It occurred to us after watching some particularly bad product demos on the Web that marketers at software companies don't watch enough late night TV. And we're not talking about the re-runs of Three's Company or M*A*S*H. We are talking about the ubiquitous infomercials (and no, not the one of they really happy guy who can't stop grinning). If marketers paid more attention to how consumer household products are hawked, they might use that knowledge to create more compelling online demos -- demos that lead to fatter sales pipelines and shorter sales cycles.
Tub scrubbing viewers are motivated to call while tech prospects endure most demos
Infomercial creators are not haphazard in their approach to pitching their seemingly unnecessary gear. They know that the key to get consumers reaching for their phone and their credit card is a compelling demo. And a compelling demo at its heart is built around showcasing something the viewer can relate to. For example, when promoting a product to rid a bathtub of crud, the infomercial didn't waste time -- and test viewer patience -- by detailing all the technical aspects of the product (in this case, its ingredients and chemistry behind how the brew defeats crud). The video also didn't spend time showcasing how the product would remove crud from obscure places, such as behind the furnace or in the garage. It focuses on the tub, shows the product in action, illustrates the ease-of-use of the crud-removing process, and highlights the happy user who now has a crud-free tub.
That all may sound pretty obvious, but if it is, why do so many tech companies product truly bad or off-message online demos? It's not the design agencies fault -- their Flash gurus and artists can do whatever a client asks for (depending on the budget, of course!). What is missing is the connection between the tech product and the needs of the prospect. Specifically, a prospect wants to know what the product does and how it does it. A good demo will also infer what a user can do with the time and resources saved from using that product (the tech version of the happy tub scrubber).
Tech companies usually rely on a "horizontal approach" to demos that targets all prospects. The demo takes the viewer on a short journey that describes the radical inventions and cutting-edge-capabilities of the offering and then dives into speed and feed land. All the work marketing has done to segment and target users takes a backseat to the horizontal pitch that ends up as a "aren't we smart and we'll prove it" exercise. Occasionally, marketers take a vertical approach, but usually without the same gusto as the tub scrubbing marketers.
Some cool tech examples: Working products, long videos, and complementary animation
There are some good examples of demos out there. Not all demos need to follow the same path, and many can't. For example, some software can offer prospects a full user experience. The folks at SugarCRM, an hybrid open source/commercial product customer relationship management (CRM) company, offer online demos of the working product, complete with dummy data (SugarCRM demo).
Other companies offer length product demonstration videos. The interactivity is limited to forwarding, rewinding, and pausing the video, but when done right, it can be compelling. Apple's iPhone "guided tours" are a great example of this style (iPhone Getting Started demo).
But demos don't have to be lengthy or interactive. A great example is form Bose. Its L1 Model II performance speakers are radical in design, and musicians will wonder what they are like to set up. The company provides a very short Flash animation on speaker setup right on the product page that is unobtrusive yet instantly delivers a huge amount of value (see it here).
Final thoughts
It's not surprising that Apple spends the time and delivers strong demos. But the SugarCRM and Bose examples show that other companies and different styles of demos can be effective.
Our advice for the typical software vendor is to focus energy and resources on developing one compelling demo based on real world problems that you know -- through data, such as sales calls and market research -- that your most important prospects are facing. The demo should live on a variety of different landing pages on your site. The landing pages are cheap -- the demo is already paid for and the different pages are tied to different marketing campaigns (email, online advertising, parter referrals, third-party sites, etc.). Once in place, make sure you have those Web analytic tools ready so you can measure and improve on both your campaigns and the demo itself.
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