Why is Product Knowledge Training Important?

Products are the backbone of any business. However, having great products is not enough. For organizational success, your team needs to have a deep understanding of your products, be it sales, marketing, or customer support. This deep understanding can only be made possible by comprehensive product knowledge training. 

It is a strategic approach that goes beyond product specifications and enables your employees to provide a highly satisfying customer experience. People who feel confident in a company's understanding of its products are more likely to make repeat purchases and become loyal customers. 

Lets understand more about the importance of product knowledge training, its types, the best strategies of implementation and Coursebox, an AI powered e-learning platform can help your employees become product experts.   

Understanding Product Knowledge Training Meaning 

Product knowledge means detailed information about a company's products' specifications, features, and benefits. Product knowledge training is the act of educating your employees about your products and services to help them perform their jobs better. 

This type of training usually covers a broad range of initiatives. It equips your workforce with the necessary skills to promote your products and services to the customers. 

Why is Product Knowledge Training Important?

Products and services are the core of any business. They are what customers ultimately purchase and work with your company. Therefore, it is extremely important that each member of your workforce should be an expert on them. 

However, technological advancements, AI-driven digital products and evolving customer service trends can make it difficult for employees to stay up-to-date. Research shows that 55% of employees believe that they need additional training to perform their jobs better. What's more alarming is that 53% of HR managers say that they are facing a skill gap within their company. This indicates the need for professional development and product knowledge training in the workplace. 

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Source: Shrm

Product knowledge training is important for building a well-prepared and resilient workforce for the future. It goes beyond manuals and tutorials and enables your employees with the skills they need to succeed. These specific skills and knowledge increase your employee's confidence, enable them to deal with difficult customers and build long-lasting professional relationships.   

Product Knowledge Training Examples 

Product knowledge training is not just for the sales team. A successful business relies on the collaboration of different departments, such as marketing, customer service, HR, etc. All of these departments work on different aspects of customer acquisition, advertising, or product development. 

Here are a few examples of how you should provide customized product training to a diverse workforce. 

1. Product Training for Sales Representatives

The primary objective of your sales team is to promote your products successfully and close maximum deals. To achieve this, it's crucial to equip your team with the right training and techniques. Stats show that companies that prioritize sales training are 57% more effective than those who don't.  

This is why it’s important to choose the best tools for sales training and empower your employees with all the essential product-related information, such as: 

• Product details: Price, features and other relevant specifications.
• Unique selling points (USP): What sets your products apart from others? 
• Use cases: Practical examples of how the products can be used.
• Customer success stories: Testimonials and positive reviews.
• Return on investment (ROI): Financial benefits of products in the long run.

Source: Qwilr

2.  Product Training for Customer Support 

Customer support teams are your business's frontline defenders. They are the people customers turn to whenever an issue arises. Research shows that 90% of customers make business decisions solely based on customer service. 

To provide an excellent service, your support staff must be well-informed about your products and ongoing and future developments. This level of expertise can only be achieved through comprehensive product knowledge training. Such training ensures that your team can:

• Exceptional Service: Deliver exceptional customer experiences
• Address customer's questions: Address frequently asked questions accurately
• Latest update: Stay up-to-date with the latest product updates and advancements

3. Product Training for Marketing Teams

Marketers are responsible for creating brand awareness, conducting market research, and creating relevant content. The better they understand a product and its target audience, the better they can promote it. 

This is why you should develop a product knowledge training strategy for your marketing team that covers: 

• Product overview: Product features, benefits, and USP.
• Target audience: Ideal customer profile, needs, and preferences.
• Pain Points: Specific problems of customers.
• Competitor analysis: Evaluate competitor's offerings, strengths, and weaknesses. 

4. Product Training For Customers 

While it may seem unconventional, customers also need product knowledge training. It helps promote your products, educates customers, and ensures they get the best out of it. 

More than half of the customers believe that their relationship with a brand starts when they understand their requirements and expectations. If you also want to enhance the relationship, try to help your customers with product knowledge training that includes; 

• Onboarding: Provide a smooth onboarding experience to help customers get started 
• Product training: Offer training on product features, best practices, and troubleshooting processes. 

Source: Sprout Social

Best Ways to Share Product Learnings & Training

The next step is to share this knowledge with your employees. Let's take a look at some of the best ways to share product learnings and training in your organization. 

1. Product Training With E-Learning 

E-learning is one of the most flexible ways of learning. It helps you deliver educational content and training online without gathering people in a physical space. The prominent feature of these new learning management platforms is companies can track employee progress. 

E-learning also offers numerous benefits for employees. Employees can access the course content anytime at their convenience. Since the learning material is available 24/7, your remote workforce can equally benefit from it. Above all, e-learning creates a rich and interactive learning experience. It makes online training enjoyable with features like quizzes, assignments and gamification.   

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Source: Shrm

2. Microlearning 

Traditional training methods like lectures, PPTs, or long videos don't work anymore. Employees forget 90% of their training within the first week. Microlearning is a modern alternative that can help you overcome this. It is a way of teaching that focuses on delivering bite-sized content (3–5 minutes) with a focused learning outcome. 

Microlearning works exactly the way we consume content in our daily lives on YouTube or social media. It can boost a learner's knowledge retention by 50%. Since it replicates the existing learning behavior, employees can learn new concepts with no difficulty.  

3. Blended Learning 

People have varied preferences regarding learning and development. Some like to learn completely at their own pace, while others prefer instructor-led discussions. Blended learning offers a middle ground for both.

Blended learning is a technique that combines the features of both online and in-person training to facilitate diverse learners. It is typically facilitated by learning management systems (LMS) as a centralized platform for organizing and delivering training content. 

Blended learning strategies offer a combination of the following: 

• Online webinars: Live, interactive sessions conducted online. 
• Instructor-led lectures: Traditional face-to-face learning for in-depth discussions.
• E-learning materials: Online resources like videos, articles, and quizzes. 

Best Strategies For a Successful Product Knowledge Training Program

A successful product knowledge training program is the result of teamwork. It requires careful planning and contribution from all stakeholders for a meaningful implementation. Here we have outlined some of the best and practical techniques for a knowledgeable training program. 

1. Set Learning Goals and objectives.

To achieve the best results, set clear goals and objectives for your learning and development program. Consider your target audience, your product's mission, core features, and common customer concerns. You can perform an internal assessment to identify skill gaps and areas for improvement. This will help you design a tailored training program for specific issues. 

Suppose you are a SaaS business launching a new CRM platform; set your learning objectives through: 

• Target audience: Sales, customer support, and marketing teams
• Product mission: Improve customer relationship management and sales.
• Core features: CRM functions like contact management, lead generation, and sales pipeline
• Customer concerns: complex interface, integration issues 
• Internal assessment: Assess your team's current CRM knowledge 

2. Get all Employees on the Board

Learning and development programs are always collaborative efforts. They require careful planning, resource allocation, and active participation from all employees. Your employees are the main beneficiaries of any training program, so make sure to involve them from the very beginning. 

Employees often face challenges regarding the timing, content, and relevance of professional training. Here are some specific steps to involve employees in your product training program: 

• Employee feedback: Collect direct feedback from employees with focus groups and surveys
• One-on-one meetings: Meet with individual employees and discuss their concerns
• Department heads: Collaborate with department heads to make sure that the training program aligns with their team's needs.

Source: Shrm

3. Create Engaging Training Modules

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning, as every individual has unique needs.  A well-planned and productive product training should cater to different learning styles. Help your employees to learn at their own pace and choose the learning method that works best for them. 

Try to offer learning material in multiple formats to accommodate different types of learning styles. 

This may include visual (infographics, videos), auditory (podcasts, audio clips) or kinesthetic (hands-on activities). You can also add elements like quizzes, games or simulations to make learning an enjoyable experience.  

4. Use Real-World Scenarios 

While engaging learning material familiarizes the learners with new concepts, it means involving real-life scenarios in your training. Scenario-based learning simulates real-life situations to help employees improve their problem-solving and decision-making skills. 

Suppose a sales rep participates in a role-playing exercise where they pitch a new product to the customer. The customer will raise objections or concerns or might compare it with other products. The salesperson, with their knowledge and persuasive skills, will overcome these challenges and close the deal. 

This makes real-life scenarios a highly useful tool to develop communication skills and handle objections confidently.  

5. Enhance Employee Engagement

Product knowledge training is not just about products or service specifications. In fact, it is a huge opportunity for a team leader to initiate meaningful conversations and develop team bonding. As a manager, your participation in any training activity is highly valuable. You don't really need to take full training sessions; there are different ways of doing it. 

For example, you can share your insights and experiences during training sessions and offer a valuable perspective. Remember, employees who find passion and purpose at work are three times more likely to stay with their organization.   

Source: Oak

6. Evaluate Your Training Program 

Employee training programs are a huge investment of time, money, and resources. Therefore, it is critical to measure how well it is going on and contributing to your employee's productivity. There are different KPIs for training and development that can help you monitor the effectiveness of your training, such as: 

• Attendance rate: Percentage of employees who attended scheduled training sessions.
• Completion rate: Percentage of employees who completed the entire program
• Average time: Average amount of time it takes employees to complete the training
• Post-training assessment: Results of assessments conducted after the training to measure knowledge retention. 

Conclusion

Product knowledge training is not just a training program but an investment into your company's future. It transforms your workforce into product experts, enabling them to pitch better and deliver exceptional customer service. However, it also comes with its own challenges. 

You need to focus on everything from planning to creating engaging learning experiences and keeping employees motivated. Fortunately, Coursebox can help you tackle these challenges.

As a leading AI-powered learning platform, Coursebox develops your ideas into customized online courses within minutes. We offer a comprehensive solution that includes AI assessments, instructors, real-time analytics, and everything you need to achieve professional success. 

Sign up to Coursebox for a cost-effective product training solution.  

FAQs: Product Knowledge Training 

What are the different types of product knowledge?

There may not be a strict categorization of product knowledge, but here is a general breakdown: 

• Product class: It refers to the group to which a product belongs. Let's say a smartphone falls under the product class of 'mobile devices.' 
• Product form: The specific type with a product class. A 'foldable smartphone' will be a specific form with a product class. 
• Brand: A name or symbol that represents a product identity and parent company. 
• Model: This is the specific version of a product within a brand, e.g., iPhone 15 Pro Max. 

How do you demonstrate product knowledge? 

Demonstrating product knowledge needs a combination of both communication skills and technical expertise. As a product expert, you should be able to articulate a product's features and benefits in a way that resonates with your customers. 

Explain all the technical details in a simple and understandable manner, and address customers' questions and concerns with accurate information. 

What are the four A's of a product? 

The four A's are a marketing strategy model that plays a critical role in a product's success, such as: 

• Acceptability: This is the degree to which a product is expected to meet the needs and desires of its target market.
• Affordability: It is the price of a product relative to its perceived value. It includes different factors such as the target market's income, and competitors' pricing models. 
• Accessibility: The ease with which a customer can find and purchase a product, let's say, distribution channels, online stores etc. 
• Awareness: How well aware is a consumer of a product? It involves marketing, branding, and public relations.