As the field of SaaS products becomes more crowded, companies will have to work harder to differentiate themselves. The product demo is currently the method of choice for showcasing SaaS features and capabilities, but how those demos look and interact will continue to evolve. We asked a panel of pros to share predictions for the future. Read on to learn more.
Augmented and Virtual Reality
The future trends in SaaS product demos are likely to be more interactive and engaging as companies continue to compete for customers’ attention. This will likely involve more sophisticated use of technology, including augmented and virtual reality, to create a more immersive experience. In addition, companies may increasingly focus on creating demo content that is tailored to specific customer personas to better personalize the sales process.
A Focus on the Customer Story
Future trends in SaaS product demos:
- Using more user-generated content to show how the product is being used in the wild.
- Incorporating more video into demos, whether screencasts or talking head videos.
- Focusing on the customer story more than the product itself to show how the product has helped others.
- Building out more robust demo environments that allow potential customers to explore the product on their own.
- Using interactive elements like quizzes and games to keep viewers engaged.
- Making use of new platforms like augmented reality and virtual reality to create immersive experiences.
Reliance on Video (as Long as It’s Well-Produced)
SaaS companies continuously use video as a promotional strategy because of the emergence of product-driven growth.
When people are interested in viewing your product, a video is a convenient solution to meet demand while also avoiding the difficulties connected with giving live demos. Many times, potential customers ask for videos of product demos to share with their colleagues.
A video is an excellent option for customers already overflowing with information. Even though online streaming usage is increasing throughout all age groups, newer generations are particularly fond of
.
Businesses [need] ways to differentiate themselves as the SaaS industry gets increasingly crowded. As long as you have a well-produced video showcasing your service, you can attract the interest of potential clients and build a pipeline of qualified prospects.
Shorter, More Precise Demos
There will continue to be a trend towards shorter product demos. This is partly in response to the short attention spans of today’s consumers, and partly in response to the ever-growing number of SAAS products on the market.
To make an impression in a crowded marketplace, SAAS companies will need to put more focus on the demo itself, and less on the pitch. This means making sure that the demo is well-organized, easy to follow, and visually appealing. It also means being prepared to answer questions from potential customers quickly and efficiently.
There will also be a stronger focus on visuals and on creating an immersive experience. With so much information available at our fingertips, it’s more important than ever to create a product demo that is visually engaging and that makes the viewer feel as if they are using the product. This means incorporating videos, screenshots, and other visuals into the demo wherever possible.
Engaging Problem Solving
My prediction is that SaaS companies will focus more on the problems their products can solve and make demos easy to understand by including animations and visual graphics. This problem-solving technique is very effective and has been extensively used in SaaS product demos.
After reaching out to prospects, companies directly address the challenges faced by their clients and present feasible solutions. With technological advancements, some SaaS agencies will also start incorporating Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to make their product demos short, simple, and value-driven.
Interactive and Personalized
We can expect to see more interactive product demos in the future. These interactive demos will make it easier for users to understand the product and its features. There will also be more personalized product demos in the future. This is because SaaS products are becoming increasingly complex, and customers want to know that their needs are being addressed by the demo.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
The biggest prediction about future trends of SaaS product demos is AI, with ML (machine learning) baked deeper into applications. Publicly available libraries of ML tools are finding their way into a rising number of SaaS applications. With the competency to significantly boost user experience, cutting back on the amount of input needed to accomplish a task through predictive modeling, it has become easier to elevate your application with intelligence.
Irrespective of whether the thought of AI will send a quiver of fear or excitement down your spine, the [possibilities for] using the technology are limitless
Automated Models
I think we’ll see more and more SaaS product demos shifting to automated models in the near future. These self-guided demos don’t require a potential client to schedule time with a salesperson and allow them to demo the aspects of the software they’re most interested in. Since this development will likely lead to increased conversions, I predict SaaS companies will embrace the automated demo.
Free Trials Instead of Demos
My number one prediction for future SaaS product demo trends is a move away from product demos entirely. SaaS companies like Canva have seen great success with a shift away from the more traditional salesperson and demo model, and I think more companies will adopt this line of thinking.
Offering a free trial rather than a demo allows potential clients to have extensive, first-hand experience with the product on their own time, and listing prices up front offers a degree of transparency that can be lacking in the SaaS industry.
Human-centric Demos
In the future, I think the trend will be more high-quality live demos. SaaS will evolve toward more showmanship, more live demos, and less focus on how to deploy software.
Why?
1. It’s the cheapest way to produce and distribute high-quality content while being able to simulate more naturalistic interactions with the user. I believe that this will help SaaS founders build a more immersive and believable experience for their users.
2. Consumers are becoming more accustomed to the format and are, therefore, more likely to pay attention. In my experience, there is a high correlation between a product’s use cases and its demo video.
I think that as SaaS becomes more on-demand, the product demos [will] have to become more engaging. This has a lot to do with a more human-centric approach and embracing the idea of building software for humans.
This is a crowdsourced article. Contributors are not necessarily affiliated with this website and their statements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this website, other people, businesses, or other contributors.