: 4 Ways Brands Can Educate Their Customers and Win Hearts
Start with a strategy
Unless you're an educational institution, you'll quickly discover that offering courses and certifications is different than making software or selling widgets. Treating it as a unique business will help you get the resources you'll require to succeed. That includes marketing support and integration within your overall product strategy.
As tempting as it may be to slap together existing content and put a price tag on it, the reality is that you will need a plan that anticipates and facilitates growth. Carefully consider what your customers will pay for and what you need to offer everyone. That might involve creating tiers of paid access that match engagement levels, such as paid certification for standard customers and one-on-one coaching for your top performers.
I recommend looking at least a year or two ahead at potential growth and what's required to support it. For example, once your courses are launched and established, you may want the ability to develop a private community where students can collaborate and share what they have learned.
Part of Hootsuite's success came from choosing a platform that allowed it to leverage the power of its growing subscriber base. Selecting tools that can grow with you will enable you to add new features when you're ready and avoid the hassle of having to migrate your content to a more robust platform, just as it's gaining traction.
Related: Your Startup's Most Important Investment Is Customer Education
Leverage technology and augment it with creativity
If creating the kind of value people will pay for feels daunting, technology can help here, too. Generative AI tools make lighter work of transforming existing assets into courseware, and the delivery platform you choose may have built-in prompts and features to turn your vision into reality with minimal effort. Case in point: we've succeeded in taking video edits down from six hours to just one using AI – an impressive efficiency boost!
Keep in mind, too, that you don't necessarily need to produce dozens of high-quality videos. Consider how to leverage what you've got, then fill the gaps with new content that clearly addresses your customers' pain points. And don't be afraid to get creative. Sure, there are playbooks on how to develop courseware, but you can always go your own way.
If you need inspiration, take a look at what others are doing — especially worthy rivals in other sectors. One of my favorites is Cricut Access, a paid account for Cricut crafters that offers resources, support and project ideas. The company caters to consumers, which is not my company's target audience, but I find it's always a source of good food for thought.
Finally, don't be afraid to try things — even if they might not work. After all, the best way to learn is by experimenting. And learning right alongside your customers may be the most authentic way to accelerate both their productivity and revenue — and yours.
