Demonstrations are among the most valuable tools for companies looking to prove their value to customers.
An effective demo boosts awareness of your company and the solutions you can provide. It’s also an opportunity to connect with your customers on an emotional level by demonstrating that you understand the pain points they’re facing.
In the past, demos were a common feature of many B2B and B2C sales strategies. Professionals would travel to offices and businesses to highlight the features of their tools and generate sales. Unfortunately, these in-person demos weren’t always as efficient or cost-effective as they appeared.
Regular travel ate up the company budget, while simultaneously taking valuable time out of employee schedules. Fortunately, the challenges that arose in 2020 prompted many companies to begin considering virtual alternatives to their traditional business practices.
The age of virtual demos has begun, and today, we’re going to discuss the benefits of using this technology in your company. Consider these advantages...
Demonstrate Your Product’s Value
A virtual demo can be an effective way to showcase your product’s value in a time when your customers can’t necessarily test the product or item out for themselves.
If you know that your customers might need a little extra help understanding what makes your solution so appealing, a demo can be an excellent way to highlight your unique selling points.
You could even run a demo that doubles up as a webinar to provide customers with tips on how they can get the most out of your solution from day one.
A demo that’s both informative and educational could assist with answering any of the questions your customers have that may be keeping them “on the fence” about their purchase.
Expand Your Sales Reach
Even with an unlimited travel budget, there are only so many potential leads that your team can reach in one day. If you want to expand your reach and connect with a wider range of customers, virtual demos can be a great way to do that.
You don’t have to worry about finding the money for a plane trip or car ride. Instead, just use an online calendar to find a time that works for both of you and set up a video call.
Online demonstrations and virtual introductions to your company are excellent ways to connect with more potential customers, without losing the personal touch that makes your business special.
Your agents can take full advantage of the time they save travelling to different leads to ensure that they deliver the best possible pitch to each customer.
Improved Onboarding
If you’re keen to prove yourself with new customers, you can also use a virtual demo as part of the onboarding process.
If your customers are already aware of what your service or solution can do after reading through your marketing materials, use your demo to give them an introduction to how everything works.
You can create a full video onboarding session that answers some of the most common questions your sales and marketing teams encounter when interacting with clients. Recording this video gives you something valuable to send your audience whenever they make a purchase, so they can begin to use your solution right away.
If your product regularly updates with new services and features, you can record further videos and virtual demonstrations to keep your clients in the loop through email, without the need for face-to-face interactions or travel.
You don’t even need to send PowerPoint presentations and documents separately. You can include all of the info your customer needs in one event.
Ensure Business Continuity
If your company relies heavily on demos to earn new leads and secure long-term investments, then a disaster preventing you from visiting teams in person could bring your business grinding to a halt.
Many companies in 2020 discovered that, during the pandemic, they were unable to interact with their clients in-person. This created significant challenges with onboarding, sales, and even maintaining client relationships.
Virtual demonstrations and digital interactions can replace some of those face-to-face interactions that your customers crave.
They’re a way to build trust in your product, show your thought leadership, and offer advice on how to use the solution.
What’s more, these services continue to work even when you can’t be face to face with your customers.
Improved Business Insights
Finally, interactions with customers in-person are difficult to measure. You’ll often struggle to determine how much your company benefited from the event unless you get direct feedback from a customer as part of a review or survey.
On the other hand, when you deliver demos virtually, or over the web, you can use analytics tools to get insights into what works.
For instance, there are tools that show you how long people usually spend watching your video before losing interest. This tells you how quickly you need to get the most valuable information across in a presentation.
Analytics can also show you whether you’re more likely to maintain loyal customers after sending a demo video or not. Tracking technology and A/B testing gives you a better idea of the ROI associated with your demonstrations.
Embrace the Virtual World
Demonstrations are still a valuable tool in the sales and onboarding landscape. However, the experiences that your customers expect from these demos are beginning to change. If you haven’t invested in a virtual alternative yet, now could be the time to evolve.
