Inside Clever's Education Playbook: How Tactical Wins Drove a 20% NPS Boost and Cut Support Tickets by 10%

The Real Work Behind Scaling a Customer Education Program

Meet Blair, the go-to expert for all things customer education and the mastermind behind some of the most successful Academy strategies we’ve seen. With years of experience turning complex training programs into seamless, engaging learning experiences, Blair knows exactly what it takes to build an Academy that doesn’t just teach—it drives results.

If you were to ask Blair how he took Clever’s customer education program from a one-person operation to a strategic function driving business growth, he’d tell you it’s all about one thing: connecting tactical actions to big outcomes. Behind every glossy number—like a 20% increase in NPS or a 10% reduction in support tickets—is a relentless focus on aligning everyday work with the company’s most important goals.

What Blair really wants you to know is that the secret to growing a high-impact customer education program doesn’t lie in doing more—it lies in doing the right things.

But of course, before we get into his tactics and strategy, let's take a look at his Academy:

Role-based learning, experience-baed learning...you name it, their Academy nails so many aspects of a learner-first experience. Now, let's get into the behind-the-scenes details.

1. It Starts with Prioritization: Tying Efforts to Big Business Goals

One of the key drivers of Blair’s success is his laser focus on prioritization. He’s the first to admit that, especially when you’re a lean team, everything can feel urgent. But he learned early on that the only way to scale effectively is to connect tactical wins—like launching a new course or reducing support tickets—back to the company’s larger objectives.

Blair developed a highly efficient sprint model that he and his team use to stay focused on the most impactful work. They plan in two-week sprints, which allows them to set clear priorities and stick to them. “We don’t just take on more projects,” Blair said. “If something new comes in, we take something off. It keeps us focused on what truly matters—work that ties back to our company’s OKRs.”

Blair’s Key Takeaway:
"Don’t get caught up in just doing more. Focus on the highest-impact work that directly ties to the company’s objectives."

2. Cross-Functional Collaboration: The Secret to Expanding Influence

Blair would tell you that collaboration isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential. He’s built strong relationships across Clever, tapping into resources from other departments to expand his team’s influence. Early on, Blair knew he couldn’t do it alone, so he formed key partnerships, especially with the data team.

“One of the best decisions I made was building cross-functional relationships,” Blair shared. For example, he worked closely with Clever’s data analysts to prove that trained customers drove more revenue than untrained ones. By showing that customers who engaged with Clever’s educational content consistently brought in more revenue, Blair was able to demonstrate the direct value of customer education in driving business outcomes.

Blair’s Key Takeaway:
"Build strong cross-functional relationships. They’ll help you unlock resources and data you wouldn’t have on your own—and that can be a game-changer."

3. Proving ROI: The Power of Trained vs. Untrained Customers

One of the key breakthroughs for Blair’s program came when he found a way to correlate customer education directly with revenue growth. Initially, the team assumed that the certification courses would be the primary driver of customer success. However, through careful analysis, Blair discovered that customers who completed just three or more courses—whether they were certifications or simple product tutorials—showed the greatest increase in revenue.

“The magic number for us was three courses,” Blair explained. “That’s where we saw the biggest jump. More than three courses kept improving results, but three was the sweet spot.”

Blair’s ability to define and track the difference between trained and untrained customers became the foundation of his program’s ROI story. His team worked with the data analysts to compare the revenue growth of districts that had completed courses to those that hadn’t. The results were clear: trained customers brought in significantly more revenue than untrained ones.

“We tracked revenue growth before and after training,” Blair said. “And the numbers were clear—customers who engaged with our content spent more.” This data not only validated the importance of customer education but also solidified its role as a key business function within Clever.

But Blair is careful to note that this kind of framework requires refinement. His advice? Test different definitions of what a ‘trained’ customer means for your business. Not every organization will see the same results with the same approach. The key is to analyze your data, identify meaningful patterns, and stay flexible.

Blair’s Key Takeaway:
"Find what defines a ‘trained’ customer for your organization. It might not be a certification—it could be the number of courses or engagement with specific content. Test, refine, and look for correlations that matter."

4. Turning Customer Feedback into Quick Wins and Long-Term Impact

Blair’s approach to customer feedback is another tactical win tied to long-term outcomes. He and his team implemented a streamlined system for collecting feedback using Google Forms, allowing them to act on quick fixes and prioritize bigger projects that align with company goals.

“We look at feedback in every sprint,” Blair said. “It’s not just about fixing the broken link; it’s about identifying patterns and using that data to inform strategic improvements.” This attention to detail has helped Clever reduce support tickets and improve the user experience across the board.

By connecting these improvements back to larger outcomes—like fewer support tickets or faster customer onboarding—Blair ensures that every action, no matter how small, contributes to the bigger picture.

Blair’s Key Takeaway:
"Small wins add up. Acting on feedback quickly shows your customers you’re listening, and strategically using that data will help you make bigger, long-term improvements."

5. Self-Service at Scale: Empowering Customers While Reducing Costs

Another key outcome for Blair has been empowering customers to self-serve, which directly ties to Clever’s larger goals of reducing support volume and operational costs. By creating personalized, role-based content in Clever Academy, Blair’s team has helped drive down the number of support tickets while increasing customer satisfaction.

“Every course we build is designed to help customers find what they need, when they need it,” Blair explained. “That’s where the tactical wins come in—we track how each course impacts support cases and refine based on what’s working.” The results speak for themselves: fewer support tickets, faster onboarding, and more time for CSMs to focus on higher-value tasks.

Blair’s Key Takeaway:
"Your content should do more than just educate—it should solve real problems. When you help customers self-serve, you’re freeing up your team for bigger, more strategic work."

Final Words of Wisdom: How to Present to Executives

When it comes to presenting to executives, Blair’s advice is clear: always tie your tactical wins back to the big picture. “Executives don’t need every detail—they need to know how what you’re doing is driving the business forward,” Blair said.

One of the best pieces of advice he received was learning to frame initiatives as investments rather than expenses. “If you’re presenting a request for resources, focus on how it will generate revenue or save costs,” Blair explained. “It’s all about presenting your work as essential to the company’s strategic growth.”

Blair also emphasizes being concise and clear. “When talking to execs, stick to the data that matters. Use bullet points. Connect everything back to revenue, efficiency, or customer satisfaction.”

Blair’s Final Key Takeaway:
"Learn to speak the language of executives. Frame your work as an investment in the company’s future and always connect it back to measurable outcomes."

TL;DR—Tactical Wins Drive Strategic Growth

Blair’s journey shows that the real work behind scaling a customer education program is about more than just adding more courses or growing your team. It’s about connecting every action back to a bigger outcome—whether that’s driving revenue, reducing costs, or increasing customer satisfaction.

Blair’s advice? Focus on the wins that matter, collaborate across teams to expand your influence, and always tie your efforts back to the company’s strategic goals. That’s how you turn tactical actions into a high-impact program.

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