A demonstration is an essential component of the sales process. The cost of product demonstrations is obviously high, with venue, travel and other expenditures. It also involves salespeople with adequate knowledge and experience. A bad demonstration can pretty much shoot the sales “Deer” in the head. And while the traditional demo still has a time and place, recent tech innovations such as iPad web conferencing and other mobile conferencing have made the online demo even more popular.  Basically the Online Demo is the new rave.

Not only does an online demo cut costs on time and travel, it can make the entire procedure more effective by teaming together the sales professionals with the technology experts and other important staff members who would not otherwise have time to attend an off-site meeting. An online demo is a  digital multi-tool, which offers a wide variety of benefits to a business—branding, lead generation, sales acceleration, faster conversion into actual sales and more.

Making Your Online Demo Work

You already know the advantages of web conferencing in promoting your product. It is different and offers a new perspective. It solves problems and is targeted at the right market niche. Now, all you need to do to  is to educate the prospective customer and show them why they should buy this particular product. It’s time for the online demo. Here’s how to do an online demo that achieves your goals.

1. Define Online Demo Objectives
An online demo is a digital media story of your product, but beyond simple explanation of features, it also should be created with a marketing angle, giving the prospect a solution to their problem. A good online demo can increase sales by educating prospects, generating excitement, and creating new leads.

The start should keep the end in mind; business objectives, customer profiles and conversion rates should be analyzed before investing time and resources in the online demo. Different goals would mean different content, image and ultimate functionality of the online demo. It is important to be clear about the message that the online demo will convey to help formulate an overall strategy.

2. Show How You Solve the Problem
An online demo can only produce results if the prospects have an understanding of how the product will solve their problems. Just doing a complete feature dump will do nothing for you. The correct process in any sale is to first define the problem, then name the solution (your product), and then displaying value (i.e. Benefits of using your product).

First, the prospect must know the nature of the problem and this is something the online demo must clearly elaborate on. It should engage the customer both logically and emotionally. The online demo must lay bare the problem and then the problem solver, the product. A purchase decision is usually a combination of logic and emotion. And because it focuses on a specific customer’s problem, the online demo is better if it is customized to suit each presentation, rather than using a standard boilerplate demo for all clients.

3. Keep it Short and to the Point
The online demo should not run  too long, giving  every single detail about the product. Seriously, no one wants to listen to someone drag on about the features of your product. At most, name the core functionality and some features that set it apart from the pack.  In an online demo, the message should be sharp and clear; with a few minutes of brand positioning, with company profile and the product’s unique features.

The features and benefits of the products should be contained under three primary heads and the online demo should leave the audience thirsting for more. Remember, you don’t have to tell all in the online demo—you’ll have live people in the background, either on the phone or in a web conference, who can answer specific questions and close the deal during and after your online demo.

4. Market Your Demo
An online demo doesn’t have to be a one-time thing, Record the online demo and it can be an excellent marketing tool. The recorded webinar can be posted to social media sites for additional brand awareness, or can even be used during sales pitches.

Technology can help enhance the online demo in many ways. Software like Flash and Windows Media provide precise delivery, taking the online demo to clients worldwide at a click of a mouse. The user-friendly and flexible nature of the online demo allows it to be utilized across all the marketing platforms of the company.

The online demo can be on the website, be a part of the tradeshow booth, a component of webinars, email marketing campaigns, sales presentations and even the company e-newsletter. A link to the online demo can even be inserted in the e-mail signatures. Invest the time in developing one killer online demo and then share it widely. The more time you invest in your online demo, the greater the return on your investment.