Maven Analytics is an online learning platform and community for data professionals. Maven has made its mark by embracing “guided learning” — helping learners build the exact skills they need exactly when they need them.
Turns out, this method works.
The Maven Analytics team has not only trained over 1 million individual learners; they’ve helped upskill data folks at some of the biggest brands, including Coca-Cola, Mitsubishi, Caterpillar, and KPMG.
Since 2020, Maven Analytics has continued to level up its learner experience with Accredible, giving students concrete learning paths to prepare for specific roles in the field, using gamification to push students toward the finish line, and making it easy for students to highlight their newly minted skills on social media.
digital credentials issued
increase in credential share rate
increase in LinkedIn share rate
“Our primary goal was to incentivize course completion, and I saw digital badges as a way to make that happen. Besides issuing credentials for completing entire learning paths, we could gamify the learning process, giving out badges for hitting certain milestones or learning streaks.”
Chris Dutton, Founder & Chief Product Officer at Maven Analytics
Learner motivation is one of the biggest challenges for people running an edtech business. For Chris Dutton, Founder & Chief Product Officer at Maven Analytics, digital credentials were the solution.
“Our primary goal was to incentivize course completion, and I saw digital badges as a way to make that happen,” he explains. “Besides issuing credentials for completing entire learning paths, we could gamify the learning process, giving out badges for hitting certain milestones or learning streaks.”
So, in 2020, he began evaluating his digital credentialing platform options.
“With Accredible, we have the ability to create completely custom learning plans based on a learner’s specific goals and objectives. That keeps people on the platform because it's not just one-and-done; it's an entire learning journey. And we've seen really promising user retention and LTV numbers.”
Chris Dutton, Founder & Chief Product Officer at Maven Analytics
Maven Analytics was built in-house from the ground up to ensure the highest quality guided learning. Maintaining that frictionless experience wasn’t something Chris was willing to disrupt, which meant the number one factor in his decision was integration.
“Giving students a fun, engaging, and unique experience is very near and dear to our hearts. We don't license or aggregate content from other platforms. We're an instructor-run business. And so we needed an open API to keep everything in a centralized platform.”
But an open API wasn’t the only thing Chris was looking for. Being a referral-led business, Maven Analytics needed a badging tool that would help spread the word about their coursework, with easy-to-understand, real-time analytics to show how many learners shared their credentials and where.
Accredible checked all the boxes.
The Maven Analytics curriculum lent itself perfectly to Accredible Pathways, with courses designed to prepare people for specific roles (like business analyst or data scientist) and specific tools or technologies (like Power BI or Tableau).
When Pathways launched, Chris and his team switched from stacked credentials. “I was excited to see the evolution of the Pathway product because (1) it made management and maintenance of our paths much easier and more intuitive, and (2) it allowed us to integrate other types of learning content into our paths outside of just courses.”
For example, several Maven Analytics Pathways include applied hands-on learning where students hone their skills by solving real business problems. That blend of courses and projects creates a powerful learning experience that students can’t get elsewhere.
Pathways also serve as tailored guidance — if students earn one credential that's part of a Pathway, they can easily see that it's part of a larger series they can (and probably should) complete. As Chris puts it:
“We’re a team of experts and instructors who have gone through these steps and sat where our students are sitting. Being able to curate custom learning paths is a valuable thing, and it's something that I think our students appreciate.”
A quick look at the Maven Analytics website, and you’ll see dozens of positive testimonials like this one from Andrew Hubbard:
“The outstanding Maven Analytics courses, well-crafted guided projects, and thoughtfully designed learning paths have been pivotal in my data analysis journey. The Data Playground is a remarkable tool, allowing for hands-on application of the concepts learned. The comprehensive content and engaging format have significantly enhanced my skills.”
With so many competing priorities—work, family, and friends—getting learners to prioritize self-paced courses is incredibly difficult. But Chris and his team have done it with Accredible, building badges for every major milestone and learning streak.
“Every day, learners will reach out and say, ‘Hey, can you please update my user record?’ I lost my streak at 57 days, and I'm going for the 90-day badge.’ These badges are meaningful for people and are a tool to help people build better learning habits,” Chris emphasizes.
Ten Maven Analytics learners have even earned the 365-day learning streak badge, logging in every day of the year to complete content.
Chris notes, “If you're not sold on the power of gamification and how meaningful and motivating these badges can be, our learner behavior is a clear testament to that.”
In the Maven Analytics platform, learners have access to everything they need — courses, exercises, videos, sandboxes. It took a lot of backend work to get to that point, and the team wanted to keep it that way, even as they incorporated badges into their offering.
Chris shares, “We wanted to give students one place to go to track their progress, to see their badges, to share them without having to manage multiple logins or authentication steps or anything like that.”
With Accredible’s open API, extensive documentation, and technical support, Maven Analytics has made that a possibility. Per Chris, “I've been so happy with how seamless that integration has been and how easy it's been working with Accredible.”
This integration has made it much easier for Chris and his team to build, track, and maintain credentials with built-in group setup and email capabilities. But it’s had an even bigger impact on learners.
Now, they have their own dashboard inside the Maven Analytics platform where they can see all their activities, claim their credentials, and add them to their LinkedIn profile in a few clicks.
It’s always been Chris’ priority to create high-quality content people rave about. And they do — word-of-mouth is how Maven Analytics generates most of its leads.
But with Accredible, the company has taken brand recognition to the next level, prompting earners to show off their achievements on social media each time they earn a badge. Since implementation, Maven Analytics has increased its credential share rate by 245% and boosted credential shares on LinkedIn by 250% — ultimately leading to more awareness and referrals while solidifying it as best-in-class coursework.
“Our credentials aren't freebies. Learners have to complete intense, comprehensive courses and pass a graded assessment to earn their credentials,” Chris explains.
“So it’s not just about people earning and sharing them; it’s also about other people recognizing the credentials as a true symbol of accomplishment, as carrying weight. It’s boosting our brand while building our credibility.”
The more people earn Maven Analytics credentials, the higher the potential share rate, which ultimately translates to bottom-line success for the business — success Chris and his team now have clear KPIs for.
“We now use Accredible analytics as a diagnostic tool, digging into individual credentials or courses with lower-than-expected share rates, looking for clues as to how we can improve those metrics.”
“Having people on the Accredible side who know me and know our business, our strategy, and our vision has been great. I'd call that an extra bonus — another reason why I would certainly recommend Accredible to anyone looking for a credential solution.”
Chris Dutton, Founder & Chief Product Officer at Maven Analytics
The company already has ten popular Pathways, but its course roadmap constantly expands with the demand for higher-order data skills in the corporate world. In fact, Maven Analytics is publishing two to three more learning paths in the next quarter.
“We expect credentials to continue to be a core part of our strategy in the future — even outside of Pathways, whether it's in the community or something else,” says Chris. “As we keep growing our library and instructor team, badges will give us the reach we need to fuel our growth.”
Best of all, Accredible’s experienced customer success team will be there to guide Chris and his team, giving proactive feedback and suggesting new features to deploy.
“Having people on the Accredible side who know me and know our business, our strategy, and our vision has been great. I'd call that an extra bonus — another reason why I would certainly recommend Accredible to anyone looking for a credential solution.”
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Accredible is the world’s leading digital credential platform, enabling education and training leaders to increase learner engagement and drive program growth.
Accredible is the world’s leading digital credential platform, enabling education and training leaders to increase learner engagement and drive program growth.
