An initial partner to address retail challenges in Italy

Teach on Mars is delighted to announce its very first Italian partnership with Smile to Move – a way of showcasing its expertise in one of its core sectors: retail.

Addressing the digital training requirements of retail populations

In Italy, half of the retail market is made up of mid- and large-sized companies, while the other half is composed of small retail companies. The concentration of companies per kilometer squared is 1.4 times higher than the European average. Despite this extensive coverage, the pandemic, which began in 2020 greatly affected the sector, forcing companies to digitize their processes more quickly and to review training strategies in particular. The Covid-19 crisis marked a turning point in firms’ digital transformation and the pedagogical approach to training adopted by retail teams.

New regulations and the temporary closure of points of sale, have forced companies to turn to alternative channels to communicate with staff and to ensure their business continuity. Digital technology and mobile learning platforms have been prioritized in order to spur, inform and train employees about new sales conditions (e-commerce, delivery services, click & collect) and sanitary protocols which must be complied with as we emerge from the crisis.

Aligning mobile learning with retail needs

Even prior to the crisis, distance learning helped to bridge this gap with retail teams. The cross-channel aspect of mobile-learning solutions and the availability of their content off-line, enabled us to meet the main needs of this learner population.

Always on the go and with little time to devote to training, retail populations have always been hard to pin down. Mobile learning has allowed these individuals to access the knowledge and information they need in real time, whenever and wherever, as they find moments in which to train (coffee breaks, low footfall in the point of sale, commute to/from work). In this way, retail companies save time and simultaneously train their learners in a quick and effective manner, wherever they are in the world.

What’s more, this new distance learning method enables companies to keep in touch with teams by communicating the latest news in real time, (product launches, store openings, new collections) while cutting travel related costs, which were much more frequently incurred in the past.

In the retail sector, we can also make full use of the potential offered by a mobile-first training platform, offering relevant and customized content about key sector topics such as sales techniques, soft skills, leadership, clienteling, brand awareness, visual merchandising, team work, store management, etc.

The impact of mobile learning on the user experience

This training method offers the advantage of engaging learners without forcing them and using social learning and gamification levers to boost their engagement and will to learn. Mobile learning enables learners to communicate with peers and managers in order to share suggestions, feedback and best practices about the week’s events, new arrivals and upcoming launches.

Training content combines gamification (personalized content, rewards system, rankings, etc.) and pedagogical coherence (progressive course: quizzes, surveys, personalized coaching, virtual classes) to offer learners a unique and engaging training experience.

How can retail companies benefit from mobile training?

There are countless benefits of mobile training for retail companies:

• Access to content in real time and from any device, offering learners the best relational competencies, in-depth product knowledge and optimal understanding of the brand’s founding principles,
• A scalable tool, enabling training to be extended to heterogenous, global learner populations who are on the go,
• Promoting and upgrading employees’ skills to increase their efficiency in the field and to encourage career development,
• Completion and retention rates in the range of 90% and a greater impact on sales figures and customer relationships,
• Savings on costs associated with traditional training methods,

It is with a view to better addressing these needs that Teach on Mars is officially launching a partnership with Smile to Move.

Why did Teach on Mars choose to partner with Smile to Move to extend its mobile learning approach to the Italian retail sector?

Set up in 2007 in Treviso, Italy, this ebullient company helps Italian retail firms with their training strategy; from choosing the most suitable platform, right up to designing the training course itself. Boasting a team of 8 energetic and driven employees, Smile to Move implements an intercultural approach, enabling it to help clients with internationally oriented projects.

Apart from pooled and in-depth knowledge of the retail sector, it is the complementary mix of Smile to Move and Teach on Mars’ services which made this partnership feasible. Their impressive customer receptiveness, the real stakes behind each project undertaken and the playful aspect, are the values which immediately won over the Martian team! To make the partnership as fruitful as possible, the Italian firm will be responsible for:

• offering retail clients its consulting and pedagogical engineering services,
• providing optimal support by designing training programs adapted to the local culture and combining microlearning, mobile learning and gamification.

See you very soon for more news about this intergalactic partnership!