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Customer Service Videos: 5 Common Mistakes in Training Videos

Posted by Deb Nicharot on June 13, 2019

Training videos are a vital part of businesses everywhere. From giant corporations to start-ups in an incubator, every company needs to on-board new employees at some point. And no matter the industry, training videos are often utilized to make that process easier. Customer service videos in particular are not only common, but crucial in communicating and training new employees on customer interactions.

After all, customer service representatives deal directly with new and returning customers. Therefore it’s absolutely necessary that they receive the proper training that effectively shares your brand’s culture, atmosphere, and messaging in order to be an accurate extension of your company.

But not all modern training videos are created equal. While training videos have been used for decades in the corporate world, there are plenty of mistakes companies still make in their effort to produce new video content. Here are 5 common mistakes when it comes to customer service training videos and how to avoid them.

1. Length of Customer Service Training Videos

These days the length of any content truly matters and plays an important role in whether or not the content is even consumed. That’s mostly attributed to the idea that audience attention spans are shrinking due to constant stimulation from multiple mobile devices, social media channels, and a general content overload.

The ideal length for video can vary, depending on a given video’s purpose and audience. But for training videos, research has shown that the ideal length for videos associated with teaching is around 6 minutes, though the cutoff is debatable. A separate study showed that anything longer than 15 minutes will be lost on viewers.

In either case, that simply means it’s more important now than ever that training videos are the proper length. The right length ensures that only the most important information is curated and taught. It also helps new employees retain the necessary training that will make them successful customer service representatives.

2. Training Videos That are Dry or Boring

While most people aren’t going out of their way to watch corporate training videos, that doesn’t mean they should be an absolute chore to get through. Nobody wants to watch a boring training video about their work, before they’ve even spent one day on the job.

Think about what the video content communicates about your company? New employees are helping you build your brand loyalty, and you want them to buy-in to your company’s culture as it grows. That starts right out of the gate with your training videos.

Make your training videos more exciting with: 

  • Relevant b-roll
  • Professional actors and speakers over current employees
  • Humor (as appropriate)
  • Motion graphics in post edits
  • Animation

Also, proper storyboarding and script-writing from the start goes a long way in making sure your videos are on target and effective.

The best customer service videos help your new employees shine.

3. A Failure to Motivate in Your Customer Service Videos

If training videos are too long and boring, they’re most likely having the opposite of their intended effect. The right training video should not only inform and train (imagine that!), but should also entertain and motivate. Your new employees should be ecstatic to be an extension of your brand. And even more excited to be a key part in helping your brand to grow.

With that said, consider the basic structure as well as the type and amount of information you include. Video can help maintain and improve new employee retention. But if you overload trainees with too much information, you risk overwhelming them from the start.

Again, think about the length and type of content you’re showing. Don’t take it too seriously. Provide the best information, in a clean package and keep it digestible. Understand that training videos are a gateway for new employees to get some experience before diving in and getting “real” on the job experience.

With that said, closely consider the types of situations you decide to portray.

4. Unrealistic Situations

Think about the situations customer service representatives might face on a day to day basis. For instance, the customer situations in the food and drink industry are going to be quite different from someone at the branch of a large financial corporation.

There should always be a level of authenticity to your videos, especially training videos. Utilize great b-roll footage, shoot on location at your company rather than a studio, and base your storyboarding and scriptwriting on actual situations your new employee may come across.

For customer service representatives, think about:

  • How to greet customers
  • Communicating product or brand knowledge
  • Dealing with conflict or unhappy customers
  • Maintaining your brand’s voice and values

Think about all of the necessary information and consider how to best package it in a video format that moves and excites new employees.

Shooting a single camera customer service video with seated speaker.

5. Using Old or Outdated Customer Service Training Videos

There’s an old cliche when it comes to training videos. It usually includes a stuffy backroom, a VCR, and a static-filled video from another era. It might be humorous and entertaining in its own way, but not in the sense that your brand will be taken seriously. And while “vintage” is definitely trendy, it probably doesn’t belong in your training videos.

Customer service videos in particular require modern updates, as targeted audiences and situations can change over the years as your company grows. These days we often talk about the importance of creating evergreen content. With so much content (not only videos, but photos, blogs and more) out there, it’s important to create digital experiences that can stand the test of time.

But when it comes to your corporate training videos, it’s probably a good idea to examine them annually to be sure that any updates or new information doesn’t need to be included.

Don’t be afraid to be innovative. Maybe try a completely different approach like an original animation creation. Just be true to your brand’s voice, the goals of your training videos, and the rest should take care of itself.

The Final Cut

At the end of the day, you know what you want from your employees. And you understand your brand’s culture and messaging, and how best to communicate and teach it to new employees. Your customer service representatives are one of the first physical extensions of your business. Avoid the common training video mistakes that put new employees, and your company, at a disadvantage.

And when you’re ready to shoot that shiny new customer service training video, Crews Control has you covered with the best production team. No matter where you’re located or what kind of project specifications you have in mind, let us connect you with the right video production crew for the job. Reach out today for your free quote.  And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram!

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