Do you ever get the sense that your sales, support, or other teams aren’t clearly communicating what your business truly offers?
Customer conversations may not capture the full value of your products or services.
When this happens, you’ll start to see hesitant presentations, mixed messages, and missed chances, making it feel like growth is just out of reach.
In this article, we break down a key ingredient that helps your people thrive and your business grow.
Key points
- Product knowledge is the bread and butter of sales and marketing teams, effective customer support, and customer education.
- It involves a clear grasp of product features, benefits, use cases, and the competitive landscape.
- When teams are better aware of your product offerings, they can build stronger trust and engage more effectively with customers.
- Different roles require different depths and types of product knowledge.
- You can develop this expertise through training programs, documentation, and learning platforms like LMSs.
What is product knowledge?
Comprehensive product knowledge is about how well an employee can grasp what a company offers, whether that’s products or services.
Consider an accomplished bookseller.
When a customer is looking for a good read, this bookseller first chats with them, getting a feel for their tastes and preferences. They then recommend a book by explaining the author’s unique style, the depth of the character arcs, the story’s pacing, and why it suits that particular reader.
To top it off, the bookseller might even recommend something off the radar that the customer loves, which inevitably leads the customer to keep coming back and referring their friends to this bookseller.
That intuitive, deep understanding of every volume on their shelves – its content, context, and ideal reader – that’s true product knowledge.
Why is strong product knowledge important?
Excellent product knowledge helps your team create truly positive customer experiences, among many other powerful benefits.
Connecting genuinely with customers
Think about how our bookseller connected with people. Knowing their books inside out meant they weren’t just making sales – they truly understood what each customer wanted.
Good product knowledge lets your team do this, too.
In fact, insights from leading customer experience research, such as Salesforce’s “State of the AI Connected Customer” report, consistently show a strong trend. Most customers feel more loyal to businesses that make them feel understood and personally valued. They’re also more likely to spend more with those businesses.
Making recommendations that are spot on
Our bookseller could pick the perfect book because they really understood each one.
That kind of deep product knowledge is pure gold for your teams. It enables them to quickly identify customers’ needs or wants and guide them toward the right solution. This ability is a key outcome emphasized in many sales training topics. It’s a fundamental part of essential selling skills.
This accuracy is important for overall customer satisfaction and spending. Market research from companies like Accenture and others in online shopping analysis often shows that many consumers are more likely to buy and feel more satisfied with personalized recommendations from knowledgeable staff who understand their preferences.
For this reason, customer training and product knowledge training typically go hand in hand.
Building real trust by sharing hidden value
The bookseller finding a ‘hidden gem’ shows how product knowledge builds deep trust.
Influential reports like the Edelman Trust Barometer and other consumer behavior studies consistently confirm that trust in a company is a top factor influencing buying decisions and staying loyal.
Igniting team engagement through expertise
In addition to product knowledge, our bookseller exudes quiet confidence – a clear sign of engagement born from true expertise.
They no longer talk the talk but can walk it, too, and customers love this kind of aura.
Studies from groups like Gallup often show that employees who feel good about themselves and their jobs are more active and interested in the company’s success.
What are the key aspects of product knowledge?
Knowing a product inside out involves several core areas. Let’s look at these main aspects of expertise through the lens of our wise bookseller.
Customer needs
Think of our bookseller chatting with a customer about what they’ve enjoyed reading recently, the kind of stories that resonate with them, or even what they hope to feel while reading.
Similarly, true product knowledge involves understanding your customers’ underlying needs and desires. Your sales team members need to be able to ask the right questions to truly grasp what makes your clients tick. Your sales reps need extensive product knowledge to provide accurate and helpful information, which will help them create a positive customer experience.
Your customer support agents also need to fully understand customer inquiries, feedback, and concerns, and blend that with their in-depth product knowledge about product features. Your customer service teams can further benefit from understanding your company’s products’ or services’ unique selling points to help upsell to customers.
Core features and specifications
Just as our bookseller knows the author, publication date, and even the weight and feel of each book, understanding your product’s core features and specifications is fundamental.
Without this knowledge, they can’t answer foundational customer questions with confidence.
Translate features into real-world benefits
Product knowledge helps your team explain how each feature solves a customer’s problem or meets their needs.
The bookseller doesn’t just say, “This book has 300 pages.” Instead, they might say, “This book’s pacing is good for a deep dive into the characters’ lives, perfect if you enjoy immersive stories.”
Practical usage and application
Our expert bookseller likely knows the best way to care for different types of books, recommending a bookmark to avoid creasing pages. For your products, this means learning how people use them in real life, tips or tricks to make them work well, and the different ways customers can use them.
Market knowledge and competitive edge
The bookseller understands the literary landscape – which authors are similar, what genres are trending, and what makes a particular book stand out. Your team needs this thorough understanding of your market, competitors, and your edge.
Clarify value
When a customer asks about the price, our bookseller can explain why it’s worth it. It could be because the binding is good, the author is well-known, or the book is important to the culture.
Key types and depths of product knowledge
Product knowledge consists of different strands and depths of understanding.
Our knowledgeable bookseller’s experience can demonstrate this.
Firstly, they are intimately familiar with the shop’s collection – each specific book, story, and author. Secondly, they are deeply empathic with the readers – their unique tastes, reading histories, and what truly excites them. Thirdly, they are broadly aware of the wider literary world – current trends, momentous genres, and the connections between authors.
Then, there are the depths, or levels, of this understanding. A new apprentice might know the popular titles and sections – a foundational grasp. A more seasoned colleague could discuss authors and confidently recommend varied works, showing proficient skill.
Our expert bookseller, however, operates at a master level. They offer nuanced critiques, unearth obscure treasures, and perhaps even shape the shop’s identity through their thoughtful curation of its stock.
Common challenges in building product knowledge
Cultivating deep product knowledge, like our expert bookseller, isn’t without its hurdles for any organization.
One major challenge is simply the sheer volume of information, especially when products are complex or constantly evolving. Imagine our bookseller trying to absorb the details of every new title arriving weekly, while also remembering the classics.
Another hurdle is making the learning truly engaging and memorable. If product training is uninspired, or knowledge is not regularly used, it will not stick, much like a forgotten plot line.
Finally, there is the everyday pressure of finding sufficient time and accessible resources for learning amid busy schedules. Even our dedicated bookseller needs moments to read and learn, away from the shop floor bustle, with the accurate information at their fingertips.
How to develop product knowledge in your organization
Helping your team become as clued-in as our expert bookseller might feel like a big task, but it is definitely doable with some smart planning.
Here are some key ways to go beyond product knowledge training in your company:
Foster a culture of continuous learning & curiosity
Our bookseller’s love for stories probably keeps them eager to find new authors and enjoy old favorites. Try to spark that same kind of ongoing curiosity in your teams.
Create a workplace where learning is every day, not a one-time task.
Encourage questions, get people exploring what is new in your field, and help them see how your products are constantly changing to support your customers better.
Implement engaging, multi-faceted training
If our bookseller were learning about new books, they would not just flip through a catalog.
They would want to read them, chat about them, maybe even hear an author speak.
To make your product training strategy just as lively, we suggest you mix things up with hands-on workshops, real examples, and practical tasks. Maybe even try some fun learning games.
Encourage hands-on product immersion
Our bookseller really knows books because they read them and work with them.
Give your team the same chance to get properly hands-on. Let them use your software, try out your products, or experience the service like a prospective customer would.
In addition, urge them to play around with it, ask questions, and really get a feel for what it is like to use.
Champion peer-to-peer knowledge sharing
Just envision those chats in the bookshop’s back room, where booksellers swap ideas about tricky requests or exciting new reads.
You want that same sharing spirit in your organization. Maybe you can set up mentoring, have an online chat area, or hold team get-togethers where people can talk about what worked, what they have learned, and how they have solved product-related puzzles.
Often, the best tips come from colleagues.
Create accessible & dynamic product knowledge resources
Our bookseller probably has a good system for looking up books or finding reviews, not just dusty old guides. Your team needs easy-to-reach info, too.
To do so, create one go-to place for simple product knowledge that your team can search for and always keep fresh. Think short videos, helpful Q&As, and inspiring customer stories that they can look up whenever they need a quick answer or new ideas.
3 examples of product knowledge
It is one thing to have basic product knowledge, but another to see it truly shine in everyday situations. Let’s step back into our favorite bookshop for some clear examples of this expertise at work, offering inspiration for any team.
1. Discovering the perfect match through conversation
Picture a customer, unsure of what they want. Our bookseller doesn’t just gesture to the bestseller charts. Instead, after a thoughtful chat, they unearth a little-known gem, explaining how its unique storytelling and characters perfectly echo the customer’s unspoken desire for something ‘different yet comforting’. That is matching with true insight.
2. Adding depth through contextual storytelling
Or picture our bookseller, when handing over a chosen historical novel, sharing a fascinating snippet about the era, or a brief tale about the author’s experiences that inspired the plot. This transforms a simple purchase into a richer, more memorable connection with the book, the author, and the shop itself.
3. Guiding choices through insightful understanding
Consider a reader torn between two seemingly similar detective novels. Our expert bookseller steps in, not to push one, but to gently highlight the subtle differences – perhaps one author’s grittier style versus the other’s intricate plotting – skillfully guiding the customer to their ideal kind of mystery.
FAQs about product knowledge
What is product knowledge in simple terms?
It is about deeply understanding your company’s offerings – what they are, how they work, and how they bring value and solutions to your customers.
Why is product knowledge important for customer service representatives?
It is a must-have for customer service reps. Without it, they can’t quickly solve problems, answer questions confidently, and turn tricky situations into positive experiences for customers.
What are the common challenges in building product knowledge?
Key challenges include keeping up with evolving products, finding time for learning amid daily tasks, and ensuring training programs are engaging enough to make complex information stick.
How does product knowledge improve customer interactions?
Knowledgeable staff handle interactions with greater confidence. They can address queries precisely, offer relevant advice, and make customers feel truly understood – goals often achieved through effective customer education, leading to smoother conversations.
Cultivate your own experts
Our exploration of product knowledge, with our skilled bookseller as our guide, has shown us just how valuable this deep understanding truly is.
The rewards – for your customers, your team, and your business’s bottom line – are clear and compelling, from forging genuine connections to building unshakable trust and boosting engagement.
Cultivating such expertise across your organization is not about searching for one-off star performers. Instead, it is about a commitment to thoughtful product knowledge training, to nurturing curiosity, and to fostering an environment of continuous learning.
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