The gent up above is Stu Gregor, one of the original co-founders of Four Pillars gin. Stu stars in all four Four Pillars training lessons currently on the platform, and shows us why great training videos don't need to be sophisticated, or even particularly glossy (not a second of b-roll with this guy).

Instead, here’s his checklist

• Countertop ✅
• Product bottles ✅
• Clear information ✅
• Jazz hands (optional) 🤗

That’s it. Oh, and a heartfelt dollop of enthusiasm.

Proof it works? The Four Pillars Rare Dry product lesson, for example, currently boasts a 4.71/5 average rating (higher than the SBL platform average), and has been completed by over 7,500 learners.

Here’s what a few of our learners have said about Four Pillars’ lessons, too:

• “Easy reading and explained well” Nathan, Dan Murphy’s
• “Great learning” Kelda, Archer Hotel
• “Very informative, great Aussie product” Rosslyn, Empire Hotel
• “Didn’t know that about the oranges, now easy to recommend to my customers seeking a citrusy gin” Nakita, Dan Murphy’s Hawthorn East

We think there are some quick wins you can borrow from Stu and Four Pillars when it comes to building your own kick-ass training videos for Small Batch Learning:

• 60-second video length. We know that viewer drop-off increases after two minutes, and we also know that store teams (in retail) generally only have 30 seconds to recommend a product to customers. With that in mind, cramming in more content isn’t likely to generate better engagement or product advocacy on the shopfloor. Less is more.
• Clear, concise selling points. Stu doesn’t get bogged down in a ton of detail; he quickly calls out these simple to remember nuggets – the gin is homegrown in the Yarra Valley; Four Pillars has won an international gin distiller of the year title (twice); and Rare Dry is distilled with whole, fresh Aussie oranges (a relatable point of difference customers can easily share with friends to make them feel in-the-know!).
• Bottle visibility. Sounds obvious, but Stu makes sure the product is held up and clearly on show for the viewer. That’s a minimum requirement so you’re front-of-mind during customer conversations – learners need to recognise your product on their shelves.

Plus a bonus!

• There’s no drone shots taken above the distillery in Stu's training, no b-roll of the still bubbling away with botanicals, no background lounge jazz. Product training is about clarity, and while it’s great to give the learner some visual texture, to give context to your brand, this isn’t an end-consumer marketing video. So, if you’re short of time and money, put the effort into nailing – and communicating – those selling points instead.

If you already have a learner account and want to check out the Four Pillars training vids, log in to the platform and search Four Pillars via Browse > Product training. (If you don’t yet have a training account, sign up at demo.smallbatchlearning.com, and choose retail team when prompted.)

If you want to find out more about Small Batch Learning’s product enablement platform and how you can reach key retail and hospitality partners with kick-ass training content for your brand, click the link below. 

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