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'Show, Don't Tell': How to Do a Successful SaaS Product Demo

 

A good product demo can be the difference between closing a deal or losing out to a competitor. For SaaS businesses, demos are an essential way to let your potential customers see what your product can do.


If you want to increase your leads and sales, you need to give your customers what they want, and that involves going beyond telling them why your solution is an excellent fit for their business.


Here is where the key presales tool known as a product demo can step in.



What is a product demo?

A product demo, short for product demonstration, is a way to show your prospects the value of your product. Potential users can listen to colleagues talk about why an app is excellent, and they can read all about its benefits, but nothing beats taking the product for a spin.



In short, the product demo is a central piece of a solid SaaS presales strategy. When done correctly, demos help your prospects experience how they can get value from a product. Once they’re convinced that a solution will make their life easier, they’re far more likely to convert on their own or with the help of one of your sales professionals.


But how do you set up a product demo so that it delivers results and helps you generate warm leads and better conversions? Let’s find out!



How to do a successful product demo?

The goal of a successful product demo is to show your prospects how your product:


  1. Addresses their pain points

  2. Solves these problems

  3. Provides tangible value of some kind (i.e., saves them money or time, enhances their productivity).


Each step of your product demo should keep these points in mind. 



STEP 1: Research

All effective sales and marketing campaigns understand their target audience. A product demo is no different. SaaS teams should know what customers expect and need from a solution and tailor a product demo to deliver on those expectations.


You will have done a lot of audience research before you built your product. So, use this analysis to dive deeper into what your prospects want from a demo. 


A few key questions you should ask at this stage are: 


  • Are there particular features or functions that will be valuable to your prospects? 

  • What is your aha moment?

  • Are there parts of your product where value is not immediately apparent?


Note the answers down so you can use them to inspire your SaaS product demo.


Next up, think about the commercial aspects of your product. What kind of users does your product serve? Is it an enterprise product built for big teams? Is it a niche offering that will be an excellent option for smaller organizations? Is it general enough to be used by anyone?


Again, use this information to help formulate the narrative of your demo. If you serve dramatically different audiences, consider ways that you can personalize your demo to engage each demographic.


STEP 2: Decide what stage of the buyer's journey to deliver your product demo

Another thing you need to decide is when to provide your product demo. Many SaaS teams take things in this order: 


  1. Generate a lead

  2. Perform prospect discovery

  3. Show a product demo

  4. Convert via your sales team


However, it’s not the only way you can do things. You can also make your demo part of your presales or inbound marketing. For example, you can host an interactive product demo that prospects can request. During the demo, you can perform discovery and then pass qualified leads on to your sales team.


The order in which you do things depends on various factors, like your customer journey, product, and target market.


STEP 3: Pick the features to highlight

Most products can do a variety of things. However, the most effective product demos are lean and to the point. Prospects are short on time, and there is only so much information that they can take in at one time. So, do yourself a favor and determine which features and functions you should highlight.


Some questions you need to ask yourself here are:


What is your product's aha moment? In case you don’t know, an aha moment is a step or set of steps a potential customer needs to take to realize the value of your product. In short, it’s the moment when everything comes together and you understand the potential benefits of your solution. 


Additionally, you should also think about the following:


  • What features will your prospect use every day?

  • Which features directly solve their pain points?

  • What aspects of your product will provide users with the most value?


There should be some crossover between these points. So, organize your product demo to focus on these crucial benefits and, at most, touch briefly on other less vital functionalities.


STEP 4: Focus on problem-solving

All products should solve a problem. Once you’ve done audience research and decided on your flagship features, it’s time to focus on problem-solving.


Consumers buy products because they have a pain point they need to resolve. As we mentioned earlier, this could be about achieving an outcome that would help their company, completing a process quicker, or saving money without sacrificing quality.


The narrative of your SaaS product demo should make it clear to your prospects that you understand and empathize with their pain point. Then, show them how they can solve these issues with your solution.


Keep it practical and demonstrate the process.


STEP 5: Personalization

According to research, about 80% of consumers say they are more likely to buy products from companies that provide a tailored experience. Personalizing your product demo is crucial. 


Now, of course, you can’t always prepare a hyper-specific product demo for each person. It’s simply not scalable as a process. However, you can add personalization by making your product demo interactive. 


Instead of taking the lead, your potential customer can direct the action and explore the product’s possibilities. Each of their actions can be tied to various pieces of information, like videos, product walkthroughs, and tooltips.


On top of that, you can also boost interactions by allowing prospects to ask questions that can be answered via your knowledge base or during follow-up.


When you deliver sales demos in person, you can tailor them to each customer. However, when you use a platform like Usetiful, you can produce the same effect as a user-guided demo if you can tie the relevant information into your demos.


STEP 6: Automate your product demo

Some people think you should always have a sales professional demonstrate your product. However, the way people buy SaaS products has changed over recent years. In fact, Gartner suggests that around 70% of consumers prefer self-service digital tools. This preference is good news for SaaS businesses.


Automating your product demo has many advantages. Here are a few of the significant benefits:

  • You don’t have to schedule a time when you and the prospect are free

  • Prospects can engage with the product on their own time and at their own pace

  • It saves your sales team a lot of time

  • You can focus your intention on the most qualified, warmest leads

  • It shortens the sales cycle when there are multiple decision-makers at one company

  • The process is highly scalable and repeatable


Of course, that’s not to say that your salespeople won’t be involved. A key aspect of presales is using technology to prime prospects on why your solution will provide them value. You can take care of any technical objections or concerns when done correctly. Then, all that is left is for your sales team to move in and close the deal.


STEP 7: What happens after the demo is just as important

What happens in presales, for example, a product demo, is vital for convincing your prospects that a product will bring them value. However, when it comes to closing deals, there are other things you need to consider.


Usetiful is geared toward helping you get the information you need to drive your conversions. For example, our Sales Assistant can help answer your prospect's queries, drawing from your knowledge base. Additionally, it can note these questions so you can follow up with your sales team.


Whatsmore, you can track the demo results and see where your prospect is engaged and where they lose interest. Finally, all the information can be integrated with your CRM, giving you a pipeline of leads.


Some products will convert on their own; most require some follow-up. So, at minimum, include a CTA on your demo, and ensure you get in touch with your leads after your automated demo.


Why Usetiful is your best choice for product demos that convert

A successful product demo has many stages. When you need to provide demos at scale but with high levels of personalization, Usetiful is your best bet. You can use our no-code platform to overlay videos, walkthroughs, tooltips, and more on top of your product demo, creating a more profound, information-rich customer experience.


Whatsmore, our platform is easy to use and supports multiple languages, meaning you can sell at scale across a vast geographical domain.


Get in touch today if you want to create personalized automated product demos to boost your presales activities and grow your sales.

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