Ten pumpkin spice questions that apply to training

Product marketers often don’t know when to say when. We’re thinking of a certain autumn-based spice movement. We believe it has gone too far. Pumpkin spice lattes? Sure, if that’s what gets you through the day. Pumpkin spice doughnuts? We’ll allow it. But product marketers have failed to put a lid on what was once a nice addition to the fall season. Et tu, Pringles?

Some products should never suffer the indignity of pumpkin spice flavoring or smell. If a product isn’t selling well, adding a gourd-based flavoring for a few weeks is unlikely right the ship.

Considering tweaks to your training program is a lot like considering the value of adding pumpkin spice to a product. We can think of several questions makers of margarine, vodka, potato chips, and the like should ask before adding pumpkin spice to their products. If you’re in charge of providing training content to employees or customers—and mulling some adjustments to it—you can ask some of the same questions the pumpkin spice crowd should ask themselves:

1. Do you have to? Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
2. Is it an acquired taste that few will ever acquire?
3. Are you getting carried away with an idea that should be put back on the shelf?
4. Does offering it just a few weeks every year still seem like overkill?
5. Will anyone miss it when the season ends?
6. Will anyone feel deprived if you don’t offer it next year?
7. If you do offer it again next year, will your customers say, “Again? Already?”
8. Does it leave an odd aftertaste?
9. Will it leave your customers with a deep feeling of regret after they try it?
10. Will you look back five years from now and wonder what you were thinking?

If you already have your training offerings nailed down—with no pumpkin spice flavoring added—and you’re looking to streamline the registration management process, contact us anytime that is convenient for you.