A company’s internal staff are typically the most common learners participating in eLearning, as the knowledge and skills they adopt directly impact the bottom line. It makes sense that most employers and Learning and Development (L & D) creators invest time and resources into training their employees.
However, they tend to underrate the importance of expanding these educational programs and tapping into their external audiences. After all, workers are not the only ones benefiting from a company’s expertise.
Consumers can bring significant returns if you grant them the means and tools to better understand your products and their benefits. Their opinions and experiences are essential to your brand reputation, and you can shape them with the right steps.
But it’s insufficient to implement just any product training program. It must be easy to use, simple yet effective, and capable of supporting different customer journey stages.
Moreover, it should be flexible enough to scale as your business grows. That’s why you must combine it with custom content development.
Before diving into how to build top-notch consumer product training, let’s break down its importance and advantages.
What Is Consumer Product Training?
Consumer product training refers to the process of educating consumers on how to safely, effectively, and correctly use a specific company product or service. It aims to boost customer satisfaction and loyalty by ensuring they understand the characteristics, advantages, and functions of an offering.
Businesses can roll out this type of L&D program in various ways: online, in person, or using instructional manuals and videos. As customers often misuse a product or service due to a lack of knowledge or capabilities, this initiative also helps minimize company liability and ensure the users get the most out of it.
The Benefits Of A Consumer Product Training
Providing comprehensive and well-thought-out consumer product training, especially combined with custom content development, has multiple advantages for consumers and companies. However, the following are the most common:
Improved Product Understanding
Consumers can only use a product or service efficiently and enjoy all its potential if they understand the way it works and how to use it. They should be familiar with an item’s features, possibilities, and intended outcomes to identify the best way to apply it and potentially recommend it to their friends and families.
Moreover, according to the Tsia report, 68 percent of consumers use the product more after training, and 56 percent leverage more of its features.
Increased Productivity and Efficiency
A lack of knowledge and understanding of how a product works means that customers won’t use it productively. However, consumer product training ensures they know how to leverage it first-hand and be efficient in the process.
Eighty-seven percent of consumers are also more independent in using an item after receiving training of any form.
Higher Customer Satisfaction
Most consumers expect a well-rounded service from companies, including receiving a clear explanation or instructions on how to use a product or service. That empowers them and ensures they can maximize their purchase, translating to higher overall satisfaction.
Increased Customer Retention
Being happy with a product or service fosters retention and loyalty. That’s among the key goals of every company, as acquiring a new customer tends to cost five times more than retaining the existing one.
Because of that, companies must consistently deliver a greater value to their consumers; one effective way to achieve that is through product training, as it provides them with all the essential knowledge and capabilities.
Reduced Technical Support Calls
When consumers can solve their product- or service-related problems, there will be less need for technical support calls. That can save a company significant time and money but also make the job easier for customer support teams.
These professionals are often overwhelmed with responding to elementary questions that wouldn’t come up with relevant training or instructional material. Plus, when receiving fewer calls, CS teams can focus on more complex conversations and inquiries that add value.
Enhanced Customer Engagement
Engagement is among the vital elements of a positive consumer journey. It increases the odds of people not only trying a product but also adopting it and using it consistently.
Designing consumer product training with a custom content approach ensures they discover multiple ways of using an item. It helps eliminate doubts, fill the blank space, and encourage consumers to confidently experiment with a product on a daily basis and identify the best method to use it.
Increased Sales
Well-trained and informed consumers are more likely to become a company’s repeat buyers and try new products, not just the ones they purchased first. Moreover, well-rounded training helps accelerate conversions and remove doubts and questions people might have before buying an item.
Higher Brand Awareness
When consumers receive comprehensive training, it helps them learn specific product features and possibilities, but also details about a company’s brands. Knowledgeable and well-informed customers are more likely to feel empowered and become brand advocates, which is the goal behind every product and service.
Sharper Competitive Advantage
Not every company invests in modern, relevant, and effective consumer product training. But those that do are already a few steps ahead of their competitors.
Businesses that appreciate and prioritize their customers will likely have more positive reviews, higher loyalty rates, and more sales than others in their niche. That’s essential for being an industry leader and having happy and satisfied clients and consumers.
Significant Cost-Effectiveness
While custom content development may require an initial investment, it can ultimately save companies money by reducing support costs and improving product satisfaction. It ensures that people receive product training based on their unique backgrounds, needs, and goals.
As a result, they are less likely to reach out to customer support, leave a negative review, or discourage their families and friends from buying the product. Hence, the long-term benefits outweigh the upfront costs.
Improved User Experience
A well-trained customer is bound to have better experience with the product. They will be more confident in their use of the product and capable of achieving their goals more easily.
Thanks to that, a company will enjoy greater customer satisfaction and loyalty in the long run.
Top 7 Strategies For Improving Consumer Product Training With Custom Content Development
The following tips will help you develop engaging and effective consumer product training using the custom content development approach:
- Identify Target Audience Needs
The first step in creating effective custom content is to understand the unique requirements of the target audience. Conduct thorough market research, surveys, and feedback analysis to gain valuable insights into customers’ knowledge gaps, preferences, and learning styles.
Gain a deep understanding of their needs, allowing your business to develop training content that addresses specific pain points and empowers consumers to overcome challenges.
- Develop Engaging Multimedia Content
Training materials should be engaging and interactive, as that will help capture and maintain consumer interest. Experiment with various multimedia elements, such as videos, animations, infographics, and quizzes, to make the learning experience dynamic and enjoyable. Incorporating real-life scenarios and case studies can also enhance the relevance and applicability of the training content, enabling consumers to connect theory with practical application.
- Emphasize Simplicity And Clarity
Complex technical jargon or convoluted explanations can hinder consumer comprehension and trigger frustration. Hence, it’s paramount to present information clearly, and concisely and make content easily understandable. Use simple language, avoid unnecessary complexity, and provide step-by-step instructions to guide consumers through the training process. Visual aids (e.g., diagrams and illustrations) can simplify tasks, enhance clarity, and facilitate comprehension.
- Personalize The Learning Journey
Recognize that consumers have diverse learning preferences and adapt the training content accordingly. Provide options for self-paced learning, allowing individuals to progress at their own speed.
Moreover, consider offering customized learning paths based on customers’ prior knowledge or skill levels. You can optimize knowledge retention by tailoring the training experience to individual needs and ensuring consumers feel valued and supported.
- Leverage Interactive Learning Platforms
Online platforms offer tremendous opportunities for delivering customized training experiences. Employ learning management systems or interactive portals that enable consumers to access training materials conveniently and track their progress.
Incorporate discussion forums, chatbots, or virtual mentors to facilitate interaction and address consumer queries promptly. You can also leverage these platforms for continuous learning, providing ongoing support and updates to consumers as your business introduces new product features or enhancements.
- Collect And Leverage Feedback
Continuous improvement is key to enhancing consumer product training. Encourage consumers to provide feedback on the training content and delivery methods.
Conduct post-training surveys, interviews, or focus groups to gather insights into the effectiveness and relevance of the custom content. Analyze this feedback to identify areas for improvement and implement necessary revisions to optimize the training experience continually.
- Measure Training Effectiveness
To gauge the impact of custom content development efforts, establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure training effectiveness—track metrics such as knowledge retention rates, customer satisfaction scores, and post-training behavior changes.
Analyze these metrics to assess the training program’s success and identify opportunities for refinement.
Closing Thoughts
Consumer product training is just as vital as providing L&D options for a company’s internal workers. It helps brand awareness, customer retention, and revenue growth.
Although many companies don’t prioritize their external audience in terms of learning opportunities, investing in this aspect is essential for a satisfactory customer journey. When combined with custom content development, the results are even more effective and ensure consumers understand all the functions and benefits of a specific product or service.
