Whats Your Strategy For Ensuring Product Knowledge?

Have you ever noticed that when you visit service providers you encounter employees who tell you they have no idea about a product that the company is selling? I have had many encounters with employees who are clueless about the company’s products. In some instances you also get companies launching products into the market when the majority of their employees are in the dark.

Imagine the amount of business companies would be generating if every employee is fully conversant with company products. Each employee will be a brand ambassador of the company. Each employee will be actively promoting company products even if they are off-duty because they will have enough knowledge about the products. This is not what is happening on the ground in many organisations.

How should this be handled? I remember years back when I was working for one organisation every employee would be tested for product knowledge every quarter.  You would be picked at any time of the day and be required to sit for the product knowledge test there and there. There would be no prior warning and employees would be chosen randomly. The tests would be changed constantly and so in a year you would right four different tests. This kept every employee well updated on company products. The organisation also made an effort to ensure that employees are well updated on products and services new and old. This information will be readily available through the company intranet and other company forums. Getting a score below 80% would attract disciplinary measures. This program worked wonders for this organisation including revenue growth and top of the drawer customer services.

In most organisations in Zimbabwe, employees and even people in customer service has very little knowledge about the company products. This is precisely why you find that you get refereed from one person to the other when you inquire about certain services. Organisations need to invest in educating every employee about their products and test employees regularly on product knowledge.

Organisations need to realize that customers get frustrated when they are receiving assistance from people who have very little knowledge about company products. With competition beckoning in every sector of the economy organisations with better product knowledge at every level and every department will fare better than those that take this important aspect of the business for granted.