CELab: The Customer Education Lab - podcast cover

CELab: The Customer Education Lab

CELab is the Customer Education Lab for Innovative Customer Success, Enablement, and Marketing Teams. Our mission is to explore how to build Customer Education programs, experiment with new approaches, and exterminate the myths and bad advice that stop growth dead in its tracks.

Episodes

Episode 73 - Monica Sindwani - Transitioning to Customer Education

Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash Are you wondering how to move from K-12 to Customer Education? Or academia to corporate learning? In this episode, we’re diving into how Customer Education professionals get into the business. Many professionals make a move into Customer Education from teaching, K12 or academia. Others move from Customer Success to Customer Education. Today’s guest has actually worked in each of those worlds! So tune in for a discussion with Monica Sindwani fr...

Jan 21, 202236 min

Episode 73 - Monica Sindwani - Transitioning to Customer Education

Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash Are you wondering how to move from K-12 to Customer Education? Or academia to corporate learning? In this episode, we’re diving into how Customer Education professionals get into the business. Many professionals make a move into Customer Education from teaching, K12 or academia. Others move from Customer Success to Customer Education. Today’s guest has actually worked in each of those worlds! So tune in for a discussion with Monica Sindwani from AgentSync...

Jan 21, 202236 min

Episode 72 - He Said Dee Said CE Said - Part 2

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash Join us for Part 2 of our crossover with another great podcast: He Said, Dee Said with Dee Kapila from Miro and Ryan Roch from Cisco . We continue our Pop Culture thread on how Video Games, Music, and Video does or doesn’t apply to Customer Education. We range far and wide with this final episode of 2021! Happy New Year from CELab and all of us in the Customer Education community! And as always, check below for a full transcript of the show!...

Jan 01, 202254 min

Episode 72 - He Said Dee Said CE Said - Part 2

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash Join us for Part 2 of our crossover with another great podcast: He Said, Dee Said with Dee Kapila from Miro and Ryan Roch from Cisco . We continue our Pop Culture thread on how Video Games, Music, and Video does or doesn’t apply to Customer Education. We range far and wide with this final episode of 2021! Happy New Year from CELab and all of us in the Customer Education community! And as always, check below for a full transcript of the show!...

Jan 01, 202254 min

Episode 71 - He Said Dee Said CE Said - Part 1

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash In previous years, our year-end episode is where we like to kick back and have some fun! We’ve done episodes on what Radiohead and David Bowie can teach us about Customer Education. But this year we thought we’d mix it up and do a crossover with another great podcast: He Said, Dee Said . Where the Dee in question is our friend Dee Kapila , who leads Customer Education at Miro ! And the He in question, is her husband Ryan Roch who a Customer Success Executive at...

Dec 27, 202147 min

Episode 71 - He Said Dee Said CE Said - Part 1

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash In previous years, our year-end episode is where we like to kick back and have some fun! We’ve done episodes on what Radiohead and David Bowie can teach us about Customer Education. But this year we thought we’d mix it up and do a crossover with another great podcast: He Said, Dee Said . Where the Dee in question is our friend Dee Kapila , who leads Customer Education at Miro ! And the He in question, is her husband Ryan Roch who a Customer Success Executive at...

Dec 27, 202147 min

Episode 70 - Christy Hollingshead - Data Doesn't Lie

Photo by Stephen Phillips – Hostreviews.co.uk on Unsplash It’s one thing to say that you “Lead with Data” (emphasize air quotes). It’s another thing entirely to build the kind of dashboards and reports that will allow you to do it. In this episode Christy Hollingshead , Senior Director of Customer Education at Heap , guides us into safely into that territory. While many of us lean on metrics like Completion Rates or attempt to use the Kirkpatrick Model to assess the performance (and value)...

Dec 15, 20211 hr 1 min

Episode 70 - Christy Hollingshead - Data Doesn't Lie

Photo by Stephen Phillips – Hostreviews.co.uk on Unsplash It’s one thing to say that you “Lead with Data” (emphasize air quotes). It’s another thing entirely to build the kind of dashboards and reports that will allow you to do it. In this episode Christy Hollingshead , Senior Director of Customer Education at Heap , guides us into safely into that territory. While many of us lean on metrics like Completion Rates or attempt to use the Kirkpatrick Model to assess the performance (and value) of th...

Dec 15, 20211 hr 1 min

Episode 69 - Next-Level Instructional Design with Mike Di Gregorio

Photo by Martin Adams on Unsplash We’ve covered Instructional Design 101 topics on CELab before, but what about more advanced techniques? Once you’ve covered the basic frameworks, what are other evidence-based concepts that you can incorporate into your learning programs? In this episode, Mike Di Gregorio, PhD, Director of Client Onboarding at Top Hat , walks us through how he incorporates advanced instructional design techniques to educate an audience of higher education professiona...

Nov 23, 202154 min

Episode 69 - Next-Level Instructional Design with Mike Di Gregorio

Photo by Martin Adams on Unsplash We’ve covered Instructional Design 101 topics on CELab before, but what about more advanced techniques? Once you’ve covered the basic frameworks, what are other evidence-based concepts that you can incorporate into your learning programs? In this episode, Mike Di Gregorio, PhD, Director of Client Onboarding at Top Hat , walks us through how he incorporates advanced instructional design techniques to educate an audience of higher education professionals. We discu...

Nov 23, 202154 min

Episode 68 - Hardware and Software for Customer Education

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash One of the most common questions that those new to the field of Customer Education ask about when beginning to develop a program is, “What kind of equipment and/or software do I need?” What’s a good microphone? What do I use to edit and record audio? Should I buy a high-end video camera? In this episode we have a candid discussion on what kinds of products we have used in various environments, chat about pros and cons, and give you a place to ...

Oct 31, 20211 hr 1 min

Episode 68 - Hardware and Software for Customer Education

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash One of the most common questions that those new to the field of Customer Education ask about when beginning to develop a program is, “What kind of equipment and/or software do I need?” What’s a good microphone? What do I use to edit and record audio? Should I buy a high-end video camera? In this episode we have a candid discussion on what kinds of products we have used in various environments, chat about pros and cons, and give you a place to start in confidenc...

Oct 31, 20211 hr 1 min

Episode 67 - Developing Content at Scale for Highly Configurable SaaS Products

Photo by Gabriel Crismariu on Unsplash In Episode 66 of the CELab Podcast we discussed Best Practices for keeping your Customer Education content up-to-date despite the rapid-pace of change that we experience in Software-as-a-Service businesses. But what happens when you also have a highly-configurable product?   Charlie writes: I have been tasked with creating a customer education program at our software company. I am devouring your book and podcast episodes. I am trying to create a s...

Oct 17, 202157 min

Episode 67 - Developing Content at Scale for Highly Configurable SaaS Products

Photo by Gabriel Crismariu on Unsplash In Episode 66 of the CELab Podcast we discussed Best Practices for keeping your Customer Education content up-to-date despite the rapid-pace of change that we experience in Software-as-a-Service businesses. But what happens when you also have a highly-configurable product? Charlie writes: I have been tasked with creating a customer education program at our software company. I am devouring your book and podcast episodes. I am trying to create a strategy for ...

Oct 17, 202157 min

Episode 66 - Keeping Content Up to Date

Photo by Clint Patterson on Unsplash We are back from Summer Break and are entering Season 3 of the CELab Podcast! In this episode. we start to get beyond the Fundamentals into more Advanced material by empathizing with your first “aha!” (and potentially, “ouch”) moment as a Customer Education team or leader. Building content is easy. Keeping your content up to date? Well, that requires some different strategies. In Software as a Service Companies where products change qu...

Sep 24, 202146 min

Episode 66 - Keeping Content Up to Date

Photo by Clint Patterson on Unsplash We are back from Summer Break and are entering Season 3 of the CELab Podcast! In this episode. we start to get beyond the Fundamentals into more Advanced material by empathizing with your first “aha!” (and potentially, “ouch”) moment as a Customer Education team or leader. Building content is easy. Keeping your content up to date? Well, that requires some different strategies. In Software as a Service Companies where products change quickly, it’s one of the k...

Sep 24, 202146 min

Episode 65 - Customer Education Hiring and Team Structure - Revisited!

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash Who should I hire for my customer education team? This isn’t a new question. In fact, we first covered this topic on the show – if you can believe it – nearly three years ago! But there’s been new research in this area, and the market has changed quite a bit in that time. We’re seeing more new customer education teams form than ever before, and the people hiring for those roles are all asking who they should hire. (more…)...

Jul 16, 20211 hr 5 min

Episode 65 - Customer Education Hiring and Team Structure - Revisited!

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash Who should I hire for my customer education team? This isn’t a new question. In fact, we first covered this topic on the show – if you can believe it – nearly three years ago! But there’s been new research in this area, and the market has changed quite a bit in that time. We’re seeing more new customer education teams form than ever before, and the people hiring for those roles are all asking who they should hire. (more…)...

Jul 16, 20211 hr 5 min

Episode 64 - The Scale Engine

Photo by Eduardo Buscariolli on Unsplash In Adam Avramescu’s book, “Customer Education – Why Smart Companies Profit by Making Customers Smarter”, he first introduces that, “Customer Education is your scale engine for Customer Success” (p 11).  This concept – the Scale Engine – is novel in that it channels the fundamental challenge of many rapidly growing Software-as-a-Service businesses:  All your processes need to scale as the business grows.  That includes how ...

Jun 25, 202156 min

Episode 64 - The Scale Engine

Photo by Eduardo Buscariolli on Unsplash In Adam Avramescu’s book, “Customer Education – Why Smart Companies Profit by Making Customers Smarter”, he first introduces that, “Customer Education is your scale engine for Customer Success” (p 11). This concept – the Scale Engine – is novel in that it channels the fundamental challenge of many rapidly growing Software-as-a-Service businesses: All your processes need to scale as the business grows. That includes how you educate your customers! Dave spe...

Jun 25, 202156 min

Episode 63 - 2021 State of Customer Education Industry: TSIA & Thought Industries Reports

Photo by Frank Busch on Unsplash A key part of CELab’s role in the Customer Education Community is to keep you updated on the research and reports coming out of the Customer Education world, especially when they address the state of our industry. This episode covers two great reports: TSIA’s 2021 State of Education Services and Thought Industries’ 2021 State of Customer Education. We like these reports because they come at the research from different angles, whether it’s a third party like TSIA,...

Jun 11, 20211 hr 9 min

Episode 63 - 2021 State of Customer Education Industry: TSIA & Thought Industries Reports

Photo by Frank Busch on Unsplash A key part of CELab’s role in the Customer Education Community is to keep you updated on the research and reports coming out of the Customer Education world, especially when they address the state of our industry. This episode covers two great reports: TSIA’s 2021 State of Education Services and Thought Industries’ 2021 State of Customer Education. We like these reports because they come at the research from different angles, whether it’s a third party like TSIA,...

Jun 11, 20211 hr 9 min

Episode 62 - Debbie Smith - Certification for SaaS Businesses

In this episode we return to the subject of Certification, this time focusing on how to adapt development of programs to meet the breakneck pace of change with growing Software-as-a-Service businesses. Dave interviews Debbie Smith, who is Sr. Manager of Smartsheet University and an expert in credentialing and certification programs. Pencils down, it’s time to write your certification! Photo by  Andrea Piacquadio  from  Pexels For many Customer Education professionals, we fir...

May 28, 20211 hr 22 min

Episode 62 - Debbie Smith - Certification for SaaS Businesses

In this episode we return to the subject of Certification, this time focusing on how to adapt development of programs to meet the breakneck pace of change with growing Software-as-a-Service businesses. Dave interviews Debbie Smith, who is Sr. Manager of Smartsheet University and an expert in credentialing and certification programs. Pencils down, it’s time to write your certification! Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels For many Customer Education professionals, we first begin working on cert...

May 28, 20211 hr 22 min

Episode 61 - Sam Cummings - Inspiring, Cultivating, and Distributing Success through Learning

Continuing in our Customer Success series, we dive deep into the thoughts of Sam Cummings , Author, Data Scientist, and Customer Success professional, currently working as an Enterprise CSM at LinkedIn. Education takes many forms in the world of B2B SaaS Software and Sam takes us on a journey: How to Inspire, Cultivate, and Distribute Success. Beginning by telling human stories, anchored in data we can inspire – or connect – with our customers. Then, we Cultivate the seeds of success...

May 14, 20211 hr 6 min

Episode 61 - Sam Cummings - Inspiring, Cultivating, and Distributing Success through Learning

Continuing in our Customer Success series, we dive deep into the thoughts of Sam Cummings , Author, Data Scientist, and Customer Success professional, currently working as an Enterprise CSM at LinkedIn. Education takes many forms in the world of B2B SaaS Software and Sam takes us on a journey: How to Inspire, Cultivate, and Distribute Success. Beginning by telling human stories, anchored in data we can inspire – or connect – with our customers. Then, we Cultivate the seeds of success, and Distri...

May 14, 20211 hr 6 min

Episode 60 - Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction

Photo by Adrian Curiel on Unsplash In this episode, we return to our Instructional Design 101 series, where we informally cover key concepts from the instructional design world and apply them to customer education. In previous episodes, we’ve covered frameworks like the Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation , which helps you measure the effectiveness of your course, and Bloom’s Taxonomy , which helps you define what types of knowledge or skills you’re actually teaching and how you’d expect the learner...

Apr 29, 202126 min

Episode 60 - Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction

Photo by Adrian Curiel on Unsplash In this episode, we return to our Instructional Design 101 series, where we informally cover key concepts from the instructional design world and apply them to customer education. In previous episodes, we’ve covered frameworks like the Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation , which helps you measure the effectiveness of your course, and Bloom’s Taxonomy , which helps you define what types of knowledge or skills you’re actually teaching and how you’d expect the learner...

Apr 29, 202126 min
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