Product marketing training can sometimes be an afterthought in your marketing plan. After all, you’re working to get a customer’s attention and sell a product; but showing how to properly use that product is another issue entirely. Still, marketing gurus know that the ability to demonstrate the need for a product – both within your sales force and to customers – is part of a comprehensive marketing plan. That’s where eLearning can help, revolutionizing the way product marketing training can help improve sales.
Show, Don’t Tell
You can expound upon the merits of a product until you’re blue in the face, but until you can actually show what it does, your efforts could be useless. If you want your salespeople to be effective, they need to know how to use something and why it’s beneficial as opposed to other solutions. You could write an eight-page missive complete with diagrams, but the same material could be covered in a quick, five-minute eLearning video, available on mobile devices and in your sales force’s pockets for quick reference.
Product Development
Anyone involved on the product development side of things can tell you that features and price points can change in an instance. Your sales team must always have the latest developments and news, or risk selling with outdated materials. The beauty of eLearning is the fact that it can be done anytime, anywhere, which means you can push out new developments and features as soon as they’re perfected.
Testing and Assessment
Even the best salesperson needs to brush up on her skills. By utilizing quizzes to ensure your sales force understands the product marketing strategy, features and benefits of a certain item, you can test and assess their readiness to sell. eLearning gives you a chance to test knowledge and look over analytics to make sure your sales force is on the right path.
Satisfy Different Learners
Some students excel in a quiet environment. eLearning gives them an opportunity to cozy up on the couch and learn at a comfortable pace. The goal of training is to have employees apply knowledge. If on their own they can learn the material, why not give them that option? It’ll also give more in person time to use what they learned.