Why your business needs product training

The product is central to your company’s success, but not everyone may fully understand it, especially when dealing with complex technical products or services. 

Employees in departments outside of development often struggle to grasp the full scope of what the company offers. 

Product training is a type of employee training that helps bridge this gap. For non-technical staff in sales, customer support, and marketing, it translates technical knowledge into practical insights that can be used in customer interactions. 

The 2024 Future of Product Report emphasizes that product teams add user value and contribute to revenue growth. This highlights the importance of product training, as it equips employees with the knowledge to communicate product benefits, address customer needs, and support the company’s business objectives.

In this article, we’ll explore how product training fits into your business training program and discuss the best methods and scenarios where it’s needed most.

What is product training? 

Product training equips employees with the knowledge to promote, sell, and support their company’s products or services. 

While many participants may not need to use the product directly, they must be able to discuss it with expertise and authenticity. Internal product training covers product specifications, usage instructions, competitive differentiation, use cases, customer service, and compliance training.

For effective training, collaboration is key. As Bixby notes in Product Training for the Technical Expert, “You need more than product knowledge; you need to know how to facilitate learning for others.” This involves product managers, engineers, and technical specialists working alongside instructional designers, training managers, and HR teams.

Although challenges like maintaining up-to-date content, ensuring consistency, and measuring impact exist, the benefits—improved customer satisfaction, higher sales, and enhanced brand reputation—make product training essential for any business.

What are the different types of product training?

This section will discuss different ways you can implement product training. You can and should introduce the full range of employee training methods. 

However, the following three methods will be especially useful: 

• Expert-led training 
• eLearning 
• Hands-on learning 

Putting together a product training program can be a challenge. But if you get all the right staff involved, it will make your organization far more effective at the tasks that matter. 

Expert-led workshops 

To start, leverage your company’s experts. They possess the knowledge to answer any question with precision and insight, focusing on what truly matters.

Experts often use various methods to share knowledge, including live demonstrations, clear explanations, and Q&A sessions.

The key challenge is that product experts may not always excel at teaching. To overcome this, pair them with training managers to optimize results. Alternatively, consider enrolling your product experts in a dedicated training program to enhance their teaching skills.

eLearning

eLearning is an effective way to consolidate various types of expertise into comprehensive learning materials.

Here’s how you can leverage eLearning:

• Use a knowledge-sharing platform to make documentation accessible to everyone. This increases transparency and ensures that valuable information is readily available.
• Convert existing resources like white papers and reports into eLearning formats. Turn them into lectures, slideshows, or walkthroughs, and incorporate low-stakes quizzes to help staff assess their knowledge. This self-paced learning option is available anytime to refresh staff knowledge.
• A digital adoption platform (DAP) is ideal for guiding users through complex tasks for digital products. DAPs offer contextual help and play a vital role in customer-side training as well.
  

eLearning offers a variety of methods to ensure your staff has access to the knowledge they need through digital platforms.

Hands-on learning 

Hands-on learning helps employees develop practical skills with the products they support or sell. Whether it’s consumer goods or technical software, direct interaction builds confidence and understanding.

Participants engage through guided demonstrations, interactive workshops, or simulations replicating real use cases. This method reinforces learning by allowing employees to apply knowledge in realistic scenarios.

Simulations can mirror customer interactions or technical challenges, preparing staff to handle real-world situations. Unlike passive learning, hands-on training encourages active engagement, making it a valuable part of a product training program.

What are the practical applications of product training 

Product training is essential for teams interacting with customers or supporting product use. 

Sales teams need in-depth knowledge to communicate value, customer service teams must assist users effectively, and technical support teams require a deep understanding to troubleshoot issues.

Other employees also benefit from basic training. Even payroll staff may engage in product training during onboarding. Depending on the product, ongoing training may be necessary to keep employees updated.

Teams that require product training include:

• Sales
• Customer service
• Technical support

Sales training 

Product expertise matters for sales. Sales staff need to be able to call on a vast range of knowledge to prove benefits to their customers. That might include: 

• A deep understanding of the product itself 
• Clear information on pricing structures 
• Basic trouble-shooting and customer care 

These aspects of product knowledge are especially important for anyone entering a job selling highly specialized services to highly specialist customers, such as in healthcare, technology, or manufacturing. 

But whatever the industry, a thorough understanding of the product instills confidence in sales representatives, enhances their credibility, and enables them to address customer inquiries, overcome objections, and tailor solutions to meet individual needs. 

How to implement it 

Here are some guidelines for implementing product training within a sales training program:  

• Product training should be ongoing, not a one-time event. A recent McKinsey report highlights the need for an “end-to-end learning journey” in sales training.
• Start with onboarding to give new sales staff a solid understanding of products and services.
• Use a mix of teaching methods, but prioritize eLearning. A BCG study found that eLearning increased conversion rates nearly tenfold, adding over $100 million in annual recurring revenue.
  

Track performance using clear metrics:

• Sales volume
• Conversion rates
• Customer satisfaction scores

Updating your sales team’s product knowledge can radically improve your business prospects. 

Customer services 

The customer services team ensures that new clients get the most out of the product after the sales team has signed on them. 

A customer service team with excellent product knowledge can make a very important contribution to the overall customer experience. 

A knowledgeable customer service representative improves customer satisfaction, builds brand reputation, and potentially deflects technical support tickets. 

A thorough understanding of the product allows customer service representatives to address customer inquiries promptly, resolve issues efficiently, and exceed customer expectations, leading to higher satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. 

How to implement it 

When you’re trying to improve your customer experience product knowledge, think about the following points: 

• Use roleplay and simulation training to help customer service teams recall information quickly and respond confidently in real interactions.
• Customer service is different from technical support. Agents don’t need every solution but should know when to escalate issues.
• Customer service training should cover both product knowledge and soft skills to ensure clear and effective communication.

Technical support teams 

Product training gives technical support teams the deep knowledge to troubleshoot issues, provide solutions, and assist customers with technical inquiries.

Technical support staff often develop expertise comparable to product managers and developers. They handle customer concerns about functionality, usage, and troubleshooting, making them essential points of contact.

Comprehensive training helps them understand product features, specifications, and common issues. This allows them to diagnose problems accurately and provide timely, effective solutions. Well-trained support teams improve customer experiences, build trust, and uphold the company’s reputation.

How to implement it 

Many technical teams are good at updating their knowledge through informal methods and self-directed learning. To make sure that they are on top of everything, consider the following steps: 

• Expert-led training is crucial for technical teams, ensuring they grasp the full implications of instructions and can make them relevant to customers.
• For simpler product or service updates, eLearning is a practical method, allowing technical support teams to filter out irrelevant information.
• Tailor training for specialist and non-specialist staff. Sales and technical teams require different approaches, and mixing them up can waste valuable time.

Product training: A proven strategy to enhance customer experience

By now, you should be aware that product training plays a significant role in improving customer experience. 

A recent study by Intellum revealed that companies with formalized customer education programs saw a 26.2% improvement in customer satisfaction. 

Salesforce also found that 80% of customers value their experience with a company as much as its products or services. This highlights the importance of investing in product training, which equips employees with the necessary knowledge and increases customer retention and satisfaction. 

As PwC states, 89% of businesses will compete primarily on customer experience by 2025. This highlights the growing importance of investing in areas like product training to meet customers’ evolving expectations. 

Prioritizing product knowledge across teams becomes a strategic move for companies looking to differentiate themselves and excel in customer interactions.