Don’t Forget About Training In Your Marketing Retainer/Budget!

It’s time to face the harsh reality --  as much as we think we know it all and can do it all, chances are we really don’t and can’t.  

Investing in training, however, gets us a lot closer.

According to surveys of the U.S. workforce conducted by the American Psychological Association, training and development consistently emerges as one of the areas employees are least satisfied with.

In fact, a recent Forbes article reported that over a third of employees receive no training to develop new skills.

This should be concerning to leaders everywhere.

Why Is Training So Important?

Simply put, training is important because it’s an effort towards progress and improvement. No matter how great your performance is, training is an opportunity to get even better.

Think of it as the work benefit that not only makes your employees happy, but adds value and, often, profitability to your bottom line.

But What About the ROI?

One way to look at the ROI of training is from a financial perspective.

Consider for a minute that ROI is calculated by dividing your net profit by your total investment or ROI = Net Profit / Total Investment.

Similarly, you can calculate your training ROI by dividing your change in profits related to training by the cost of training.

The ROI of training, however, goes beyond standard financial calculations.

Professional development, skill growth, and leadership

Providing training that helps your employees grow in their current roles and prepare for roles as future leaders is incredibly valuable to an organization.

Not only does it increase employee job happiness and retention, but it decreases your long-term costs as you spend less time and money having to replace employees or look outside of your organization to fill higher level positions.

Provides your team with new opportunities

It isn’t uncommon to go through a period of boredom and monotony in a job.

Training often gives employees opportunities to try something different or add a new responsibility.

It may even lead them to a new area they are passionate about and can support the company in a greater way.

Keeping up with industry advancements 

In most, if not all, industries, advancements, and innovation are happening every day. (I know in digital marketing, they are!)

In order to stay competitive, it is key to have comprehensive knowledge of those things. Regular training on new technologies, tools, and practices will keep your organization on the cutting edge.

Personally, I am frequently exploring new HubSpot features and finding myself wanting to make the most of everything it has to offer. And HubSpot does a great job of providing how-to’s and trainings that help to make me a better marketer.

Become a market leader/Competitive Advantage

When you offer training to your team, you are giving them an opportunity to become thought leaders and innovators in their industry; to stand out from others.

This also creates an opportunity for your team to offer customers and prospects an expertise that your competitors may not.

Furthermore, by offering training to your employees, you put them in a unique position to train others.

Whether that knowledge is spread throughout your organization or offered to clients, customers, and industry partners, you’ve now enabled your team to lead and guide others.

Creative and Out-of-the-Box Ideas. 

Providing people with new knowledge and skills encourages people to think about things in a new way or try new things.

Continuous Improvement. 

Training builds an environment of evolution. It allows employees and the company to offer something new or more to their customers.

Team Happiness.

Anyone who has had to replace a great employee knows that it takes a great deal of time and money to do so. Keeping your team happy can significantly reduce your employee turnover.

What are the risks and dangers of not investing in training?

Not investing in training can have a large negative impact on your business. You risk employee happiness, customer satisfaction, and overall, your reputation.

Here are some of the more specific consequences of neglecting training:

In your marketing budget

Being Bested By Competitors.

At this point, training is a growing element of most companies. So, if you fail to provide adequate training opportunities to your employees, you run the risk of being outdone by your competitors that do. Employees lacking access to training fall behind on skills, technology advancements, approach, etc.

Being Seen As Dated.

By not offering training, you run the risk of being seen as the company that is behind the times, not only by your customers but by your employees as well. This perception is not good for your business and risks a major blow to your reputation and industry standing.

Declining Performance.

As things change around you if you are unwilling to invest in training you are certain to fall behind. When your employees don’t have the knowledge and skills to keep up with industry changes and advancements, they no longer have the ability to perform at the highest level.

Low Employee Retention.

We’ve brought up employee happiness and retention a great deal and that is because it can have such a huge impact on your business, both financially and personally.

Low employee retention directly impacts the health of an organization, causing remaining employees to question their own happiness and the long-term stability of the company.

What types of training should modern marketers invest in?

I’ve talked a lot about the benefits of training on a very broad scale, but, at the end of the day, most of you reading this are marketing.

So, when I think about the training that is most important to marketers in today’s environment a few things come to mind: .

Video Marketing.

I. Love. Video. Honestly, I do. I went to college and earned a degree in video production. To me, this is one of the best marketing tools available today, and I’m not the only one who feels this way.

Creating great video content isn’t just as simple as picking up your cell phone and shooting something. There’s strategy involved, audiences to consider, a plethora of hosting platforms, editing to be done, and so much more.

Video training may be one of the best investments you can make as a marketer in the modern digital age.

Content Strategy.

Great inbound and digital marketing comes down to great content. Being able to tell a story and connect with your audience is what creates the desire in a prospect to become a customer.

Content is also key for visibility and branding in today’s marketing.

Being able to produce content that people are excited to consume and share is how you reach a modern buyer. . However, not everyone is Ernest Hemingway, and that’s ok. Learning about various content options and how to develop content that people want to read is a great place to start.

New Technology and Tools.

One great thing about marketing today is that there are a ton of tools and technology designed to make your life easier.

Marketing and sales platforms such as HubSpot, customized marketing email signatures from Sigstr, and CRO and customer feedback tools like Lucky Orange give marketers unique access to a world of possibilities.

Using these tools effectively and to the extent of their capabilities requires time spent learning and training but pay off greatly.

Even if you are already using these tools, it’s valuable to have training to stay on top of their latest features and updates.

Sales.

Yes, I know I am talking about marketing training, but sales and marketing go hand-in-hand.

The best marketers are those who know and understand their sales process and sales team. Taking the time to be trained in your will make you a much more effective marketer and will help you to set up the organization for a win.

Leadership.

Leadership training is something we can all benefit from. 

Learning how to communicate effectively, support where needed, and motivate others are just a few of the skills that can be gained. T

These skills won’t just make you a better marketer, they will make you better in all aspects of life.

Get On The Train!

Training is something that I, and the IMPACT team, place a great deal of value on.

We are constantly looking for opportunities to learn new things and develop new skills and I hope that if you and your organization didn’t feel that way before, you do now.

Here at IMPACT, we’ve embraced training and online training with the launch of IMPACT+. If you are in need of training for yourself or your organization, we’d love to help!