Product Knowledge
This domain covers the facts a sales associate must know about products: features, benefits, materials, sizes, care, compatibility, warranty and safe use. The exam tests accurate explanation and benefit selling.
Core rules and concepts
- A feature is what a product has or does; a benefit is what the customer gains from it.
- Product knowledge includes SKU identification, barcode use, price, ingredients or composition, dimensions, care instructions, warranty and return conditions.
- Use the FAB approach: feature, advantage, benefit.
- Product life cycle stages are introduction, growth, maturity and decline; assortment decisions differ by stage.
- Never guess specifications; check the label, pack, manual or approved store system.
Worked example
A customer asks which detergent suits a front-load washing machine. The associate should check the label for low-foam and front-load compatibility, then explain: “This is a low-foam formula, so it produces less excess suds; that helps protect the machine and gives a cleaner rinse.” Reasoning: the feature is low foam; the benefit is machine protection and rinse performance. Recommending a top-load high-foam product would be inaccurate.
Traps that cost marks
- Listing features without linking them to customer needs.
- Inventing warranty or ingredient claims.
- Criticising a competitor with unverified information.
- Ignoring care and safety instructions.
Key points
- Convert features into benefits with FAB.
- Verify specifications from approved sources.
- Match product to customer use, not to commission.
- Explain care, warranty and returns accurately.