EN 
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If you automate garbage demos, you’re just sending out lots of garbage!
I just returned from DemoFEST West where there was a lot of discussion about automated demos sourcing and frameworks, but very few insights into improving the quality of the demos themselves!
I’ve reviewed dozens of automated demos and must report some very bad news: Only a few stood out as effective and compelling, most were awful!
- There were a LOT of demos that were product training.
- There were many instances of “let’s show as many features as we can.”
- There was a surprising lack of context with many (what problems are being solved? Who is this for?).
- Most demos never described the value or advantages of their solutions.
- There were surprisingly few call-to-action elements.
- Some demos required lengthy intake forms that discouraged prospects from completing the process (and hence they never saw the demos)!
Here are some raw notes from my reviews:
- Largely a list of features
- Feature list
- Feature glut
- Feature feature feature feature feature aaaagh!
- Terrible Tabs Death March
- Who is this for?
- No problem/solution discussion
- No setup, no problem/solution
- No communication of deliverables or value
- No value, no advantages, no benefits
- No value…
- No value…
- Focuses on “how things work” vs deliverables and outcomes
- Too long
- Very long
- Waaaay too long.
- Very confusing
- No narrative
- Too many options to explore
- Zzzzzzzzzz
- Zzzzzz
- Very confusing navigation!
- Hated the overlong intake form!
- Too much intake form
- Training video!
- Product training
- Training
- Training
- Trai… zzzzzzzz
- Why start with the boring example?
- Tell-show-tell feels like a piledriver in my brain!
- No summary
- I have no clue what this is for!
Do these demos move the buying/sales processes forward? I doubt it! In fact, they may be doing more harm than good. I’d guess many prospects say, “Well, I saw their demo and I’m not interested…” This conclusion seems to be confirmed by vendors who report poor conversion rates.
The morals are simple:
- If you amplify terrible music, you’re just making more unwanted noise!
- If you scale up the production of lousy food, you’re just serving tons of lousy food!
- And if you automate garbage demos, you’re just sending out lots of garbage!
Solutions? Read “Automated Demos Best Practices” here: https://greatdemo.com/automated-demos-best-practices/
Or for personal guidance, contact Natasja Bax (NBax@GreatDemo.com) or Paul Pearce (PPearce@GreatDemo.com) to apply real best practices for automated demos. Make every automated engagement a productive one!
An Offer: If you’d like free feedback on your automated demo(s), send them or their URL to me at PCohan@GreatDemo.com. First come, first served!