When faced with what has traditionally been a high-cost endeavor, many indie brands are left wondering: Is the expense of training really worth it? The answer is a resounding yes. Across the industry, brand founders and retailers alike have validated that smart training programs can make a huge difference in your retail sales. Here are four retail experts on the benefits of training.
It can make or break your ability to scale. As Philosophy founder, Cristina Carlino shared, training was essential to building her multi-million dollar beauty brand but also one of her biggest pain points. “As a brand founder, one of my greatest challenges while experiencing exponential growth was ensuring sales associates were properly training on our brand vision and products.” As the brand scaled, Carlino believes “training became increasingly important to maintain brand consistency and sell-through at all retail doors.”
It can help differentiate your brand. According to Former Chief Merchant at Sephora, Margarita Arriagada, and now Founder and CEO at Valde Beauty, “Training can literally be one of the most significant and impactful points of brand differentiation, a way to offer meaningful value and convert sales. Retailers’ biggest opportunities are to improve the customer experience and grow sales.This is what effective training can do.”
It can strengthen your relationship with retailers Retail buyers are eager to partner with brands that can support sell-through once their products are on shelf. As Landing CEO Sarah Chung notes, “when retailers see that emerging brands are following through on training, they’ll be more likely to take a chance on a smaller brand in the future.”
It makes your brand more memorable Laura Garlitos, founder of Focus on Beauty Brands, who has represented over 100 prestige beauty and wellness brands across a 30-year career in beauty sales shares that smart training strategies can make your brand more than just another product on the shelf. “I like to train with personal anecdotes and stories that are memorable. It’s easier to remember a funny or interesting story than it is to remember a list of ingredients.”
For brands that aren’t sure how to get started, Landing developed its digital-first Training Tool, an easy way to instantly create training materials and send them directly to retail associates.
Get in touch with our team to see a demo of the tool, plus be the first to learn about our new Training App: a rewards-based education app that incentivizes associates to learn about your brand.