Problem:
With the demand for complementary medicine having increased around the world, consumers are looking to learn more about it. To meet the expectations of their customers, Blackmores expressed a desire to increase the knowledge of their 220+ Thai Product Advisors so they could provide more health and wellness advice with confidence.
Solution:
In response, we collaborated with the Blackmores Institute to develop a suite of learning modules intended to educate Thai Product Advisors on the Blackmores Institute healthcare range whilst offering all of the convenience, flexibility and other associated affordances of a digital training platform.
The program was developed in English and translated into Thai to create a bi-lingual learning suite that satisfied the specific needs of the project. Visually appealing and culturally considerate animations were also created to improve participant engagement.
Goals & Objectives:
Product Training
- Educate Product Advisors on complementary, over-the-counter medicine
Business and Sales Training
- Provide users with insight into Blackmore’s commitment to quality and sustainability
- Increase the sales confidence of in-store product advisors, allowing them to provide
informed dietary and lifestyle advice to consumers
Learner Personas
- Characters created to mirror the Product Advisory team
- Participants spoke either English and/or Thai
Program Requirements
- Bite sized,15-minute modules
- Developed and implemented over a period of 4 months
The Learning Journey
The learning journey was broken down into modules and released in two phases to ensure learners were not overwhelmed by information.
Phase one follows a progressive learning pathway and encompasses the program induction and company knowledge section as well as key product areas on immune health, vitamins and minerals and inflammation.
Phase two comprised additional modules broken down into a sales guide, beauty and the nervous system.
This easily digestible bi-lingual design format was enhanced through the integration of a simplistic character chat system, educational videos, fact sheets, interactive product images and range cards that allowed learners to seek further elaboration on key concepts. Additionally, the inclusion of scenario and question-based knowledge checks augmented the learner experience by providing participants with the opportunity to put their newly acquired knowledge into practice.
Results
By incorporating educational content alongside knowledge testing, Blackmores was capable of measuring the overall impact of the program, therefore producing quantifiable results for the organisation. Moreover, while improvements to confidence are generally difficult to define, the incorporation of choice-based scenarios enabled learners to apply their understanding in situations that imitated real life, therefore allowing them to become more conscious of their strengths and weaknesses when advising and develop strategies that would ultimately improve customer satisfaction.
- 98% of product advisors completed the course within one month of launch.
- 84% would recommend Blackmores training program to others.
- 100% stated that the training delivered on its goals by enhancing their confidence and skills.
