Did you know? Research from the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) has shown that customer education programs have: Reduced the number of support calls by a factor of three. Increased renewal rates in one organization from 80% to 92%. Changed product buying habits. Another study showed that for every one dollar spent on customer education, customers spent an additional twelve dollars on the product. We know intuitively that training customers is a good thing, but too often SaaS companies under-invest in customer education. In this webinar, GainsightCustomer Success Evangelist, Lincoln Murphy and ServiceRocket Head of Training, Bill Cushard will explore the importance of customer training and what SaaS companies should be thinking about when designing training programs. In this webinar, participants will: Learn the four stages of the Enterprise Software Training Maturity Model Assess the current state of their own customer education organization Learn how to use the maturity model to build a strategic enterprise software training organization

1. Using a Maturity Model To Build a Strategic
Customer Education Organization
May 7, 2015

2. Housekeeping
• Q&A panel on your right
• Recording for colleagues who can’t make it
• All attendees will receive slides
• Twitter hashtag #customersuccess

3. Our Speakers
Lincoln Murphy
Customer Success Evangelist
lmurphy@gainsight.com
@lincolnmurphy
Bill Cushard
Head of Training
@BillCush

4. What We’ll Cover Today
• The Impact Training Can Have
• What is Maturity?
• Four Stages of the Software Training Maturity Model
• How to Put the Model to Use
• Q&A

5. Using a Maturity Model
to Build A Strategic Customer
Education Organization

6. • Founded in Sydney, Australia 2001
• Palo Alto, CA HQ since 2010
• 180 employees across 4 global
offices:
– Palo Alto, Sydney, Kuala
Lumpur, Santiago
6
About ServiceRocket
Strengthen relationships
between software
companies and enterprise
customers
Training
Support
Smart
Utilization
Services

7. Our
Customers
7

8. Of Course…Training is Important
• Research from the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) has
shown that customer education programs have:
– Reduced the number of support calls by a factor of three.
– Increased renewal rates in one organization from 80% to 92%.
– Changed product buying habits. Another study showed that for every
one dollar spent on customer education, customers spent an additional
twelve dollars on the product.
8

9. 9

10. 10

11. How mature is your training business?
11

12. 12
“AGE IS NO
GUARANTEE
OF MATURITY.”
Lana Blackwell
12

13. Engraved at the entrance to the Norlin Library
at the University of Colorado
13
"Who knows only
remains always a child.”
his own generation

14. 14

15. 15
Software Training Maturity Model

16. Stage 1: Reacting
• Customer is driving need for training
• It’s a fire drill responding to ad hoc
training requests
• Highly stressful
16

17. 17
• Yes, you have training and customers
take it.
• Learning management system (maybe).
• Training content covers 80% (well most)
of what customers need to learn.
• Training manager or someone who
“owns” training.
• Customers give training good scores on
surveys.
Stage 2: Performing

18. 18
Stage 3: Scaling
• Need to figure out: How to handle
growth in training demand, without
growing team at same rate.
• Putting self-paced learning options in
place.
• Training partner model.
• Leveraging learning technologies.

19. 19
Stage 4: Optimizing
• High level training executive leading the
organization.
• Accountable to a number.
• Revenue, profitability, product adoption,
renewals, etc.
• Customers see training as a strategic
part of your offering.

20. 20
Stage 1: Reacting
Actions to Take
• Review current state of training content
> Analyze training needs.
• What do customers repeatedly request?
• Select 1 to 3 topics that need to be
covered.
• Develop courses in a standard way.
• Offer those courses to customers.
• If customers want something else, say
“No” or charge for custom training.

21. 21
Stage 2: Reacting
Actions to Take
• Post complete training schedule on web
site.
• Have a process to allow customers to
self-register and pay for training.
• Finalize and formalize training materials
for each course.
• Develop a process for keeping training
content up-to-date.

22. 22
Stage 3: Scaling
Action to Take
• Build infrastructure for future growth.
• Move beyond an LMS to a tightly-
integrated Learning Business
Management System.
• Customer experience.
• Stakeholder needs (integrations with
systems they care about).

23. 23
Stage 4: Optimizing
Actions to Take
• Be accountable to a number.
• Optimize pricing model.
• Further connect learning management
system to company systems.
• Continuously look for ways to improve
training experience.

24. 24
Software Training Maturity Model

25. Putting the Model to Use
3 4
25
1
Asses
Yourself
Decide How
Far You Want
to Go
2
Take ActionsSet Goals

26. 26
Catch Bill’s Session at PULSE:
Creating an Effective
Training Program
Wednesday, May 12 @ 3:25pm

27. Q&A
Lincoln Murphy
Customer Success Evangelist
lmurphy@gainsight.com
@lincolnmurphy
Bill Cushard
Head of Training
@BillCush

28. Thank You!
May 7, 2015