The Future of Customer Education: Customer Ed Nugget 16

I’ve been involved with the customer education community since the start of my career nearly 30 years ago. Until recently, this market segment was fairly stable. Although newcomers faced a steep learning curve, once they found their bearings, staying current wasn’t difficult. But now, the future of customer education is harder to predict. Why? Here are several key reasons…

Factors Shaping the Future of Customer Education

• Technology innovation now makes it much easier to measure the business impact of customer education efforts. This, in turn, is driving increased demand. And as a result, a new LMS category has emerged, focusing solely on supporting the customer education process.

• The customer education function increasingly relies on multiple disciplines — learning, marketing, customer experience, service, and more. This kind of coordination draws everyone out of their comfort zone as they combine ideas, strategies and technology.

• Artificial intelligence is supercharging everything, and customer education is no exception. The pace of AI innovation is exploding in all directions, including learning tools and systems. Where this will land for customer education is still anyone’s guess.

So, where do we go from here? What should you expect and why? What role will technology innovation play? How will instructional strategies change, in response?

Good questions. That’s why we’re firing up the crystal ball. We want to look at key changes that are likely to redefine the future of customer education over the next three years.

No one can prepare for everything, but some things are more important to anticipate than others. Like what? Find out as we look to the future of customer education on this 16th episode of Customer Ed Nuggets podcast!

Today’s Guest Expert

It’s a pleasure to welcome back someone who’s been leading the way in customer and partner education since its early days — Brett Strauss, Founder and President of NetExam.

Brett and I have been trading notes for a long time and often remark about the accelerated pace of everything in the world of learning and business. So he’s the perfect guest to peer into the future with me and share his vision and perspective as an LMS innovator.

8 Predictions on the Future of Customer Education

Brett and I agree that numerous factors are contributing to innovation in customer education. Most of the items we’ve listed below are already making an impact on the industry, and will continue to influence its direction over the next three years and beyond:

1. GenAI — No surprise, here. Generative AI burst onto the scene only 18 months ago. But it is already shaking up customer education teams in terms of desired skills, headcount, outsourcing agreements, content development productivity, education strategy, costs, ROI and more. And this is only the beginning.

2. Untethered Content — Customers no longer need to be logged into an LMS to engage in learning. You can embed content literally anywhere to support learners at the moment of need. Yet the LMS can still track and analyze all of the related activity data. The possibilities are endless.

3. 100% Adaptable Content — Every piece of content delivered at the time of need can be tailored to an individual learner’s goals, interests and learning preferences. But it doesn’t stop there. You’ll be able to adapt content based on other contextual information as well. For instance, previous education activity, products purchased, shoe size — anything you track.

4. Customer = Partner — Customer education is partner education. Both have strategic business implications, and three years from now, the idea of managing them separately will seem silly.

5. Automated ROI Measurement — By 2027, we’ll wonder why we once worked so hard to create measurable education success criteria, find and integrate relevant data sources, and create custom analytics dashboards. All of this will happen automatically with new AI-driven LMS vendor capabilities.

6. Customer Education Industry Skill Certification — I expect that more customer education practitioners will want to level up. In response, CEdMA, Customer Education Lab or maybe even Talented Learning will create a comprehensive professional skill model and training certification that includes learning, marketing, customer experience, use cases and technology tracks.

7. Specialized University Degrees — I dream that within three years, some forward-thinking universities will wake from their slumber and begin offering formal customer education degree programs and certifications, so I don’t have to make it happen.

8. New LMS Vendors — Mergers and acquisitions are already changing the LMS space, as vendors continue to look for leverage from combined solutions. Going forward, I expect even more of this LMS M&A activity with complementary solutions in marketing, customer experience, customer support, learning operations and beyond. This will continue to disrupt the competitive landscape. And that means three years from now, you’re likely to be using a different LMS.

Watch This Episode of Customer Ed Nuggets

Forecasting the future is fun because there are no wrong answers. But some are better than others.

Which of the eight predictions above are most likely to leave the biggest mark on the future of customer education? To find out what Brett and I think, tune-in to this brief video…

If you’d prefer to listen to our conversation, tune in to this Customer Ed Nuggets audio podcast right here at TalentedLearning.com.

The Bottom Line on the Future of Customer Education

Not long ago, staying up to speed with customer education strategies, practices and technologies was relatively easy. But now the field is changing at an exponential pace.

Although trends Brett and I discuss here focus on the future, they are real. The wheels are already in motion, and these factors are making an impact on your organization, whether you know it or not. That’s why it’s important to plan now for the future of customer education. Three years can pass in a flash. And the pace of change is too fast to fall behind.

Where to start? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter!

Also, for the inside scoop on customer education, I recommend you attend the upcoming CEdMA conference, April 23rd-24th in Atlanta. I’ll be there, and I look forward to meeting you!

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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 learning tech, 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.

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Learn More from Brett Strauss

Want more of Brett’s customer education wisdom? Check out these Talented Learning productions:

• Customer Ed Nuggets Podcast #5: Mapping ROI to the Customer Lifecycle
• Talented Learning Show Podcast #58: Inside a Channel Training LMS with Brett Strauss
• Customer Ed Nuggets Podcast #2: Top Customer Ed LMS Integrations
• Blog: Expert Tips to Educate Dealer Franchises by Brett Strauss

Also, to find out more about NetExam, check the company profile, review, case studies and related insights in our Learning Systems Directory. Or visit the vendor website at NetExam.com.

Learn More About the Future of Customer Education

Explore related resources at TalentedLearning.com:

• Customer Ed Nuggets Series main page
• Customer Education LMS Resource Center
• 2023 Talented Learning Commercial LMS Market Report

Need Expert Guidance to Find the Right Customer Education LMS?

Looking for a new or improved system for customer education? Be sure you make the right decision. Fill out the form below to request a free consultation with Talented Learning Founder and Lead Analyst, John Leh: