Training a team to talk about your loyalty program is crucial for customers to know it exists and understand how advantageous it is. If you feel unsure about the training you're providing and notice that the team is misaligned, keep reading.
Who is the leader?
Every team needs to have a clearly defined leader, not just theoretically, but in their demeanor. Before asking anything, the leader needs to prove that they know how to do what they are asking their employees to do. They need to master all necessary knowledge to pass on to others. Above all, the leader is an example.
Therefore, they need to be close to the team. No one follows the example of someone distant, as they won't have enough information to build an example in their mind, risking misunderstanding everything. In a loyalty program, it's no different, employees need this close guidance. If it's not possible to do it in person, then online via video call with a greater frequency until the team is ready.
Understand your team
When an employee is not well trained, they feel confused about how the loyalty program works, and are also afraid to deal with potential complaints about it and not know how to act. This leads employees not to promote the program when they should.
During training, it is very important to explain as much as possible, even the obvious. The employee may know, but out of insecurity regarding the unknown, wants to receive all kinds of information. Therefore, it may be necessary to explain some things more than once.
Furthermore, it is very important to know the characteristics of each person on the team to assign the appropriate tasks to each one. This way, the team will remain organized, and the leader will know exactly whom to hold accountable for what.
Strategy to train the team
Before contacting the team, it's crucial to study the program and also rehearse with family members and friends, who are laypeople on the subject, to see if they understand well the way the leader is explaining. When they feel confident, they should start contacting the team.
But what to do in these meetings? There is a recommended methodology for training the team in this process. Considering that the loyalty program is simple, it's not necessary to hold many meetings. The recommended approach is to have 3 meetings, see below:
Meeting 1
Start by explaining the reason for the meeting and the benefits the loyalty program will provide for the company and employees. In this meeting, the team will receive information about the App. That is, how to use the App, activate and deactivate functions, benefits, deadlines, and anything else deemed necessary. After the team receives this information, it is important to talk about marketing and how to approach the customer.
There is no formula for how to approach the customer. This strategy depends entirely on your business, niche, location, and audience. Therefore, check what has worked well in the company so far and maintain that profile. Additionally, you can create posters, flyers, and digital content to increase the reach and facilitate the team's work when directly contacting the customer. If these strategies are taken, they should be explained in the meeting.
Meeting 2
The goal of this meeting is to ensure the team embraces this program! However, before that, it is necessary to break the ice and show empathy. Start by asking how the team is doing and what each person thinks about what was discussed in the previous meeting. The leader can also prepare some questions to see if the team really understood the program. This stage should take up a little time in the meeting.
Now it's the moment to train the team to strengthen the company's culture. A culture of after-sales and good customer service. Your team needs to understand that involving the customer is part of the company's culture, therefore part of the job. The customer feeling recognized and special is fundamental for them to return.
To conclude the meeting, it should be reinforced to the team the reason for this program's existence. It's important that everyone is reminded of the short and long-term benefits. The leader can also create a way to reward employees who perform well. If this reward is created, it should be announced to them in this meeting.
Meeting 3
The purpose of this meeting is to check if the planning is working, if the team understood their role well, and knows how to act. Therefore, it should have a week's spacing, on average, and be composed especially of questions. In it, the leader will ask questions to the employees, and they will respond with what they've understood. Additionally, the leadership can create simulations to assess the team's performance, correcting what is necessary.
This methodology allows the team to discover in a safe place what their main doubts, mistakes, and insecurities are. Thus, they will have the opportunity to ask questions and express what they really think about the loyalty program. If the leader feels secure, they can launch the team into this work. If they notice that the team is not ready, they should continue to train the team.