Customer education is an investment in a business, and it’s one that, when executed properly, will continue to drive sales to a business. Technology, and the Internet, have changed the way the customer onboarding process takes place.

Education is essential in most industries, and this education and training will help businesses with their customer value proposition and sway consumers to buy a product or service.

A few components of the new education-centric consumer are:

Stop Selling and Start Teaching

Businesses are starting to teach rather than sell. Marketing is all around consumers, from email to social media. Thousands of marketing ads are in front of a consumer every day, and standing out from the crowd requires a different approach.

This is done tactically, and it requires a good understanding of the customer’s needs.

Customer needs will drive your educational component, and a well-educated customer is one that continues to come back and make a purchase. This education is done through teaching the consumer, with a focus on their pain points.

For example, if you’re selling Echinacea, you may educate the consumer on the:

* Benefits of the product
* How to utilize the product properly
* How the product works
* Ailments that echinacea can help

When customer education comes first, it primes the customer to make a purchase. The customer walks away with the knowledge they need to make a purchase rather than being provided with just a sales pitch.

SellerMetrics, a company that develops an Amazon automation software, reminds us that your product description should be as educational as possible while keeping it clear, concise, and true to what services you really offer.

Education to Strengthen a Sales Cycle

A sales cycle needs to be strengthened at its weakest point, and this is the point where most customers will leave the cycle. Businesses are using internal data to be able to determine where the weakest link in their sales cycle is located.

Content is then created to target these areas in the sales cycle.

Businesses are:

* Examining their data to determine how long the prospect is investing in the offering.
* How long the process takes to educate and make a sale.

Perhaps the customer is spending too much time on the potential benefits of the product, so they’re lost to a competitor. Revising this information to educate the consumer on the pain points that the product can alleviate will help.

Education to Allow the Consumer to Make Their Own Decision

Consumers should be able to make their own decision in the marketing process, and this is where education really shines. Customers want to be educated and make decisions based on their own knowledge of a product or service.

This is done through an array of content that includes:

* Answering all of the frequently asked questions that customers have.

* Providing charts and infographics that can educate the system and boosts the business’ credibility in the process.

* Information relating directly to the product and how it can help the user.

Products can be anything from a SaaS service, or content can be legal in nature and help the consumer learn about the divorce process and how legal services can help speed up a divorce.

Education is the cornerstone of online transactions, and it’s this education which will help the consumer make an informed purchasing decision.