Shows
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab - Ep 157 - Alex Levin - AI Agents: Reimagining Customer InteractionsIn the latest Customer Education Laboratories podcast, we sit down with Alex Levin, CEO of regal.ai, to unpack the mind-blowing future of customer interactions. We're not just talking about chatbots - we're exploring a world where AI agents handle 90% of customer support with unprecedented empathy and efficiency!
For those of us in the Customer Success and Customer Education space, this leads to some interesting topics, and we can't help but wonder how AI will impact all aspects of our organization. Some key highlights:
How AI can now handle complex conversations, perhaps better than humans
Voice interfaces are...2025-05-2442 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab - Ep 156 - Kevin Dunn - Harnessing AI & Operating Models for Scalable Customer EducationIn this episode of CELab, we chat with Kevin Dunn, Senior Manager of Customer Education & Community at Airtable, and Adam Avramescu, to dive deep into how Airtable leverages operating models and AI to scale and streamline customer education. Kevin shares how the Academy OS—built entirely on Airtable—drives efficiency in course creation, content management, and feedback analysis, while also boosting customer engagement. He walks us through how AI and relational databases are helping streamline workflows, prioritize feedback, and improve product adoption. If you're looking for ways to integrate operating models and AI into your customer education program for bett...2025-05-0957 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 155 - Todd Kirk @ Brainstorm - "The Two-Hump Problem"In this dynamic episode of CELab, Todd Kirk from BrainStorm joins with Dave Derington for a dive deep into the complex world of customer education, unveiling the "Two-Hump Problem"! What's that, you say? It's a different way to think about learning challenges that plague B2B SaaS companies working to deliver effective learning experiences. They explore how organizations can bridge the gap between small business (SMB) and Enterprise customers, transforming traditional training approaches into adaptive, personalized learning journeys.
Key Takeaways:
The Two-Hump Problem: Different learning needs for SMB and enterprise customers
Customer education is more than...2025-04-2656 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 154 - From CSM Overload to Scaled Digital Success: How Bionic Advertising Systems Built a Game-Changing Customer Academy in MonthsIn this episode of the CELab podcast, host Dave Derington sits down with Casey Izzo from Bionic Advertising Systems to unpack an extraordinary journey of digital transformation. Learn how a small team turned their high-touch CSM-led software training into an accessible, scaled digital success experience.
Casey shares her team's remarkable achievement of developing a comprehensive academy with nearly 100 videos in months, using innovative tools like Synthesia for AI-powered narration and strategic content design, Camtasia for editing, Wistia for hosting, and Gainsight to bring it all together. Even more, with such a small team they leveraged content creation...2025-04-101h 06
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 152 - NetExam - Beyond Customer Training: Demystifying Channel Partner EducationIn this episode of CELab, we engage in a comprehensive discussion with Brett Strauss and Dan Boyle about the intricacies of customer education and partner training. They explore the evolution of NetExam, the importance of access management, and the role of AI in enhancing training experiences.
The conversation delves into best practices for creating effective training programs, the significance of informal learning, and the necessity of building trust with partners. The episode emphasizes the need for simplicity and consistency in training while also addressing the complexities of managing partner relationships and ensuring successful customer outcomes.
...2025-03-101h 24
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab - Ep 151 - Elli Neeld - Building AI Chatbots for CXIn this conversation, Adam Avramescu and Elli Neald discuss the evolution of customer education and support through the implementation of AI chatbots. They explore the challenges faced in the "old-school" customer support models, the transition to an AI-first strategy, and the ongoing optimization efforts that have led to significant improvements in resolution rates and customer satisfaction. Ellie shares insights on the importance of testing, data sources, and proactive education in enhancing the customer experience.
Key Takeaways from this episode:
The transition to AI can significantly improve resolution rates.
Content maintenance is a major challenge in customer...2025-02-231h 08
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab - Ep 150 - Celebrating 150 Episodes - Reflections on our Journey in Customer EducationIn this special 150th episode, Adam Avramescu and Dave Derington reflect on their journeys in customer education and the evolving nature of the field. They explore the fluidity of customer education roles, noting that there is no single, universal "playbook" that applies across all organizations. Dave Derington shares insights from his new role as Senior Manager of Learning Solutions and Programs at Atlassian, a large, mature enterprise.
What we've learned over the years is that what we call Customer Education has no discrete start or end. Universally, we focus on:
The challenges and opportunities of scaling...2025-02-081h 11
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab - Ep 149 - Julie Cochrane - Balancing Instructor-Led Delivery Costs with Customer Value: A Pricing PlaybookIn this episode of the CELab podcast, Julie Cochran, the Global Education Services lead at Charles River Development, shares her journey in developing a fair and data-driven pricing model for her company's instructor-led training programs.
Julie explains how she partnered closely with her finance team to uncover the true costs associated with creating and delivering in-person training, including factors like instructor salaries, travel expenses, and content development time. By meticulously tracking this data, Julie was able to build a pricing structure that covered the company's costs while still providing value to customers.
This episode explores:...2025-01-241h 16
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 148 - Roasting the Robot CELabs Live Commentary on AI-Generated ContentAt CELab, we're always pushing the boundaries of customer education and technology. In our latest experiment, Adam dove headfirst into the world of AI-generated content using Google's NotebookLM. But he didn't stop there, and channeled his inner Mystery Science Theater 3000 to produce unfiltered commentary on the AI's attempt at hosting a customer education podcast. This episode is a wild ride through the capabilities and limitations of AI in content creation, with plenty of laughs and insights along the way. Here's what you can expect:
A behind-the-scenes look at NotebookLM's podcast feature in action
Real-time analysis of AI-generated content...2025-01-1034 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab Ep 147 - CELab 2024 Wrapped - Part 2As the year comes to a close, we reflect on the top episodes of 2024 and make some bold predictions for the year ahead. What were our five most popular episodes of the year and why did they matter?
Some of our top hits this year featured Customer Education leaders like Katie Felton and Dan Ennis, to thought-provoking discussions on the intersection of digital customer success and community, these episodes are packed with practical wisdom and cutting-edge insights. But the real showstopper was Julie Dirksen, author of the legendary "Design for How People Learn" - a must-listen for...2024-12-2853 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab Ep 146 - CELab 2024 WrappedIn this episode, we reflect on the eventful year of 2024 for the CELab podcast. Dave shares his experiences as an independent consultant, highlighting the diverse range of customer education challenges he has tackled, from revamping existing programs to building new ones from scratch. He emphasizes the importance of active listening, humility, and leveraging a network of partners to deliver successful engagements.
Adam then provides insights into his own journey, discussing the cultural adjustments of living in Amsterdam and the evolution of the customer education function at Personio, now known as the Scaled CX team. He delves into...2024-12-1254 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab Ep 145 - Craig Hewitt - The Future of Podcasting and Customer GrowthHow does podcasting help Customer Education? In this episode we welcome Craig Hewitt, the founder of Castos, a podcast hosting and production platform. We dive into the ever-evolving landscape of content creation, distribution, and how podcasting and other media formats can be leveraged to effectively reach and engage audiences.
In this field, we always see a "blurring of the lines" between marketing and education. It's vitally important for us to meet customers where they are, and strategically use platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and social media to amplify content and build communities. The conversation also touches on the...2024-11-3057 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab Ep 144 - Cultivating a Culture of Learning: Trimble's Innovative Approach to Customer EducationIn this episode of CELab, we broaden our conversation about inspiring a “culture of learning” that inspires innovation. We dive deep with Leila Ishtayeh Colburn, the Learning Platform Enablement Leader at Trimble, and Owen Chamberlain, the Senior Education Alliance Manager at Trimble. The discussion delves into Trimble's innovative approach to digital credentialing, exploring how they are leveraging this strategy to drive customer engagement, build brand equity, and foster a culture of continuous learning.
The guests share insights into the challenges and best practices of implementing a standardized digital credentialing framework across Trimble's diverse business units. They also discu...2024-11-151h 14
The Digital CX Podcast: Driving digital customer success and outcomes in the age of A.I.Scaling Customer Education for Digital CS with Adam Avramescu of Personio & the CELab Podcast | Episode 077Adam Avramescu, Vice President of Customer Education at Personio and co-host of the CELab Podcast, joins the show to share his thoughts on the evolving role of customer education in digital customer success. He and Alex dive into the challenges of content curation, scaling personalized experiences, and the growing importance of integrating education with broader customer experience strategies to drive engagement and advocacy.Chapters:00:04:04 - The love-hate relationship with social media 00:05:55 - Life as an expat in Amsterdam 00:07:10 - What "engagement" means in customer education 00:08:53 - Bringing teams together to scale CX ...2024-11-0546 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab Ep 143 - Neel Balar - Clueso - Revolutionizing Customer Education with AI-Powered Video CreationIn this episode we had the pleasure of speaking with Neel Balar, the co-founder of Clueso. Clueso is a platform that aims to revolutionize the way Customer Education content is created, offering a fast and easy solution for producing high-quality videos and documentation. Key discussion points include:
Clueso's origin story and the pivotal moment that led to its creation
The impact of Clueso on the workflows of small and large customer education teams
A deep-dive into AI-powered features automate the video creation process, saving time and resources
How localization and translation features further make Clueso help reaching a...2024-10-311h 08
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab - Ep 142 - Samantha Murray - Boomeranging Back into Customer EdIn this episode, we invite Samantha Murray discuss her journey of boomeranging back to Customer Education where we explore the importance of consolidating customer education programs, the challenges in the industry, and the need for career inspiration.
Samantha shares her experiences in customer education at Shopify and Docebo, highlighting the value of cross-functional collaboration and the impact of customer education on the overall customer experience. What's the overlap between customer education and product marketing? There are so many similarities and synergies to explore, so don't miss this lively discussion!
Key Takeaways:
Consolidating customer education...2024-10-171h 02
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab - Ep 141 - Rethinking Customer Education Strategy: The Power of Active ListeningIn this episode, Dave Derington and Adam Avramescu explore the role of strategy and active listening in the field of customer education. They challenge the notion that rigid frameworks and pre-defined strategies are the key to success, arguing that the ability to adapt and deeply listen to customers and stakeholders is often more important.
The value of slowing down and creating space for deeper conversations
The discussion covers several key topics, including:
The limitations of relying on generic frameworks and maturity models
The importance of understanding the specific business problems and opportunities
Techniques for effective active listening, such a...2024-10-0350 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab - Ep 140 - Dan Ennis - Bridging the Gap - Collaboration Between Digital Customer Success and Customer EducationAdam Avramescu and Dan Ennis discuss the evolving field of digital customer success, emphasizing its focus on leveraging digital-led programs to improve customer outcomes, retention, and growth. Dan highlights the importance of proactive and reactive digital programs, such as email and in-app series, to engage customers at scale. He stresses the need for clear definitions and metrics, including leading indicators like adoption and performance metrics like open and click-through rates. Collaboration between digital customer success and customer education teams is crucial, with regular feedback loops ensuring alignment on customer outcomes.
Adam Avramescu and Dan Ennis discuss the role...2024-09-1947 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab - Ep 139 - Melissa Kruminas @ Docebo - Building Value-Led / Product-Supported Customer EducationIn the evolving world of business, customer education plays a crucial role in driving success. Yet, creating impactful, scalable programs can be challenging. Traditional methods often fall short, requiring innovative approaches to enablement and education.
We’re joined by Melissa Kruminas, a global enablement leader, now at Docebo, where she focuses on customer education that connects business outcomes with learning. Join us as we explore Melissa's approach to value-led, product-supported education, and how she’s driving initiatives in community learning and customer success.
Summary:
Melissa emphasizes that customer education goes beyond teaching product feat...2024-09-0550 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab - Ep 138 - Michele Wiedemer - The Learner-Centered Design Model - Part 2In business, the need for engaging learning experiences is staggeringly important. Yet the “how” is elusive. Conventional educational approaches don’t work well. You can be tempted to fall back on trusted methodologies only to find them to be too slow, unwieldy, or frustrating.
We’re joined by Michele Wiedemer, Customer Education consultant and expert who’s hard at work to learn more and to expand her already impactful approach to learning in B2B SaaS. Join us as we dive into the Learner-Centered Design approach that she and many of us leverage to build amazing content!
Summary f...2024-08-2249 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 137 – Michele Wiedemer - The Learner-Centered Design Model - Part 1In business, the need for engaging learning experiences is staggeringly important. Yet the “how” is elusive. Conventional educational approaches don’t work well. You can be tempted to fall back on trusted methodologies only to find them to be too slow, unwieldy, or frustrating.
We’re joined by Michele Wiedemer, Customer Education consultant and expert who’s hard at work to learn more and to expand her already impactful approach to learning in B2B SaaS. Join us as we dive into the Learner-Centered Design approach that she and many of us leverage to build amazing content!
Summary...2024-08-0853 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 136 - Mini - Who's Going To Arrest Me When I Get My Certification Program Wrong?Certification - it's a challenging and sometimes contentious topic for Customer Education professionals. At CELab, we hear this question come up quite a lot. Chances are good that you may be asked to create a certification, or decide that you want to offer one.
So how do you get started? Should you even be trying to build such a program? In this "mini" episode, Adam Avramescu answers that question down including:
Setting up certification programs, legal basis, and terminology
Certification programs for complex software jobs
Validity and fairness in certification exams
Creating certification programs without high...2024-07-2624 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 135 - Lila Meyer - From Vanity Metrics to ROI: How Gainsight is Connecting Education to Business ImpactCustomer Education is evolving rapidly. We've come a long way from the days of "smile sheets" and attendance metrics being our guide to success. Gainsight, is one such innovative business that's showing how education data and usage data connect so we can measure its impact on business outcomes.
Lila Meyer shares her journey at Gainsight, from early roles when the organization was new to her current position leading the Education Services team. We cover a lot of ground including the importance of developing transferable skills and collaboration within the customer education community.
Key points:
...2024-07-111h 02
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 134 - Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm with Customer EducationAs technology evolves at lightning speed, how can we keep up with educating our customers? We pose this question to the legendary Geoffrey A. Moore, author of the iconic book "Crossing the Chasm". Geoff argues that while technology outpaces traditional education methods, the core customer problems remain the same.
In this episode we'll discuss Geoff's perspective for understanding different customer segments and adapting education approaches. We'll also get his take on balancing product knowledge with true customer empathy.
"Education starts with the student, not with the teacher. You're trying to change the behavior of the...2024-06-2732 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 133 - Zoe Ludwig on Driving Brand Advocacy and Product Led Growth through EducationHow do you get from 6th grade science to a role leading Customer Education at Notion? It's a great story that's behind the evolution of customer education at Notion, where our guest - Zoe Ludwig - focused on bridging the gap between product adoption and user success. From emphasizing the importance of understanding the audience's needs - to codifying knowledge to create a single source of truth for users check out this episode with so many topics including:
Transitioning from teaching to customer education leader at Notion.
Customer education strategies for a consumer-grade product.
Product education and user...2024-06-151h 01
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 132 - Intellum - Forrester Report - Driving Business Success Through Customer EducationIn this episode we're joined by Special Guest - Shannon Howard - as we dive into the Intellum-sponsored study from Forrester: “Driving Business Success Through Customer Education”. This is a refresh of the 2019 report, which is crucial for those in our field to review and absorb. What's changed? Are there new trends?
Highlights? Here are just a few we cover:
Around 86% of respondents said they had a positive ROI from customer education, with another 10% saying they at least broke even. This suggests that 96% are seeing a positive business impact from customer education.
Customer education helps drive busine...2024-06-011h 14
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 131 - Mark Kilens - Education is a Fundamental Pillar of your Go-to-Market"If you just focus on educating your customers, you're missing a HUGE opportunity!" says Mark Kilens, Co-Founder of HubSpot Academy and Drift, and now CEO and Co-founder of TACK ⛵️ & ClubPF. Check out Mark's projects at tacknetwork.com and tackinsider.com.
In previous episodes, we've shared how leaders in the industry see education as the core of our programming. Here, Mark shares a human-first perspective on how education should be a fundamental pillar of your GTM Strategy. Why? The importance of integrating education into marketing strategies is crucial for businesses to build trust and loyalty with their customers.
Tune i...2024-05-2442 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 130 - Katie Felton on Education Pricing and PackagingIn this episode we welcome Katie Felton - Director of Academies, Global Education Services at Anthology Inc. to continue our exploration into Pricing and Packaging for Customer Education.
This episode dives deep into the world of customer education programs for software companies, featuring an EdTech expert. Here are some key highlights:
Launching a Unified Academy: Learn how a company with 40+ products overcame language and product alignment challenges to create a single training platform.
Pricing & Packaging Strategies: Discover how to price software training subscriptions based on contract value and explore tiered pricing models with real-world examples.
Balancing Re...2024-04-2550 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 129 - Mindy Barenblat - So Much Joy in PricingHow do we price our Customer Education programs? It's a hugely challenging task, even for the experienced - and one that CELab listeners have asked for!
We welcome Mindy Barenblat to the show - an Austin-based an education & enablement strategist and consultant, formerly GM/VP of Education Service at Blackbaud and Eloqua. Tune as we discuss:
Subscription-based learning model with ala carte options
Integrating training with product sales
Pricing and packaging for software products
Integrating training with product sales.
2024-04-051h 21
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 128 - Emily Brogan - Customer First ThinkingIn this conversation we are joined by Emily Brogan, the Customer Education Manager at Dovetail. Emily's experience (and ours!) expresses and dives into the importance of putting the customer first, and the role of Dovetail in providing customer insights. Emily shares her experience in building the Dovetail Academy and the challenges of scaling customer success and education - particularly focusing on collaboration and listening to customers as the company grows. The need for simplicity, customer-centricity, and continuous learning is key in this journey. Join us for another great conversation with these takeaways:
Takeaways
Put the customer...2024-03-2249 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 127 - Brian Oblinger - Community and Customer Education are Better TogetherListen in as we explore the ever-evolving intersection of community management and customer education with Brian Oblinger. Brian is a seasoned veteran in community management, and shares invaluable insights drawn from his extensive career, underscoring the power of learning from past endeavors. Our discussion ventures beyond the surface, examining how industry giants have leveraged platforms like North Pass to foster innovation in digital customer education, ultimately enhancing product engagement and retention.
We tackle the strategic and technical challenges of creating a frictionless user experience across learning management systems and community forums, sharing practical steps for incorporating single...2024-03-0750 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 126 - Jesse Evans - Collaborating with Product Teams and Getting Buy-InTwo of the key activities in the life of a Customer Education professional are crucial skills to have: Collaboration with Product Teams and getting their buy-in.
In this episode we welcome Jesse Evans, Director of Customer Education at Honeybook - and Box and Meta alum. This is an action packed episode where we'll dive into all things Product and learn how to engage, collaborate, and develop your relationship with Product and Product Marketing to make a difference.
Collaborating with product teams for customer education
Product development and adoption challenges in SaaS organizations
Overcoming objections and misconceptions...2024-02-221h 08
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab - Ep 125 - Julie Dirksen - Designing Learning for Behavior ChangeEver wonder how the minds behind world-class customer education programs construct the experiences that not only stick but also spur action? That's exactly what we’re talking about in this episode with instructional design virtuoso Julie Dirksen. Julie, David, and Adam navigate the transformative power of digital customer training - with Julie's insights, gleaned from her years of experience, and books including "Design for How People Learn" and "Talk to the Elephant." The episode peels back the layers on why industry giants like Walmart and Freshworks are betting big on modern, engaging learning platforms to foster customer retention and en...2024-02-0853 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 124 - Sharon Castillo - Why Good Accessibility is Good Customer EducationHave you ever considered how an overlooked design choice could shut out a swath of eager learners? Imagine excluding twenty-five percent of adults from your training programs. That's the staggering possibility we tackle in Episode 124, as we welcome our friend Sharon Castillo to the show! Sharon is a Customer Engagement and Education Leader currently working as Sr. Director of content Strategy and Enablement at Okta.
Making training accessible is more than a box-ticking exercise; it's a strategic imperative that opens the door to a diverse audience, ready to engage with your product. Our conversation not only sheds l...2024-01-2547 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 123 - CLOWN LABWhat can Clown Core teach us about Customer Education? Every year, Adam and Dave take some time to clown around and have a little fun.
So have you ever stumbled into a musical rabbit hole so deep, it turned into a blueprint for revolutionizing customer education? That's exactly what we did in our latest auditory adventure, as we celebrate our annual fun episode by drawing parallels between the unorthodox methods of the enigmatic band, Clown Core, and the innovative strategies in customer training. The discussion pirouettes from the band's chaotic yet captivating performances to how digital education p...2024-01-1634 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 122 - 2023 Wrap-Up and 2024 PredictionsIt's the end of 2023! This year we experienced the continuation of the economic trends we saw in 2022, watched complex and troubling geopolitics unfold, experienced more tech layoffs and a difficult fundraising environment, and witnessed the continued rise of AI. It’s been a hectic year so we want to take this quiet moment to reflect on it and consider what’s ahead.
We cover a lot in this end-of-year extravaganza including:
Customer education and AI in the workplace
Leadership growth and team development
Leadership, customer education, and podcast milestones
Customer education trends and predictions for 2023
AI in c...2023-12-2855 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 121 - Customer Education Report Season 2023What's the "State of Customer Education"? Each year Adam and Dave take time to review reports focused on education in B2B SaaS and pull forward the key themes and trends as reported by institutions and vendors that serve the market. Join us as we unpack customer education reports including the TSIA State of Education Services 2023 report and explore the current state of customer education. We underscore the need for companies to shift their focus from growth at all costs to improving free cash flow and profitability, making the monetization of education services more crucial than ever. In this e...2023-12-1459 min
CELab Customer Education CEO SeriesEpisode 120 – Barry Kelly – Thought Industries – The Headless LMS and the Future of LearningAre you prepared to transform the way you perceive learning and interaction with technology? We’re thrilled to share fascinating insights from Barry Kelly, CEO of Thought Industries, on the future of customer education. Barry, with...2023-11-3052 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 120 - Barry Kelly - Thought Industries - The Headless LMS and the Future of LearningAre you prepared to transform the way you perceive learning and interaction with technology? We're thrilled to share fascinating insights from Barry Kelly, CEO of Thought Industries, on the future of customer education. Barry, with his remarkable understanding and vast experience, guides us through a diverse array of topics, including the astonishing potential of AI and natural language processing in the learning industry, as well as the concept of ‘headless technology.’
Barry is the co-founder and CEO of Thought Industries, a company dedicated to revolutionizing learning experiences through technology. He brings over a decade of experience in the...2023-11-3052 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 119 - Alessio Artuffo - Docebo and AI-Powered Customer EducationWe're always excited to talk with leaders about their platforms and roadmap - and this episode is no exception. You'll want to join us to learn how Docebo is leading the way with AI-powered Customer Education and Enablement.
Meet Alessio Artuffo, a man with a fascinating journey from Italy to Athens, Georgia, who's been instrumental in transforming Docebo, an open-source tech entity, into a full-fledged SaaS company. As the President and COO of Docebo, Alessio has unique insights to share about the challenges of building an international business and the specific strategies needed to make that trans-Atlantic l...2023-11-1643 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabCELab - Ep 118 - Sourabh Bajaj - AI and Customer EducationIn this episode, Sourabh Bajaj, an expert in AI, explores the role of artificial intelligence in customer education. He discusses his background in AI, its early use in the postal service for handwriting detection, and its emergence in computational chemistry. Sourabh highlights how AI is revolutionizing jobs, enhancing creative tasks, and automating mundane tasks. He also discusses the complexity of AI from a customer education perspective, its implications on privacy, data security, and bias, and the need for guardrails in its usage. Practical uses of AI in customer education, its role in capturing and storing knowledge, and the evolution...2023-11-021h 04
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 117 - Strigo and the Next Generation of Virtual Instructor Led TrainingInstructor-led training has always been a core part of the customer education program. With COVID hitting in 2020 there was a strong shift to VILT (Virtual Instructor-Led Training), companies started using whatever tools were at hand to deliver remote training, accepting lower engagement and effectiveness as a given. But it shouldn’t be like this. In a world where every problem has software built to solve it, remote customer training is no different. In this episode, we want to introduce a new approach to the challenge of VILT customer education. A solution built solely for the purpose of live product tr...2023-10-191h 00
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 116 - Treion Muller - The Rise of the Mutant LearnerWhat is a Mutant Learner? In this episode of the CELab podcast, we welcome #1 International Best Selling Author Treion Muller to the show to talk about his recent book, "The Rise of the Mutant Learner". At the core of his book may be some deeply valuable approaches to the challenge posed to all of us as Customer Education leaders. Specifically, how to learn and lead effectively in the digital age.
You’ll hear about the evolution of education, the rise of mutant learning, and the role of AI in this evolution. Muller shares his experience of breaking free...2023-10-0559 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 115 - Shellie Grieve - Cohort Learning in Customer EducationIn this episode, Dave Derington chats with Shellie Grieve, the Director of Collaborative Learning at ServiceNow. You’ll hear about the landscape of cohort learning and its role in customer education, the impact of the pandemic on traditional training programs, and the importance of overhauling them to be more targeted and scalable. Grieve shares her journey from her STEM background to her current role and the need for innovation in virtual program design. The discussion also covers the role of gamification in learner engagement, the potential of video assessments in job readiness, and the broader skill development needed for su...2023-09-2154 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 114 - Alessandra Marinetti - Change Management and its Role in Customer EducationIn this episode, Adam Avramescu takes a deep dive into Change Management with Alessandra Marinetti - Global Head of Education and Enablement at Asana. Change Management is, as Alessandra shares - "the ability to enable people to see things differently, and to do things differently". If you're in #customereducation and #customersuccess, take an hour out of your day and join Adam and Alessandra as they answer questions such as:
What is change management and how does it work?
The difference between change management and marketing.
Building the mindset and creating a buzz around change management.
The importance of ha...2023-09-071h 13
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 113 - Caitlin Wood - Scale Success and the Role of EducationIn this episode, Caitlin Wood, Senior Director of Customer Success and Enablement at Ironclad, dives into the intricate world of customer education and success. She elucidates the unique structure of Ironclad's education program, the role of their Learning Experience Design and Training Delivery teams, and their revolutionary approach to digital success. The conversation also delves into the potential pitfalls of siloed customer education teams, the impact of pricing on customer experience, and the emerging concept of customer education as digital success. The episode explores the importance of collaboration and alignment between customer education, digital success, and product teams, providing...2023-08-2456 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEp 112 - Nick Mehta and Steve Cornwell - Digital Customer EducationThis is an episode you won't want to miss - the future is now! Customer Education has a seat at the table and a critical impact on business. In this episode, we talk with Nick Mehta - CEO of Gainsight, and Steve Cornwell, CEO of Northpass about the recent acquisition of the Northpass platform into the Gainsight family. We talk about Digital Customer Education as well as Digital Customer Success and build upon last year's CELab podcast with Nick Mehta called “Customer Education and Enablement is the Core of Customer Success” Join us for this incredible discussion!
You’l...2023-08-1752 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 111 - Instructional Design 101 - Mayer's 12 PrinciplesIn this episode, Adam reviews Dr. Richard E. Mayer’s 12 Principles for Multimedia Learning in our Instructional Design 101 series. Dr. Mayer's research focus is determining how people learn (i.e., the science of learning) and how to help people learn (i.e., the science of instruction). His research concerns the intersection of cognition, instruction, and technology. Here we will apply Mayer’s 12 research-based principles - around the cognitive theory of multimedia learning - as they relate to the design of online instruction.
You’ll hear a little bit about each of Mayer’s 12 Principles, from not overwhelming the lear...2023-08-1030 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 110 - Navigating the Learning Management Systems MarketplaceIn this podcast episode, host Dave Derington speaks with John Leh, CEO/Lead Analyst at learning tech research/consulting firm, Talented Learning. Talented Learning provides independent research and analysis on learning management systems (LMS), focusing on extended enterprise or learning systems as a business. John shares his experiences in the evolution and specialization of the learning systems marketplace.
The conversation explores the difference between customer education platforms and employee learning solutions, emphasizing the importance of aligning learning systems with the specific needs and objectives of the learners. John also touches on the necessity for rapid product changes...2023-07-2757 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 109 - TechSmith and Project-Based LearningWe are big fans of TechSmith and its products - and TechSmith is a fantastic supporter of the Customer Education community! Today we welcome Matt Pierce and Troy Stein from TechSmith to the show to discuss what’s happening at the company and an exciting (experimental) topic: Project Based Learning (PBL).
You’ll hear Matt and Troy discuss the transformative power of project-based learning and customer education. They delve into TechSmith's tools like SnagIt and Camtasia that enable individuals to create and share powerful visual messages. The episode explores how technology and creativity intersect to drive project-based learn...2023-07-1756 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 108 - Stephanie Pellegrino - Landing a Job in Customer Education - Part 2Welcome to Part II of an important discussion between host Adam Avramescu, VP of Customer Education at Personio, and Stephanie Pellegrino, who leads Customer Education at Gong. Adam and Stephanie give an unfiltered view into...2023-06-2954 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 107 - Landing a Job in Customer Education - Part 1 - with Stephanie PellegrinoWelcome to Part I of a candid discussion between host Adam Avramescu, VP of Customer Education at Personio, and Stephanie Pellegrino, who leads Customer Education at Gong. You’ll hear about the macroeconomic changes in the market and how they affect us in Customer Education, insights on acing customer education job interviews,
Adam and Stephanie give an unfiltered view into the industry as hiring managers. They talk about the importance of ‘selfless listening’, meaningful conversations for successfully pivoting into the customer education field, connecting with industry professionals, and engaging in informational chats before the interview. The episode also hig...2023-06-2349 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 106 - Aaron Morin @ Thinkific - Education from Hustle Culture to Customer SuccessIn Episode 102, we first spoke with the Thinkific Team about the Power of Education as a Growth Tool for business. Today we’re going deeper into the history and growth of the Thinkific platform itself.
In this episode, we are speaking with Aaron Morin, Senior Manager of Community at Thinkific. Thinkific is a software platform that enables entrepreneurs to create, market, sell, and deliver their own online courses. Thinkific offers a course builder designed for Creator Educators. It’s simple and gives creators the ability to build their entire course without a big learning curve. Thinkific and Think...2023-06-0150 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 105 - Gamification and Gamified Learning with IntellumGamification and Gamified Learning are resurfacing as big trends in helping grow engagement in SaaS platforms. In this episode, we are going to talk about Learning Science and dive deep into Gamification. How do you get started? What are the common mistakes? Join us for a Disney-esque ride through #customereducation with Shannon Howard and Michelle Ellis from Intellum!
Intellum’s team of award-winning learning practitioners, consultants, content experts, engagement professionals, developers, and engineers help the largest and fastest-moving brands in the world successfully educate their customers, partners, and employees.
Docebo is one of the industry’s fastes...2023-05-1755 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 104 - Customer Education and Advocacy with DoceboLike peanut butter and jelly, customer advocacy and education – together – synergize their powers. Join host Dave Derington as he speaks with Adam Ballhausen, Senior Director of Customer Education and Advocacy for Docebo (“Doh-CHAY-boh”)...2023-04-2658 min
CELab: The Customer Education Lab Episode 103 - Videate - Automated Video Production with AIMachine Learning and AI are really impacting our world, but how can Customer Education teams take advantage of this trend? Enter Videate! If I can have a tool “magically” do my video for me? Add audio? And then translate it into different languages? How much would that be worth?
Join us as we talk with Mark Hellinger about this amazing product. Mark is the Co-Founder and COO of Videate - Videate enables SaaS companies to scale video production by making more how-to videos with fewer resources. Videate keeps your videos up-to-date with every software release and uses machine tr...2023-04-1955 min
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 102 - Thinkific - The Power of Education as a Growth Tool for BusinessSoftware as a Service (SaaS) businesses are often plagued by the same challenge: Churn! Thanks to the emergence of Customer Success, we’ve learned a lot about this word and what can be done to combat...2023-04-071h 04
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 101 – Hard-Learned Lessons in Customer Education Leadership – Part 2In CELab’s 100th episode, we’ve kicked off the celebration of 100 episodes by discussing the hardest-won lessons for Customer Education Leaders. Dave and Adam have both held several roles on their journeys as customer education...2023-03-271h 05
CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 100 - Hard-Learned Lessons in Customer Education Leadership - Part 1For CELab’s 100th episode, we’ve decided to celebrate by discussing the hardest-won lessons for Customer Education Leaders. Dave and Adam have both held several roles on their journeys as customer education leaders, and now they...2023-03-1752 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 99 - Lisa Rothrauff - Building Resilient Customer Education Teams in Times of ChangeCustomer Education teams must remain adaptable in times of change. After all, we support ever-changing products for diverse audiences, and we drive ever-changing business strategies. In this episode, Lisa Rothrauff, Director of Customer Education at...2023-03-031h 02CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 98 - Tiffany Taylor - The Overlap between Customer Success and Customer EducationWith this episode, we’re joined by Tiffany Taylor to talk about the overlap between Customer Success and Customer Education. Tiffany leads both the Customer Success and Customer Education practices at Handshake, and what better way...2023-02-2150 min
GraphiLine, le quotidien des Industries GraphiquesLes recommandations de Celab pour le recyclage des papiers siliconésLa couleur des glassines a son importance dans le recyclage des liners en papier. Celab a mené l'enquête. 👉 Lire l'article et voir les photos.
En savoir plus sur les sujets abordés dans cet épisode :
Parce qu'il n'a jamais été aussi important de se tenir informé des nouvelles tendances, de la vie des professionnels et des derniers développements de produits, GraphiLine fournit un contenu journalistique indépendant afin d'apporter un éclairage indispensable aux acteurs, prescripteurs et décideurs de l'industrie graphique, de la communication et de l'emballage. Avec sa couverture globale de l'information, GraphiLine est présent sur 7...2023-02-2100 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 97 - Customer Education 1997 - Part 3And finally … our “book club” discussion on Peter Honebein‘s book, “Strategies for Effective Customer Education“. If you haven’t listened to Part 1 and Part 2, check those episodes out now. We finish up this series with...2023-02-131h 01CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 96 -Customer Education 1997 – Part 2We’re back for Part 2 (of 3!) of our discussion on Peter Honebein‘s book, “Strategies for Effective Customer Education“. If you haven’t listened to Part 1, check it out now. We pick up the thread...2023-01-3151 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 95 -Customer Education 1997 - Part 1The clock is winding back, once again! On a previous episode, we covered Claudia Gaillard Meer’s book on Customer Education from 1984. And now, we’re jumping forward in time 13 years to the year 1997....2023-01-2253 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 94 - Customer Education 1984 - Part 2This episode is a continuation of our discussion of Claudia Gaillard Meer’s 1984 work on Customer Education. Customer Education has been around for at least 40 years by now, so we continue our conversation –...2023-01-1142 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 93 - 2023 Customer Education PredictionsIt’s 2023! Dave and Adam share predictions for the coming year – what are the big trends to watch, and what are the ones that might not pan out? We’ll share our predictions and trends....2023-01-021h 22CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 92 - Customer Education 2022 Wrap-UpIt’s the end of 2022 and we’re recapping the year with reflections on what we, and our peers in the Customer Education world, have learned. We start by hearing reflections from Customer Educators around the...2022-12-3059 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 91 - Customer Education 1984 (Part 1)Customer Education is, as Dave Derington says, “Both new and not new”. We review the book, “Customer Education” by Claudia Gaillard Meer and take time at the end of 2022 to reflect upon what has...2022-12-2448 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 90 - Customer Education and the Economic SlowdownIn Late 2022, businesses in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market have felt the impact of an economic slowdown. Many of us – both leadership and teams – feel that in different ways. For leaders … fewer...2022-12-0145 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 89 - Michele Wiedemer - Video Creation for Customer EducationVideo. It is often the go-to for many of our customers, and for good reason. Some stats from TechSmith, “83% of people prefer watching videos to accessing instructional or informational content via text or audio”....2022-11-241h 09CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 88 - Jasonda Desmond - The Business Impact of Customer EducationCustomer Education is an increasingly important tool in a Software Exec’s toolkit. As programs grow and mature, we sometimes have a “seat at the table”. Wise B2B SaaS Execs will ask you questions such as,...2022-11-1947 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 87 - Niyati Shah - The Area Under the CurveMany people ask exactly how Customer Education can drive Revenue, reduce Churn, decrease Support tickets, and much more. Is it magic? Is it secret technology? Nope. It’s actually not. It’s Calculus. Seriously. In this episode...2022-11-061h 00CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 86 - WorkRamp - Stephanie Middaugh - Bridging the Gap Between Enablement and Customer Education(This episode is sponsored by WorkRamp) As WorkRamp says on their website, “Learning is a Growth Engine” for your business. At CELab, we talk about scale and growth tirelessly and how crucial it is for...2022-10-2854 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 85 – State of Customer Education Industry 2022 – Part 3 – TSIAContinuing our journey through the “State of Customer Education” reports that have come out in 2022, we explore TSIA’s report – The State of Education Services: 2022! This year’s report focus on Education as a...2022-10-2134 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 84 – State of Customer Education Industry 2022 – Part 2 – Thought Industries and IDC“Now is the right time for Customer Education.” as Cushing Anderson and Lisa Rowan say in the their Thought Industries’ sponsored report. As the discipline of Customer Education has grown, this report dives deep into...2022-10-1335 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 83 - State of Customer Education Industry 2022 - Part 1 - SkilljarIn the lead-up to Fall 2022 Conference Season, we will be releasing a three-part mini-series covering a number of reports. Here, we cover Skilljar’s 2022 Customer Education Benchmarks and Trends Report. Each and every year...2022-09-2328 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 82 - Phil Byrne - Breaking into Customer EducationIn this episode, we speak with Phil Byrne, Manager of Product Education at Intercom. Through the lens of choosing the right metrics, Phil takes us on a journey through one of our favorite topics: breaking...2022-09-0546 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 81 - Courtney Sembler and the Wild, Wild, World of LocalizationCustomer Education programs grow and mature alongside products and platforms as a software business grows. And, at some point, Localization becomes a hot topic. What is Localization in Customer Education? In this episode we welcom...2022-07-1858 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 80 - Alessandra Marinetti - Tribal Leadership in Customer EducationHow do we think about leadership in Customer Education? In previous episodes of the CELab Podcast, we have talked about next generation of leaders and what they need to do up to set the stage...2022-06-2557 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 79 - Starting Over AgainCustomer Education is not a “walk in the park”. But in this episode, Adam and I take a stroll (literally) through the Hirim M. Chittenden Ballard Locks in Seattle, Washington and talk about our learning...2022-06-0348 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 77 - Stephanie Pellegrino - The Next Generation of Customer Education LeadersOver the years, many Customer Education practitioners have come to us at CELab asking, “How do I move up in my Customer Education career?” What are some of the big mistakes we’ve made or even...2022-04-0752 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 76 - Nick Mehta - Customer Education is the Core of Customer SuccessWhile Customer Education has been around for many years, we at CELab attribute it’s re-emergence to the Customer Success movement. And with that, we invite special guest Nick Mehta – CEO of Gainsight – to...2022-03-2350 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 74 - CELab Maximum "Minis" - Part 1 - Working with MarketingIt’s Valentine’s Day and our gift to the CELab Community was intended to be a “Mini”. Turned out, both Adam and Dave got on a roll and at about the 31 minute mark, Adam can...2022-02-1549 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 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!
2022-01-0153 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 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 discuss the differences and similarities between traditional Instructional Design and the more modern face of Learning Experience Design, and how each of them play...2021-11-2353 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 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 implementation based on your guidelines, but the sticking point I keep getting stuck on is that our soft...2021-10-1756 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 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 key processes you have to get sorted out fast! With limited resources and time, find...2021-09-2445 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 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, the Technology Services Industry Association, coming at things from a more independent perspective, or a Cus...2021-06-111h 09CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 56 - Michael Harnum from @ESGsuccess Tells Us Why Customer Education and Customer Success are Really the Same Business and Walks Us Through a Maturity Model for Both
Photo by Lance Grandahl – Two become one. (or one becomes two?)
On this episode of CELab we continue both our CEO Series and Customer Success Series as Michael Harnum, CEO of ESG Success, walks us through his journey to Customer Success as a Service. Typically, Education Services used to be standalone activities where customers would consume training credits, but that approach often left customers without access to proper training and providers with revenue recognition issues. In a world of SaaS software where training is a constant activity, that doesn’t cut it for most businesses anymore.
(more…)2021-03-0552 min
CELab Customer Education CEO SeriesEpisode 53 – Exploring Consolidated Learning Strategies with Ted BlosserOne theme that’s on the minds of many Customer Education professionals is learning how to “bridge the divide” between our teams and other education-focused teams. In Episode 19 (Sharing with Others) we kicked off this...2021-01-221h 00CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 50 - CELab Anniversary Special
Photo by Guillaume de Germain on Unsplash
In this episode, we’re celebrating some milestones from CELab! First, we are celebrating two amazing years of working out loud. We kicked off our very first episode, “Getting Started with Customer Education” on November 11th, 2018. Like many of you who have found yourselves here – in this field and listening to this podcast – we dove in head first and in – understanding isn’t necessarily where you have to begin
Bill Cushard, the host of Helping Sells Radio, has said – most podcasts don’t make it past episode 11. Thanks to an amazing community...2020-11-251h 15CELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 48 - CELab Live Mailbag
In October we attended Skilljar Connect 2020 and hosted a Live Mailbag episode at the event! Attendees submitted really amazing questions. We couldn’t tackle them all – so stay tuned for yet another Mailbag episode soon!
In this episode we’ll answer some questions that may be on your mind too including:
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
What advice do you have for those that are working with one other employee, or manage a very small team, on how to take the next step and grow their impact, have more employees, and ultimately get their own CE depar...2020-10-2929 minCELab: The Customer Education LabEpisode 45 - Maria Manning-Chapman - Free and Fee - What Customer Education Professionals Need to Know about Education Services
In this episode of the CELab Podcast, we’re joined by Maria Manning-Chapman, the VP, Education Services Research at TSIA where we expand upon the TSIA’s “State of Education Services 2020” report – which we covered in Episode 38 of this podcast.
Photo by Arlington Research on Unsplash
Here, we’re diving deeper into monetization strategies which our listeners and the network that we’re in as Customer Education Professionals are interested in getting more help with. Customer Education tends to “niche down” from where we end up in much larger, mature organizations where we often have true Educational Services teams.
2020-09-091h 04CELab Customer Education CEO SeriesEpisode 44 – Chip Ramsey – Start with ScienceIn this episode we talk with Chip Ramsey – Founder and CEO of Intellum and one of the early pioneers in our field with the first ever platform for Customer Education. We talk about the transition...2020-08-2550 minCELab Customer Education CEO SeriesEpisode 36 – Jonathan Anderson and the Power of UI in Product AdoptionIn this episode of our CEO Series, Adam speaks with Jonathan Anderson, Co-Founder and CEO of Candu on the Power of the User Interface in your Product Adoption journey.2020-04-2751 minCELab Customer Education CEO SeriesEpisode 34 – Wendy Hamilton Explains How Video is the Key to Customer EducationIn this episode, we talk with Wendy Hamilton of TechSmith. TechSmith creates products that you probably already know and love, because their easy-to-use tools help anyone create great video without needing strong video production skills...2020-03-1835 min