4 Crucial Marketing Mistakes to Avoid: Customer Ed Nugget 28

Which Marketing Mistakes Put Customer Education at Risk?

It’s no secret that I’m a longtime customer education advocate. Why? As an enterprise learning systems consultant, I see its value on a daily basis. And research results like these make a compelling business case:

• More than 90% of customer education programs achieve positive ROI
• Annual business revenue grows 6-8%
• Product adoption increases by as much as 38%
• Average lifetime value per trained customer improves as much as 35%

But here’s the catch: Getting customer education right isn’t easy. It demands a special combination of instructional expertise, strategic insight, business acumen, and marketing skills.

Few of us have depth in all these disciplines, especially marketing. That’s why marketing mistakes often derail customer education efforts. If you’ve been involved with promoting customer-focused learning, you know how complex and humbling the process can be. Yet, it is critical for success.

So, exactly which marketing mistakes should you avoid? And how can you prevent these pitfalls? Glad you asked, because that’s what we’re discussing on this 28th episode of the Customer Ed Nuggets mini-podcast!

Buying or selling a customer-focused learning system? Get independent insights you can trust, with our in-depth analysis of 16 top solutions. Learn about our Customer LMS Buyer’s Guide →

Today’s Guest Expert

Shannon Howard, Director of Customer & Content Marketing, Intellum

For the inside story, I’m welcoming back one of the best-qualified marketing professionals I know. Shannon Howard is Sr. Director of Customer & Content Marketing at Intellum, a leading enterprise education platform.

Previously, Shannon joined us for two podcast episodes: First, to discuss  reasons for building a customer community, and then, how to deal with community management pitfalls.

Now, we’re turning our attention to marketing mistakes and how to avoid them. So, let’s get started…

Find out how real-world companies are achieving more with learning systems that create business value. Get inspiration from dozens of success stories in our free LMS Case Study Directory →

4 Common Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Want to succeed at customer education? Steer clear of marketing mistakes like these:

1. Don’t Assume Customer Education Sells Itself

Often, teams are so busy developing content, they start to believe, “If we build it they will come.”

It’s easy to think people will magically find out about an academy, jump in, and engage. But that “Field of Dreams” mentality isn’t realistic. In fact, it’s one of the biggest marketing mistakes you can make.

Successful teams invest significant time, effort and budget in spreading awareness and driving customers to their programs. So, if you want strong results, start by being intentional about promotional plans. Gather audience insights that will help you design and implement strategies that attract the right kind of attention, lead people in helpful directions, and keep them coming back for more.

2. Don’t Treat Customer Education as an Event

Teams that don’t make marketing mistakes know that connecting with customers takes much more than a one-time launch or onboarding message. A “one-and-done” approach may be convenient, but it won’t build momentum.

It’s a shortsighted move that doesn’t recognize how successful brands leverage learning to build long-term relationships. These companies know education can add value at every stage in the lifecycle. So, they structure education as an ongoing process that travels with customers throughout their journey.

To avoid marketing mistakes, take a cue from the best programs. Engage customers in continuous conversations. Build your game plan around a series of proactive campaigns, emails, nudges, and touch points. And invite relevant stakeholders and influencers to join in and amplify your efforts.

3. Don’t Pretend One Size Fits All

A generic approach may make sense in the early days of a program. For instance, when you open an online academy, you could introduce everyone to the concept, invite them to take a tour, and let them know how they can benefit from it.

But blindly investing in one-size-fits-all education is one of the most serious marketing mistakes you can make. Instead, you’ll want to offer a more personalized approach.

Start by segmenting customers. (For example, you might categorize them by role, level of product involvement, or reasons for using your product.) You can gather some of these insights from existing buyer or learner personas. This helps you clarify why people would be interested in education.

Also, pay attention to how customers find information and the words they use. By speaking their language to describe pain points and problems, you’ll connect with people on their terms. This builds rapport more quickly and helps them understand how education can help.

4. Don’t Forget to Emphasize “What’s In It For Me?”

Customers won’t engage in any kind of education unless they see how they will benefit from it. So, for every program you offer, every piece of content you want people to consume, and every action you ask them to perform, be sure they anticipate a meaningful pay-off for their time and attention.

Prepare by investigating customer motivations upfront, so you know what matters most to them. Also, research how they want to learn and what they want to gain from the process.

It’s your job to connect their goals, interests, and needs with learning you develop and deliver. So, confirming what people are trying to achieve is paramount. This is foundational for success. Yet, it’s surprisingly easy to overlook.

How Can You Avoid Serious Marketing Mistakes?

Marketing mistakes are rarely fatal. But they can certainly be costly and set your customer education program progress back by weeks or months. No one wants that. So, what can you do to succeed?

Be sure to download a terrific new guide from Shannon and her team at Intellum. They call it “Everything You Need to Successfully Market and Promote Your Education Program.“ And they’re not kidding!

This step-by-step guide is packed with strategies, tools, and tactics to help you not only avoid marketing mistakes, but also put proven promotional practices behind your customer education efforts.

Best of all, this guide is free. So, if you find this podcast helpful, you’ll definitely want to read more.

GET YOUR COPY →

Watch This Customer Ed Nuggets Episode

Want to learn more about why Shannon and I agree on which marketing mistakes are most problematic? For our full 10-minute conversation, watch the brief video below…

Or, if you’d rather listen to our discussion, tune in to the audio version of the podcast right here at TalentedLearning.com.

The Bottom Line on Avoiding Marketing Mistakes

Customer education isn’t easy to manage. It’s a complex, multifaceted discipline. And let’s face it, many learning professionals feel like the job is done when we deliver instructional content.

But content delivery is only the beginning.

In a noisy world, convincing someone to pay attention and respond in a particular way is challenging. Along the way, there are many detours and dead ends. But you can avoid marketing mistakes by relying on proven strategies, tools and measurement techniques.

In my next podcast, Shannon returns to help me look closer at those best practices. So, stay tuned!

Learn More About Intellum

Check the vendor profile in our Learning Systems Directory – including my hot take review, demo videos, case studies and more. Or visit the Intellum website.

About Talented Learning Customer Ed Nuggets

Hosted by Talented Learning CEO John Leh, the Customer Ed Nuggets podcast is a trusted source of advice, guidance and best practices for customer education professionals of all types. In this series of brief video and audio “nuggets” (each 10 minutes or less), we explore key topics with numerous guest experts.

Join us anytime here or on our YouTube channel to explore all facets of customer education, from how to build a persuasive business case, to effective strategies, technologies and content that help professionals create, deploy and grow successful customer-centered programs.

How to Follow the Customer Ed Nuggets Podcast

We practice what we preach by providing our content in a format for every learning preference. You can stay up-to-date with this podcast series through these channels:

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Buying or Selling a Customer LMS?

The right learning platform can help you avoid common marketing mistakes. And our Customer LMS Buyer’s Guide can help you find a platform that works for you.

This independent analysis compares 16 top customer learning systems, so you’ll have actionable insights, whatever your role may be.

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Want Help Finding the Right LMS? Let’s Talk.

Looking for the best system for your customer education program? Get independent guidance you can trust. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation with me, John Leh, Founder and Lead Analyst at Talented Learning:

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