Product Enablement

What is Product Enablement

Product enablement is based on the assumption that the more employees understand products, the better their performance will be. 

For example, product enablement for a customer support team would equip them with key details on a product’s purpose, capabilities, target customers, etc. This helps them treat customers to a higher standard of service than a team lacking functional product knowledge. 

As a result, they could answer questions accurately and quickly, troubleshoot issues, walk customers through certain processes, and more. 

Good communication and collaborative facilities are crucial for effective product enablement in any business. Each team must have the tools to deliver employee training and educational resources to the entire workforce, as required. 

The term ‘product enablement’ is borrowed from ‘sales enablement' and the two are similar processes in theory. The key difference is that sales enablement is designed to increase the performance of the sales team specifically, whereas product enablement is a process the entire organization can go through.

The benefits of product enablement

The core benefit of product enablement is equipping employees with bespoke training on the products they’re required to work with. This may be in a customer-focused role (such as in a support department), in marketing, in logistics, or any other area in which knowledge of the company’s product proves advantageous.

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Good product enablement ensures there’s a clear sense of the product’s concept, purpose, user personas, advantages over competitors’ goods, and more.

In this way, product enablement creates authentic company-wide alignment and minimizes the risk of misunderstanding or miscommunication. 

What are some of the common challenges in product enablement?

The process of creating product enablement training in an organization can be incredibly complex, depending on the business and its product offering.

Goods of a highly-technical nature, for example, can be difficult to translate into learning material that is accessible to a non-technical employee. Indeed, those responsible for product enablement may even struggle to grasp the finer points of complex items themselves, which could become an obvious obstacle to their ability to educate others. 

This is why it’s so crucial that those responsible for product enablement gain an in-depth understanding of the needs of various internal stakeholders, and translate that insight into training that resonates with different audiences.

When do you need product enablement?

Product enablement is critical for any company that’s preparing to release a product. Everyone involved in marketing, sales, or customer support should undergo training well before the product launch date, to ensure that the release it’s a success for both the business and its customers.

But product enablement can be included as part of a wider education program within your company, too, such as updating on revised policies or goals. 

The key is to make all training and resources as accessible as can be: employees should be able to grasp concepts and insights quickly. Especially when they’re interacting with customers or other businesses and need to provide answers quickly. 

Educational resources created for employees across different departments should relate to their work only. There’s no sense in producing a generic training program or materials for the entire business. 

Keep it specific. Keep it relevant. Keep it effective.