You know when you walk into a supermarket, shuffling up and down the aisle, checking off things from your list of groceries, and you come across a table decorated with fiesta memorabilia? The person at the table hands you a tortilla chip with some salsa in a paper cup. You try the salsa, and you like it. You discard the paper cup and leave with two jars of salsa towards the checkout counter.
If you’ve ever been in this scenario or something similar, you just got a product demo. And chances are you enjoyed it.
Simply put, a product demo provides the customer an overview of the product and its values. A brilliant understanding of product demos is very beneficial. It increases customer engagement, boosts sales, and a higher rate of conversions. There are two main types of product demos - 3D product demos and video product demos.
This article will give you a step-by-step guide on how to demo a product and why it's important.
A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Demo a Product
There are many more moving parts in effectively demoing a product than the salsa table at the supermarket. You must consider the ability to translate information precisely and concisely in a simple yet entertaining manner; customers love to be surprised, which builds upon their curiosity and hype, eventually leading to them buying the said product.
1. Understanding Your Product
First things first, you should know everything about your product. This is imperative and a foundation of a successful product demo. This lets you grasp your product's intricacies, functionalities, and purpose. Focus on your product's important details and features that will be valuable to customers. By understanding your product's USPs, you can easily highlight the product's value proposition. Anticipating possible customer questions or concerns allows you to proactively address them during the demo, demonstrating your expertise and building trust with the audience.
Being well-prepared and explaining clearly, you can confidently show how your product helps your customers with their problems and needs.
2. Practice and Rehearsal
When demoing a product, explaining everything about the product with no error rate is essential. Repeating the demo multiple times allows you to become familiar with the content, flow, and timing, reducing the chances of stumbling or forgetting critical points during the presentation. Each practice session presents an opportunity to gain confidence in your delivery, enabling you to engage with the audience. Seeking feedback from colleagues or peers is invaluable as they can offer fresh perspectives and identify areas for improvement that you may have yet to notice. Constructive criticism lets you fine-tune the demo, making it more impactful and polished. Receiving feedback from others helps you gauge the clarity and coherence of your presentation, ensuring that your message is conveyed clearly to the audience.
Accept the feedback, and work on it to further eliminate the points of errors. The more you practice and incorporate feedback, the more self-assured and well-prepared you'll be, making your product demo a compelling and convincing experience for your audience.
3. Know Your Audience
Knowing everything about your product comes with the even more important task of knowing more about your customer base. It is one of the fundamental aspects of a successful product demo. It involves gaining deep insights into the individuals or groups you will present to and understanding their preferences, pain points, and aspirations. With this knowledge, you can further tailor your product demo to address specific challenges they may be facing, showcasing how your product provides solutions.
Another factor to consider is your audience's technical knowledge or expertise. Some may be well-versed in the subject matter and seek in-depth information, while others may need more familiarity and prefer a more straightforward, non-technical approach. Adapting your presentation style and content to suit their level of understanding ensures that your message resonates effectively. By empathising with your audience and crafting a demo that speaks directly to their needs and aspirations, you create a compelling narrative that captivates their attention and establishes a more robust connection, increasing the likelihood of a successful outcome and conversion.
4. Planning the Demo
Planning every possible step is significant in getting better results on your product demo. Setting clear objectives and goals helps you define the purpose of the demo and what you aim to achieve with it. Whether to showcase specific product features, address customer pain points, or generate leads, having well-defined goals keeps your presentation focused and impactful. Developing a structured script or outline provides a roadmap for the demo, ensuring that you cover all essential points in a logical sequence. It helps you maintain a smooth flow throughout the presentation, preventing confusion or disorganisation. Determining the optimal duration and format is crucial in catering to your audience's preferences and needs. A live demo allows for real-time interactions, while a pre-recorded session offers the advantage of precision and editing. Interactive presentations engage the audience actively, making them feel more involved.
While planning, consider your audience's time constraints and attention spans to strike the right balance between delivering comprehensive information and keeping them engaged.
5. Capturing Attention and Building Rapport
A memorable and impactful product demo must capture attention and build rapport. To hook the audience from the start, craft an engaging introduction that sparks curiosity and relevance to their interests or pain points. An attention-grabbing statement, a thought-provoking question, or a compelling statistic can be effective hooks. Connecting with the audience involves weaving relatable stories or examples into your presentation.
Visual aids, such as well-designed slides or informative videos, enhance audience understanding and engagement. They help illustrate complex concepts, showcase product features, and break the monotony of a purely verbal presentation, keeping the audience attentive and interested throughout the demo.
6. The Actual Demo
The actual product demo is the moment to captivate your audience and showcase the actual value of your offering. Begin by providing a concise yet compelling overview of the product's purpose and its benefits to the users. Communicate how it addresses a specific problem or fulfils a particular need in the market.
As you demonstrate each key feature, focus on explaining its value practically. Show the audience how the feature enhances their experience, streamlines their processes, or solves their pain points. Highlight the unique selling points that set your product apart from competitors, illustrating why it is the superior choice.
Throughout the demo, ensure a seamless flow between each feature, emphasising how they work together to create a cohesive and powerful solution. By presenting a comprehensive view of the product's capabilities and benefits, you create a compelling narrative that resonates with the audience and increases their understanding of your product's value.
For example, Amazon created a product video demo for their 3rd generation Echo Dot line of their personal assistant, Alexa, speakers. They wanted to introduce the speakers, and to do so effectively, and they went to uncover the five things that Alexa can do. Now, we all know Alexa can do a lot more than just five things, but their take was to condense the message to a couple of known factors that the customers would like to know in the introductory part. The video covers a lot of information in just 3 minutes but only tries to cover some of the product's features since it's an introductory demo. They know the video's purpose: to give an overview of the product.
They focus on providing a simple and basic introduction without overwhelming the viewers with too much detail. This, in turn, leads to the customers going through their official YouTube page to get more information on specific features. By condensing their message, they got more time to create follow-up videos on the other features.
7. Addressing Questions and Concerns
Plan your demo in such a way that you can get to address the questions only at the end. Addressing questions and concerns during the product demo is essential for engaging the audience and gaining their trust. Encourage audience participation by making it easy for them to ask questions and share their thoughts. This helps keep them attentive and lets you understand their level of interest and understanding. When questions arise, provide clear and concise answers backed by evidence or data when relevant to add credibility to your responses.
Confidently handling questions shows that you know your stuff and that the product is valuable. Resolving concerns proves that you genuinely care about their needs and can offer necessary solutions. Creating an interactive environment and being prepared to address questions and problems makes the demo more enjoyable for the audience and increases their chances of being interested in your product and purchasing.
8. Closing the Demo
On average, most people are attentive during the ending part of the demo rather than in the middle. This is why closing on a good note reinforces your message. Summarise the key points and benefits highlighted during the presentation, recapping the product's value and how it meets the audience's needs. Provide a clear call to action, guiding them to sign up for a trial, contact sales, or purchase. Express genuine gratitude for their time and attention, showing appreciation for their engagement and interest in the product. This final impression leaves a lasting positive impact, encouraging the audience to take action and further explore the product's offerings.
9. Follow-Up and Evaluation
You aren’t done with your product demo even after you finish your demo. It's important to follow up with the audience by emailing them with more information and resources to help them decide. Asking for feedback is also important to know if they liked the demo and what can be improved. By listening to their feedback, we can determine what worked well and what needs to be improved. Evaluating the demo helps us see how it impacted the audience and if we achieved our goals. Using this feedback, we can improve future demos to make them more exciting and convincing for potential customers.
Following these steps will help you make an excellent demo that will cater to your audience and bring in the necessary conversion rates you desire.
How NOT to Spoil Your Demo
Consider the following points before you start presenting a product demo.
1. Excessive Technical Details
Avoid using too many technical words or complicated explanations that might confuse the audience when showing your product. Instead, focus on the main features and how they benefit the audience. Adjust the level of technical information based on what the audience can understand easily. Keep it clear and straightforward to ensure everyone can follow along and understand the value of your product.
2. Being Unprepared
Prepare well for the demo to avoid being disorganised, forgetting important points, or stumbling during the presentation. Create a clear and organised script or outline to guide you through the demo smoothly. Practice the demo multiple times to become more confident and deliver it without problems. Being prepared helps you give a polished and valuable demo.
3. Focus on Benefits
When you talk about your product, don't just list its features. Make sure to explain how those features will directly help the customer. Show them the benefits they will get from using your product and how it solves their specific problems or meets their needs. Connect the features to the value it brings to them, so they can see why it's valuable for them.
4. Ignoring the Customers
Neglecting to engage the audience during the demo can lead to disinterest or distraction. Make it interactive by encouraging them to participate. Invite questions, address their concerns, and ask for feedback throughout the presentation. When the audience is engaged, they stay focused and interested in what you're showing them.
5. Lack of Adaptability
Remember, every audience is different, with their own needs and interests. Avoid giving the same demo to everyone. Customise your presentation to match what each group wants and cares about. Adapting to their specific interests will make your demo more relevant and substantially impact them.
Final Thoughts
Product demonstrations are essential for influencing customer decisions and satisfaction. Following the techniques in this guide can improve your demos and achieve great results. Understand your product well, including its key features and benefits. Be ready to answer customer questions and build trust with your expertise. Practice and seek feedback to make your demos smooth and impactful. Tailor your presentation to match your audience's interests and knowledge. Plan your demo carefully with clear goals, engaging stories, and step-by-step explanations. Connect the product's features to how it helps customers. Address questions and concerns during the demo to keep the audience entertained. End with a strong closing, restating the key points and encouraging action. Lastly, follow up and seek feedback to refine your demos and create meaningful connections with potential buyers. This can boost sales satisfaction and lead to loyal customers for your business.
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FAQs
What are the steps of a product demo?
The steps of a demo are: Understand the product, plan the presentation, engage the audience, demonstrate the product, address questions, and close with a call to action.
What is an example of a product demonstration?
An example of a product demonstration is a tech company showcasing the features of a new smartphone model to potential customers.
What are the four basic rules for demonstrating a product to a customer?
The four basic rules for demonstrating a product to a customer are: Keep it simple, focus on benefits, engage the customer, and address objections.
How do you structure a good demo?
To structure a good demo, start with an engaging introduction, demonstrate features with benefits, provide real-life examples, and end with a clear call to action.
