Product Knowledge Training

Learn how product knowledge training can improve sales and customer satisfaction.

Product training for sales and customer support is no longer a nice-to-have in today’s customer obsessed world. These frontline employees must have access to training for all of your organization’s products and services to provide best-in-class customer experience.

How Product Knowledge Training  Best Practices Can Improve Customer Satisfaction

Ask customers what irks them when dealing with customer service or sales, and they may tell you it is lack of knowledge about a product. In fact, a company could lose a sale if the staff can’t answer certain questions on the products they offer. Since product knowledge is so important to customer satisfaction, it’s an area companies should spend more time focusing on.

What is Product Knowledge?

Product knowledge in customer service doesn’t mean the salesperson or customer service representative knows everything about a product. They don’t need to be an expert, but they should be able to answer basic questions about the product and how it works.

For example, a customer wants to know the dimensions of a product or how fast it will go or how much it will hold. The staff should be able to answer these types of questions without referring to a manual or handbook on the product. They should be able to give a basic explanation for how it will work and how it’s most often used.New product training is essential to keep up to date on changes in product lines or when new lines are added. If you wonder why product knowledge is important in sales, think of it from the customer perspective. They are trying to make a purchase decision based on facts about a product. If the salesperson cannot answer basic questions, the customer is less likely to trust anything they have to say about the product.For customer service, product knowledge training may look a little different. The person may need to be able to troubleshoot common issues the customer typically has with a product. For instance, they may not know how to put it together or how to get it to work. Basically, a customer service rep should be able to help the customer with basic problems found in the manual.

How to Provide Product Knowledge Training for Your Employees

Once you recognize the importance of product knowledge, your next step is to develop it in your employees. This is where many managers stop when facing a roadblock. They aren’t sure how to develop product knowledge in their sales and service staff.

You will most likely utilize both online and offline learning to develop product training. You may want to have personnel read through handbooks and other literature on the product, especially if its specialized or requires specific knowledge. This is where a learning management system can come in handy. You can put a copy of the manual and other information online and give access to every employee who needs it. Once they have read through the documentation, you can have them take a test to determine their level of competence. They can check off the material once it’s been completed so you can track their progress.

With some products, you may want to use a more hands-on approach. For complex items, this may be the best way to learn product knowledge. As they assemble it and begin using it, they will be better prepared to answer a customer’s questions on how to do those same tasks. They will be able to answer questions when something doesn’t work like it should. Since many issues revolve around operator error, it’s important to be able to provide a fast resolution so the customer can begin enjoying their new product quickly.

Another reason why product knowledge is important in sales and service is to reduce costs and loss for the company. When an issue can’t be resolved, the next step is often to have the customer return the product. Not only do you lose money on a sale, but you could end losing a customer who will go to another company for the product they want. Instead, your staff may be able to offer a simple resolution if they have knowledge of the product.

How to Create and Implement Product Training

When you use a learning management system, you can create product training for existing products. You can give access to everyone who needs it and require them to sign off when the training has been completed.

The system should come with reports that you can generate to see who has completed the most training. You can even offer incentives for employees who take the initiative to learn more about the products the company offers.

This product training should be part of all new-hire orientation so each new employee becomes familiar with the items your company sells. In fact, you can use an LMS for all training and just include product knowledge as part of it for those who deal with customers in either sales or service.

Infopro Learning offers a range of features that you can utilize to make product knowledge training easier and more effective. It doesn’t matter how you decide to train your employees or what methods of learning you use, this system can track it all in one place. Whether you prefer instructor-led training for complicated products or online learning, you can create reports that tells you important information. Data like:

• How many employees have completed required training
• What additional training has been completed by which employees
• What scores staff members received on tests
• Whether the employees received certification for the training

You can create rewards for optional training and set requirements for learning that is necessary to job performance. This learning management system adapts and grows with you and your company. As you add more products or create new positions, it will adjust to accommodate your changing needs.
Product knowledge training is an essential component to a business’ success. It’s also an important criteria for judging the quality of customer service in a company. If you want your customer service reps and sales personnel to build strong relationships with customers and help your customer base grow, you need to provide exceptional product training programs to help them answer questions and solve problems whenever they come up.

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