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By KATE ISLER, CEO and CoFounder, WMarketplace | Author, Breaking Borders | Speaker | Global Sales and Marketing Leader | C200 Member
Measuring E-commerce Training Success: Beyond Course Attendance
I was on a call with several executive trainers and business leaders last week to discuss the increased demand for training among entrepreneurs. It was a conversation that many of us have had often are exhausted by. Organizations of all shapes and sizes promote their unique training approach, and how the entrepreneur’s business will see an immediate impact following the completion of the course.
There the presenter paused and one of the trainers made a statement that was at the heart of what training should be focused and measuring:
“It is not about what people know; it is about what they do”
Kate Isler (left) and Susan Gates (right), Co-Founders of WMarketplace
In today's fast-paced digital landscape, professional training has become a cornerstone for businesses striving to stay competitive. The traditional metrics of measuring training success often revolve around course attendance, completion rates, and feedback forms. While these metrics are valuable, they do not provide a view of the true impact of training programs. In the crowded world of ecommerce, where revenue generation, site traffic and conversion rates are at the heart of success, it becomes imperative to measure training outcomes in terms of real metrices, like increased sales and overall business growth. This is a crucial shift towards measuring success that relates directly to content and outcome and is at the center of what people do with the training they receive.
Defining Success Beyond Attendance
The success of a any training program should not be judged solely by the number of participants who attend the course. While attendance metrics can offer insights into the initial interest and engagement levels, they fall short in illustrating the tangible benefits of investing in professional development and training brings to a business.
Shifting focus to outcomes that directly impact the bottom line is risky, but can have significant impact on business metrics. Ecommerce is a place that has the unique ability to track and measure several actions that can be attributed to training content. Entrepreneurs that invest in training programs to enhance their skills and knowledge, with the ultimate goal of driving revenue growth can expect to see an impact in sales. Attending a training expecting to leverage the knowledge directly into their businesses and setting specific objectives that support that goal is a great first step.
Establishing Clear Objectives
To measure training success in terms of increased sales, it is essential to establish clear and specific objectives at the outset of the program. These objectives should align with the business’s ecommerce strategy and be tailored to their unique needs. Objectives might include:
Improving conversion rates on your web site or on specific online sales channels.
Increasing average order value.
Boosting customer retention through improved service.
Expanding market reach through executing specific marketing strategies.
Having these types of clear objectives in place will allow for a more precise evaluation of how an investment training will impact sales.
Pre-Training Assessment
Before embarking on a training program, it's crucial to establish a baseline for the key performance indicators (KPIs) related to ecommerce success. These could include website traffic, conversion rates, revenue generated, and customer satisfaction scores. These pre-training metrics serve as a benchmark against which you can measure post-training improvements.
One size doesn’t be all
Online sales are evolving quickly. One size does not fit all when it comes to training. Live delivery is becoming more important to ensure that the content received is up to date and relevant to maximize the impact on sales. Training programs should be responsive and deliver content that addresses specific skill gaps and challenges businesses are facing. Examples include if a business struggles with cart abandonment rates, they should focus on strategies to optimize the checkout process, retargeting strategies, and personalized product recommendations. Canned on-demand video content can be stale and does not allow for discussion or specific questions or issues to be raised so can easily miss the mark.
Post-Training Assessment
After the training program has concluded, it's essential to reassess the same KPIs that were measured before your training began. This post-training assessment will reveal the extent to which the training has influenced real business outcomes. Examples include:
Has there been an improvement in conversion rate?
Is the average order value higher than before?
Are customers more satisfied with their shopping experience?
Has the revenue generated through ecommerce channels grown?
By comparing these post-training metrics with the baseline data, you can quantify the impact of the training program on sales.
Monitoring and Continuous Improvement
Measuring the success of training investments and effectiveness doesn't stop at the post-training assessment. Continuous monitoring of KPIs is essential to ensure that the skills and knowledge acquired during training are consistently applied to drive sales growth.
Moreover, training programs should evolve to keep pace with changes in the ecommerce landscape. Ecommerce is a dynamic field, with new technologies, strategies, and consumer trends emerging regularly. Therefore, ongoing training and development initiatives should be designed to adapt to these changes and ensure that employees remain equipped to drive sales in the evolving marketplace.
Feedback and Improvement Loops
Feedback from other entrepreneurs who have undergone training is invaluable to measuring the program success. Engaging others about their perceived usefulness of the training, its relevance to their business, ease with which they could put the information to use, and its impact these actions has on sales can provide and insights into areas that may require improvement of updates in the content.
Return on Investment (ROI)
Ultimately, the success of training must be quantified in terms of its ROI. Entrepreneur’s need to assess whether the resources invested in training— time, money, and effort—result in a positive return and increased sales.
Calculating is up to the individual business or entrepreneur but generally ROI involves comparing the costs of training, materials, and time, against the additional revenue generated as a direct result of the training program over a specific time span. When the ROI is positive, it becomes evident that the training has had a significant impact on sales, making it a worthwhile investment.
Measuring the success of training by focusing on outcomes, particularly the increase in sales, is essential in today's competitive digital landscape. While course attendance and completion rates offer some insights, they do not provide a complete picture of the training's impact on the bottom line.
By establishing clear objectives, attending relevant training programs, completing pre- and post-training assessments, and continually monitoring and striving to implement the materials delivered in the training businesses can accurately measure the success of their training . Gathering feedback, and calculating ROI are tools that can help showcase the tangible benefits of training on sales growth.
In a world where ecommerce success is measured by revenue generated, it's time for businesses to shift their focus and prioritize outcomes when evaluating the effectiveness of their training programs.
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