How to make product training simpler and more effective
Imagine that your company has just launched a new product. It is unique on the market and has the potential to become a real best seller. But you need to get your employees up to speed on it, and quickly. How can you efficiently teach teams throughout the company what they need to know? The answer, of course, is product training. With digital product training, you can streamline the process with tailored training that can easily be rolled out to as many employees as needed. In this article, we’ll explain step-by-step how to create effective digital product training and introduce you to a case study that showcases proven best practices.
What is product training?
When your company introduces a new product—be it a unique service, an innovative software, or a health-boosting superfood—you must ensure that everyone in your company understands the important details. Otherwise, sales teams will struggle to explain benefits, customer service agents won’t be able to answer questions, and service providers will have trouble delivering the service. Product training can bridge those gaps, teaching different teams what they need to know to do their jobs well.
Product training is a structured format for sharing information about a product with your team. It teaches them how the product works, why it works, any pitfalls or common errors to be avoided, and how it differs from other products on the market. You can tailor your training for different target groups: create highly technical versions for people in technical or customer support roles, benefits-focused training for sales teams or partners, or even less-detailed courses to give administrative teams a basic understanding of the product. This approach ensures that everyone gets exactly the information they need.
Training formats for product training
Training can be offered in several different ways: in person, online, on the job, or a blend of any of those. On-the-job training can be invaluable for teams who need hands-on experience with the product or service, while eLearning is often the most efficient way to share training with large numbers of employees. Blended learning could include a self-paced online component followed by in-person or on-the-job training that lets employees see and use the product in real life. Again, the type of training can be adjusted for different target groups.
Benefits of product training
Product training can benefit your company in a vast number of ways. You can:
- Certify technical specialists in the use or installation of your product.
- Train sales teams and sales partners to explain benefits and tackle objections.
- Ensure that customer service agents can help with customer concerns.
- Teach new employees about the product as part of the onboarding process.
- Ensure that administrative staff and managers clearly understand the product and its position within the catalog of products and services.
Standardized product training ensures that each and every employee gets the information they need. If they were to learn about the product exclusively on the job, they might learn what their coworker or manager views as most important — but critical details could easily be glossed over or left out. A well-structured training course, on the other hand, can be planned, designed, and created so that it covers the exact details that each target group should know.
If your course has a digital eLearning component, this comes with additional benefits. Employees have more flexibility to study when it suits them best — no need to interrupt their work day to attend a pre-scheduled training session. eLearning can also be tailored to the particular employee, so no one wastes time on what they already know. And if someone is struggling to understand the material, they can easily repeat a module. It’s almost impossible to offer that kind of flexibility in group training.
Your step-by-step guide to effective product training
Like any other type of employee development course, you’ll need to plan your product training before you create it. Here’s how to ensure that you get all the details right.
1. Identify your target groups
First things first, you need to decide which employees and/or partners will receive training about the product. Depending on your company structure and the product, you could have all employees participate, or only one or two departments.
2. Determine training needs
Now that you know who will receive training, you need to decide what exactly they need to learn. This is where you can split employees up into different target groups. Not everyone will need technical knowledge — and not everyone will need to handle sales objections. Create a list of topics and map them to different target groups.
3. Decide on a training format
Once you’ve figured out who needs to know what, you can decide how. Usually, self-paced digital product training will be the most efficient way to share information with a large number of employees. However, some target groups — particularly those who will be working with the product directly — might need a hands-on component as well. In that case, you could use a blended learning format for some groups and a strictly digital format for others.
4. Design the course contents
To design the product training as efficiently as possible, think modularly. Many parts of the training, such as introductory material, can be reused across all target groups. If you decide, for example, that both technical customer support and shop floor employees will need more detailed technical training, you can reuse the technical modules for those two target groups. You can also outline any material that should be covered in hands-on components and create a standardized curriculum for in-person sessions.
5. Create the course
Now that you’ve done all the prep work, you can start filming and creating your course. With a good authoring tool, you’ll be able to store learning content in a central database, collaborate with colleagues, and build individual courses efficiently with ready-made templates. You can also add multimedia content, interactive quizzes, and tests, and ensure accessibility with features like video subtitles, image descriptions, audio transcripts, and more.
6. Roll out the training
Once the training is finalized, you’ll ideally want to share it with a small group of employees for a beta test. Gather their feedback and decide if any changes need to be made. Once you’ve done that, you can roll the training out to the company in general. The most straightforward way to share your product training is with an authoring tool. However, if you are a larger organization with more complex needs, you can use a learning management system (LMS). This will allow you to create tailored learning paths for different groups of employees, even adding or removing specific training modules depending on the learners’ needs.
Case study: How D+H Mechatronic AG trains 1,400 specialists every year
D+H Mechatronic AG is a leading manufacturer in the fire protection and building automation industry. Based in Germany, they have about 5500 employees worldwide — but their training needs extend far beyond their employees. The company designed an eLearning academy that lets them train 1,400 employees, sales partners, and customers annually in use of their highly specialized fire safety solutions.
Before they developed their digital academy, training was a serious problem for the company. They were required by law to provide regular product training, but their training materials were unorganized and outdated and training procedures were inefficient. To provide in-person training, their staff were constantly on the road — sometimes up to 200 days per year. Giving learners hands-on experience with the equipment was also a challenge.
To fix all this, D+H completely overhauled its training program. With the goal of improving training quality and boosting customer loyalty, they designed a digital corporate academy with a hands-on, blended learning component. This ensured that the training could be delivered efficiently while meeting all legal requirements. Another key requirement was designing the training in such a way that it could be easily adapted down the line as technology and market conditions change.
Their solution uses pre-recorded online courses, live webinars, and hands-on, practice-oriented workshops at their headquarters. Using Knowledgeworker Share, they can efficiently and cost-effectively manage eLearning courses, track progress, and give their employees and customers an exceptional learning experience.
Case Study
The bottom line.
No matter what sector your company is in, it’s crucial that your employees, partners, and customers understand your products. Product training can play a key role in giving all stakeholders the information they need — which improves the brand experience for everyone. While face-to-face training can be time-consuming and imprecise, digital product training can make the process more efficient and improve learning results. With a carefully designed eLearning course, your company can boost sales, improve customer satisfaction, and increase brand loyalty.
Need expert help designing your product training? We’re happy to help. Get in touch today!
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