Increase Your Buyer Coaching Information Base
Top ways to expand your knowledge of customer training for free
Employees may be the stars of the show, but nothing without a well-informed audience. For this reason, online customer training is an absolute must for both SMBs and global organizations. However, you may not have enough budget to expand your current customer training knowledge base. After all, custom content development is not cheap and usually involves long lead times. Fear not, there are tons of free resources to add to your customer support library today. Here are just a few secrets to help you improve your repository without breaking the bank. Please note: Active staff participation, rapid authoring tool, and an existing online training library are required.
6 tips to enrich your customers’ knowledge base
1. Invite employees to contribute resources
Employees work with products every day. They know which mistakes to avoid, how to maintain the item and its unique selling propositions. Use your insider know-how in your customer training. Encourage them to develop their own product knowledge resources based on past experience. For example, tutorials that show what to do if the item malfunctions or how to clean the internal components. You will receive additional credits (AKA badges and gamification points) for your hard work. Consumers receive targeted resources created by your top talent. And you can expand your knowledge base for customer training for free. Everyone wins.
2. Integrate vendor support tools
Many vendors offer free resources to their suppliers and consumers. You can incorporate these tools into your customer training knowledge base, provided that you acknowledge the creator. For example, a video tutorial that shows customers how to operate the device or troubleshoot common user errors. If you don’t know where to find relevant resources, contact the provider for more information. You may have exclusive vendor libraries. Even if you can’t directly embed the contact, you can still get inspiration from it. Another great place to look for free support tools are video sharing sites. There’s no shortage of demos, walkthroughs, and tip clips to incorporate into your knowledge base.
3. Expand certification programs
You probably already have certification paths that you offer your internal employees. Some of these can be reused for customer training with minor adjustments. As an example, you started safety training for your sales force last year. It covers all the basics for safe handling procedures and tips for avoiding damage / contamination. Your consumers would benefit from this course as it extends the life of their product and prevents accidents. All you have to do is revise certain aspects to make it suitable for the masses. For example, removing the sales demo at the end or replacing industry jargon.
4. Record live events
Have you already booked live online training? Record them and use a rapid authoring tool to edit the footage, then upload it to your customer training knowledge base for free. You can even break it up into separate resources for the moment of need for consumers who need a refresher. For example, a 2-minute clip that explains how to do a factory reset. Or an anecdote that teaches customers a valuable lesson about regular maintenance. Likewise, hosting live events exclusively for consumers is not a bad idea. This makes the editing process a lot easier as it already has tips, tricks, and techniques that you can use. And you don’t have to leave out sensitive information intended for your employees. Also, give them an overview so they can follow up and determine if the event is right for them.
5. Reuse demo videos
Most of your demo videos are likely aimed at employees. Show them how to work at the POS terminal or how to handle a tricky customer complaint. However, there are a few that you can incorporate into your customer training knowledge base at no additional cost. Evaluate your demo video library and find versatile assets that are easy to modify. You may need to record new voiceovers or add new pictures to make it more customer friendly. If you miss important demos, ask staff to act out the process or use animation software. Try to keep videos short as consumers need quick and convenient testimonials. It’s not mandatory, so they may not devote 20 minutes of their day to your product solution.
6. Turn modules into bite-sized infographics
Since this is mandatory training, it is important to remember that customers are volunteer participants. Unlike your employees who have to meet the training requirements in order to adhere to company guidelines. Consumers can click away at any time without negative consequences. So you need to make it hassle free so they can get the information they need and get on with their day. Convert training modules into micro-learning infographics that summarize key topics and issues. For example a graphic that tells you everything you need to know about your company background. Or why they should buy a service plan that costs extra to get the most out of their investment.
graduation
These free techniques can help you expand your online training knowledge base and improve customer loyalty. It’s a group effort. So get your team involved and invite them to contribute their own resources. Use the vendor support tools to your advantage and make certification programs available to the public. You should also convert these online training webinars into JIT support resources using your trusted rapid authoring tool. Customer education resources don’t have to cost an arm and a leg … you just need to know where to look.
VIVAHR
Simple, affordable hiring software Publish your jobs with one click on all free job posting pages + Culture Marketing ™ landing pages.
