Benefits of Product Demos

Demos beat memos, and forking beats talking. Compare a vibe-coded demo with the typical one-pager and you'll find that: Demos eliminate ambiguity. A bullet point saying 'improve user onboarding' means different things to different people. A demo shows exactly what that improvement looks like. They reveal hidden complexity early. Documents make everything sound equally feasible, but reality is messier. A demo immediately exposes which features are more complicated to implement and where the real technical challenges lie. Demos generate actionable feedback. Instead of abstract comments like "make it even more user-friendly," you get specific reactions like: “I expected this to happen when I clicked here." They build genuine buy-in. Stakeholders who nod along to a feature list often have no real conviction. But when they use a demo and think, "wow, this actually solves the customer problem," you've created true believers. Demos accelerate decision-making. Written proposals often circulate for weeks while teams debate theoretical concerns. A demo forces immediate, concrete decisions. You either like what you see or don't. It's the golden era of the "show, don't tell" approach. In a world where you can prototype faster than you can write yet another one-pager, showing beats telling every time. Next time you're tempted to write yet another one-pager, ask yourself: could I *build* this instead?

Activation rate: +30%. Conversion to paid: 2x. Time-to-value: down from 6 weeks to 2. Three months ago, we changed how we run demos. We thought it would just clarify June—instead, it drove 3 record-breaking months. Most startups treat demos as product walkthroughs. We certainly did 😅 But great demos don’t just explain the product. They reveal how your best customers use your product. They change the way people see their problems 🤯 The impact of updating our demos was huge: • Activation rate ↑ 30% • Paid conversions 2× higher • Time-to-value dropped from 6 weeks to 2 .. leading to 3 consecutive record-breaking months!! If you're looking for some inspiration on how to run better demos, here’s how we do it—in 30 minutes: 1️⃣ Start with questions (10-15 min) Before showing anything, we dig into their biggest pain point. What’s broken? What’s slowing them down? 2️⃣ Show how to send data to June (30 sec) Just quick reassurance that setup is simple. 3️⃣ Unpack the analytics backbone (2 min) Two years of development in one section: everything they can do with our analytics. It’s way more advanced than what they’re used to. 4️⃣ Company profiles (3 min) How users create company-level metrics, not just user-level ones. This is when they really see the power of June. We’d like to have this part sooner in our demos, but we found that explaining the analytics backbone first is more logical. 5️⃣ Computations (2 min) How they can turn raw data into meaningful signals: drop in usage, drop in active seats, % of active users vs total seats. Anything, really. 6️⃣ CSM workflows (2 min) Connecting it all to how CSMs work: organized lists based on key use cases, account ownership, CSM pulse. 7️⃣ Actions (2 min) How CS teams go from reactive to proactive: Slack alerts for accounts at risk, CRM sync to trigger tasks, etc. 8️⃣ Source of truth (1 min) How June integrates with Stripe, and more—giving them a complete, enriched customer view. 9️⃣ Wrap-up (3 min) Final moments to check if the demo resonated, talk pricing, and outline next steps (POC, onboarding). ________ Our demos have driven the most growth in the last three months. I’ll share more on what else has worked. But if you’re looking for an immediate win, take a hard look at your demos! They might be the most powerful lever you’re not using. Hope this helps 💜 Enzo

"How does Storylane use Storylane?" I get asked this all the time. Fair question. So here's our actual playbook (so far): 1/ Website: Interactive demos on our homepage, product pages, and landing pages. Adding interactive demos to enterprise pages soon (should've done that way sooner). 2/ Champion enablement: GOLD. Custom interactive demos for champions at target accounts. Instead of hoping they explain your product right, you control the narrative. They use these interactive demos to sell internally. We've closed deals way faster. 3/ Conference booths: Screen with interactive demos on autopilot. Simple but works every time. 4/ Demo QR codes at events: On slides or booth backdrop. Attendees scan, experience interactive demos on phones and take your product back home with them. Perfect when booth is packed. 5/ Outbound: Stop telling, start showing. "Here's a 2-min interactive demo" beats feature pitches. Response rates? Night and day difference. 6/ LinkedIn: For announcing new features, add interactive demos links so viewers click through actual product, then book/signup. Or show it as native content on LinkedIn (video/GIF) by downloading your interactive demos. 7/ Demo-led SEO (DLS): Targeted ICP's search queries with tutorial pages with no text and only interactive demos (like "how to merge a custom field in Salesforce"). Grew from 20K to 220K monthly visits in <6 months. Google is loving DLS content. 8/ BOFU blogs: For "Best X Alternatives" posts, embed interactive demos of competitors' products. Visitors evaluate options on your page instead of bouncing to other sites. Game changer. 9/ Product launch campaigns: Hard to time product release date with marketing launch date. So instead create interactive demos from the staging environment of the feature while in development and use it for your launch. Use these interactive demos in webinars and give waitlist early access to the preview with a demo of the feature. It worked amazing for us. 10/ Feature announcements: One-line email + interactive demo link beats lengthy explanations of your feature every time. 11/ Win-back campaigns: Show churned customers what they're missing with interactive demos of new features since they left. Works better than any "we've improved" messaging. 12/ Product validation: Not sure if a feature is worth building? Create quick interactive demos using Figma screens and demo it to gauge prospects' excitement. Saved months of development. 13/ Support: Replace long help articles with interactive demos. People prefer seeing how to solve problems with interactive demos. 14/ Sales Enablement: Give sales team persona-specific and feature-specific interactive demos. Reuse these interactive demos as YouTube content too. 15/ Social - Feature announcements with embedded interactive demos get way more engagement than standard posts. Our demo playbook is continuing to expand, but this is what's working well right now. Hope this helps!

Arcade thought traditional product demos and sales pitches were boring. Which is why they designed the concept of “Demo Driven Development” with the mantra “show, don’t tell.” Since launch, over 9,000 teams have adopted Arcade to create interactive and immersive product demos, resulting in over 37,000 demos created globally in 2023 alone. We already know interactive demos work, and in Arcade’s inaugural benchmarks report, we can start to understand how to leverage key elements to maximize engagement. The report analyzed demos with over 100 views and provided the following recommendations: → Include an introduction chapter to boost play rates by 72%. → Build multiple chapters and advanced branching to increase personalization options and relevancy. → Incorporate sound as a vital extra layer of engagement, with demos featuring sound seeing 8% higher play rates. → Strategically place CTAs to facilitate higher interaction and guide users toward the intended outcome (signing up, opting for a trial, etc.). The findings couldn’t be clearer: interactive and visually engaging demos improve user engagement and conversion rates. Read the report to access more data-driven strategies for capturing and retaining customer interest through your demos: https://lnkd.in/g_fdNg3B

We ran 2 A/B tests with our homepage interactive demo. One test was inconclusive, but one showed a 33 - 50% higher CTR. The goal was to prove if demos segmented by persona perform better than a generic overview demo. For some background, last year we experimented with a persona homepage demo and saw: • +45% lift in folks who submitted our book a demo form • 6.3x improvement in number of MQLs • Roughly 2x lift in demo completion This year, we wanted to repeat but with our new native A/B testing. Below is a breakdown of the two tests we ran. Test #1: Segmented demos format (select persona upfront) → List of roles (sales, marketing, product) → Buttons to choose your role Test #2: Overview demos format → A short 13-step demo → A demo with a short opening that goes into a longer checklist Each test ran for 1.5 weeks. Each demo received between 850–1,130 visitors Success was measured by in-demo CTR (“Book a Demo” or “Start Free” CTA) Results: ▪︎ Segmented demos had an average CTR of 25% (format didn't matter) ▪︎ Short overview demo had an average CTR of 18% ▪︎ Long checklist demo had an average CTR of 15% According to our 2025 State of the Interactive Product Demo, a 25% CTR is almost in the top 10% of Navattic demos (the top 10% had a 28% CTR) Takeaways: ▪︎ What didn’t matter: the layout of the segmentation ▪︎ What did matter: letting users self-select their role before starting a demo If your product works for multiple personas, try testing a demo segmented by role, use case, or industry. Tomorrow I'll share more about how you can run similar tests with our new native A/B testing.

Demos aren’t for closers anymore. They’re for first impressions. Today’s buyers don’t want to “book a meeting.” They want answers - now. That’s why the smartest GTM teams use interactive demos at every funnel stage: 🔹 Top of Funnel (Awareness) → Let users experience the product instantly. → No long sign-up forms. Just click, explore, and engage. 🔹 Middle of Funnel (Consideration) → Personalize demos to show exactly what they care about. → Build trust faster. Lower drop-off. 🔹 Bottom of Funnel (Decision) → Help champions sell internally. → No one reads case studies—everyone tries demos. • Interactive demos boost engagement by 2–3×. • Shorten sales cycles by 30–40 %. • Give users control—and confidence—before they talk to sales. Buyers don’t want slides. They want hands-on experience - early, fast, and frictionless. In 2025, interactive demos won’t be “nice to have.” They’ll be your first (and best) seller. Comment “Demo” if you want a simple guide on where to embed demos in your funnel. Follow Gaurav Bhattacharya for simple, sharp GTM + AI & sales insights.

When you stop by a site like Walnut's, you're not just browsing—you’re trying their product. From the moment you land on the homepage, an interactive demo pulls you in, inviting you to explore the interface and see firsthand how it works for you. No forms, no pressure—just an immediate, personalized engagement. This is, of course, the way. 87% of B2B buyers research products online before making a purchase decision, and 77% prefer to self-serve rather than speak with a sales representative. They don’t want to talk to us! But they still need a clear idea of what they’re getting. The more you can effectively demonstrate that on your home page, the better, and customization is key. Buyers expect instant access and personalization. They want to explore solutions on their own terms, and they want to see exactly how a product will solve their specific pain points. That’s why companies using interactive demos see a 10X increase in conversion from demo to MQL. It’s worth putting in the work because it gives the prospect a framework to engage with your product with the guardrails on, and can be much more effective than watching a generalized video recording. Buyers want to experience your product, not just hear or read about it.

There's nothing better than watching a prospect have their "aha" moment happen during a demo. And this got me thinking - what if there are other "aha" moments I can help create for our market? This is a huge opportunity for interactive product demos to help. 1) The relevant "aha" moment On a demo, we get to the "aha" moment more often because we have a ton of information about what's relevant to the prospect on the call with us. For companies who sell to multiple segments/personas or have multiple products, you can get ahead of this by leveraging those webpages on your site. Prospects want to know "is this for me?" and this is the opportunity to show them that it is by having an interactive product demo related to that segment, product, use case, etc. 2) The new feature "aha" moment Many of us struggle with new feature adoption. Customers get comfortable with "what they know" within the platform and stick to that. Instead of sending a bland feature announcement email or monthly product update that explains how these new features work, *show* customers how they work by including these interactive product demos directly in the email. 3) The resolution "aha" moment There's nothing worse than waiting hours (or days) to hear back from customer support on a request you put in. Especially when you've looked through the help center and the article that is supposed to help solve the problem we experience seems like it's written in a foreign language. This is where an interactive product demo can be a huge savior. Determine what your team gets support tickets for most regularly that aren't resolved by the help center + require human intervention. Make an interactive product demo that takes them through step by step how to resolve. And voila - happy customers + an unburdened customer support team. These are just 3 of many use cases that I'm building out for us with Storylane. I used to think interactive product demos were overhyped. Now that I think about going beyond the generic "replace a demo with an AE" use case, I feel like we're just scratching the surface on where these will help us grow. #storylanepartner