Education versus Training
Most enterprises I encounter who are implementing MarTech platforms (like Web CMS, DAM, CDP offerings, etc.) understand the importance of employee training, and we certainly advise customers to pay close attention to it within RFPs as well as subsequent program planning and roll-outs.
However, unless your workplace is some sort of rigid digital production line, your colleagues need something else besides training. They need education. Education means explaining to people why you're implementing a new or replacement system, including the broader context and hoped-for benefits, along with future enhancements.
To be sure, both training and education are important. They just emphasize different things.
Training |
vs. |
Education |
How | - | Why |
Details | - | Context |
Process | - | Adaptation |
Now | - | Future |
Proficiency | - | Benefits |
Education becomes particularly important with platforms where you intend to follow a more self-service model for workaday marketers to use the system, e.g., we see this very often Email and Marketing Automation platforms. Here your colleagues' lack of clarity around purposes and norms may make them cautious about participating and put more pressure on a centralized digital team.
Many MarTech vendors we cover argue that their tools are "so easy to use you hardly need any training." That's bunk. Training is almost always essential. But even if your colleagues take readily to simpler tools like CRM platforms, that doesn't mean they understand the purpose, value, and expectations regarding how they update which data.
MarTech systems rarely work quite as advertised, especially with initial implementations. People who understand the bigger picture will more fully adopt and obtain greater value from the technology in the long run.