What is a Demo Creation Platform?

Most enterprise software exists to solve a problem, not support the sales process, which makes it challenging to give buyers a persuasive, independent product experience.

Demos bridge this gap, showcasing a software’s value while demonstrating its functionality, but even demos come with a set of limitations. Making a homegrown demo environment isn’t easy, customizing it is even harder, and both require engineering involvement.

So when demo creation platforms entered the scene a few years ago, B2B SaaS companies greeted them with a lot of enthusiasm⁠—and for good reason.

What is a demo creation platform?

Demo creation platforms make it possible for go-to-market teams to generate and share high-fidelity, custom interactive demos that look, feel, and behave just like a software solution without developer involvement—no need for coding experience, no hassle, and no delays.

More specifically, demo platforms allow you to create a pixel-perfect clone (not to be confused with a screenshot) of your real front-end product experience, showcasing your product’s full power and interactivity in a safe sandbox demo environment.

And sales engineers tend to be fans. They can better support sales and the company when every custom demo doesn’t require their time and technical expertise, especially when it’s early in the sales cycle.

A fully integrated demo creation platform can serve the needs of everyone on the go-to-market team. Demo creation platforms enable both presales and sales teams to create live demos, or interactive product walkthroughs that can be used as leave-behinds for committee decision-makers. These same interactive elements help marketing generate and share guided demos or product tours that engage buyers far more than a static video ever did.

What’s specifically awesome about demo creation platforms?

They don’t require any coding knowledge. Remember when you needed to understand HTML or cascading style sheets if you wanted to create a website, or at least an attractive one? Then, platforms like Wix and Squarespace made it possible for everyone to produce beautiful, interactive websites.

No-code demo creation platforms empower presales, sales and marketing teams in a similar way. They eliminate technical prerequisites that prevent anyone from generating live and guided demo experiences.

Because of this, no-code demo creation platforms have unlocked the sales funnel, making it possible to independently create and share custom live and interactive guided demo experiences with buyers at every stage of the enterprise buying cycle — from the awareness phase, all the way to close. This can help teams increase their sales capacity, and accelerate win rates

They replicate an authentic product experience. While not every demo creation platform performs at the same level, they all strive to deliver a high-fidelity replica of a true software interaction. (Some succeed, and others don’t. But more on that later.)

Demo creation platforms generate a product experience that looks, feels, and responds like an authentic software interaction. Minus the potential for common demo failures, including errors, glitches, or fear that another salesperson will log in and interrupt a live product demonstration.

They improve lead generation and pipeline conversion.  Good demo creation platforms allow users to create interactive guided demos that are more engaging than a passive video.

Interactive elements engage buyers’ attention and direct the flow of their product experience. Marketing and early sales teams increase lead generation and pipeline conversion when they share product tours at the top of the funnel.

They deliver data analytics. Demo creation platforms collect and relay usage data that help sales teams understand prospect behavior with actionable insights. Some include an intuitive dashboard that lets sales teams view:

✔️ Overall usage: everyone and every demo.

✔️ Specific usage: everyone and one demo.

✔️ Individual usage: one demo, one user.

The best demo creation platforms take it to the next level by integrating that data into their user’s existing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Marketing Automation (MAP) platforms, like Salesforce and HubSpot.

Why does this matter? If your demo creation platform integrates with Salesforce, sales are much less likely to miss a qualified opportunity.

For example, demo creation platform users set parameters within their own Salesforce platform, determining which demo usage actions will trigger which Salesforce prompts. When the usage data is pushed into Salesforce and meets these predetermined parameters, the prompt is automatically triggered. It might look like this:

• Usage parameters: 10 demo views, 2 users viewed.
• Salesforce prompt: Send an action notification to sales leaders.

How demo creation platforms help enterprise SaaS companies accelerate sales cycles

Demo creation platforms like Reprise are perfect for enterprise SaaS companies that want to speed up the sales cycle and free up their team’s presales resources. When product tours and demos are used across the full buyers’ journey, organizations see resulting improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of their Solutions Engineering teams. This, in turn, positively impacts win rates and sales acceleration.

In fact, an independent study of the economic impact of Reprise demonstrates this impact for presales, sales, and marketing teams.

Sales Engineering and Presales

A 20% reduction in sales engineering involvement in demonstrating product value. Reducing the number of informational demo requests frees up SE resources by 10x and eliminates bottlenecks. This gives engineering the bandwidth to provide technical support where it is needed most.

A 400% increase in demo capacity, without additional SE resources. Forget the cost and time it takes to maintain a homegrown demo environment. With Reprise, teams can demo at scale without the need for more SEs to maintain the demo environment.

Sales & Marketing

A 60% improvement in website interactions converted to leads. Teams can create a library of demos segmented by feature, use case, and more — letting buyers self-educate on what matters to them. Reprise’s demo usage insights also help optimize sales outreach and shorten sales cycles by tailoring demos to buyers’ identified needs.

A 50% increase in marketing staff productivity and a 323% improvement in ROI. Demo creation platforms make it easy for marketers to produce multiple iterations of their product tours, customizing them for vertical markets, buyer personas, and specific use cases. This reduces time-to-value and lowers collateral costs.

Integrating a Demo Creation Platform into Your Sales Process

When it comes to enterprise sales, one-size-fits-all approaches are rapidly losing their effectiveness. This is where personalizing the demo for potential customers becomes critical. It’s not just about delivering a standard presentation; it’s about tailoring the experience to resonate with each prospect’s specific needs and pain points.

Personalizing the Demo for Potential Customers

The importance of personalizing the demo cannot be overstated. It creates a connection between your product and the potential customer that transcends the generic sales pitch. Instead of bombarding prospects with information that may or may not be relevant, you’re presenting a solution that speaks directly to their challenges and aspirations. This level of customization makes the prospect feel valued and understood, which can significantly impact their perception of your brand.

But personalization goes beyond making a prospect feel special; it’s a strategic move that showcases the true value of your product. By addressing the prospect’s unique needs and pain points during the demo, you’re demonstrating how your solution can solve their specific problems. This tailored approach resonates more deeply with potential customers because they can see firsthand how your product can make their jobs easier or more profitable. In essence, personalized demos bridge the gap between the features of your product and the tangible benefits it can bring to their business.

Best of all, personalizing demos can translate into real business results, such as closing deals and increasing conversion rates. When potential customers see a clear and relevant demonstration of how your product meets their needs, it builds trust and confidence in your solution. This trust is a key driver in the decision-making process. Customers are more likely to commit to a purchase when they believe that the product aligns perfectly with their requirements and will deliver the promised value.

So, how do you achieve this level of personalization efficiently and effectively? This is where a demo creation platform comes into play. These platforms empower your presales and sales teams to create personalized, step-by-step virtual tours and live demos that highlight the unique selling points of your product. They allow you to tailor the demo to each prospect’s specific needs, seamlessly guiding them through the features and benefits that matter most to them. Here are some of the benefits of working a demo creation platform into your existing sales process:

• A demo creation platform streamlines the process, making it easy for your demo builders to arm your team with personalized demos means you can reach more potential customers and respond to their inquiries promptly, with sales and presales working more efficiently together.
• These platforms provide a consistent and professional presentation across all interactions, ensuring that each potential customer receives the same level of attention and information. This consistency is vital for building trust and credibility with your audience.
• Demo creation platforms offer detailed analytics, allowing you to track engagement and gauge the effectiveness of your demos. This data-driven approach enables you to refine your sales strategy and continuously improve the personalized demo experience, increasing the likelihood of closing deals.

In summary, demo creation platforms can set your company apart from the competition. They provide a way to make your product’s value tangible, build trust, and ultimately increase the likelihood of closing deals. Using a demo creation platform like Reprise to create tailored product demos, live demos and leave-behinds adds efficiency to your sales strategy, making it a powerful tool for enterprises who want to maximize their revenue opportunities. 

See Reprise in action and get a demo today!