Did you know that, according to a recent study, 69% of customers believe that product demonstrations are the best ways to help them make product buying decisions?
As a business owner, you’re always looking for ways to engage your customers and highlight your products. But you don’t want to stop there – you genuinely want them to act and become customers.
With the ever-growing competition in today’s market, it’s crucial to find ways to stand out from the crowd. This is where product demonstrations come in. Whether you’re conducting in-store activations or displaying your products at trade shows, demonstrations can help you build brand awareness and increase sales.
In this article, we’ll take a look at what a product demonstration is, how product demonstrations and sales demonstrations are different, what the benefits of product demonstrations are, and who usually conducts these activities.
What Is a Product Demonstration?
A product demo is a demonstration or presentation of a product that showcases its features, benefits, and functionalities. The purpose of a product demo is to give customers a hands-on experience with the product and to educate them about its capabilities. Product demos can be conducted in various settings, such as in-store activations, trade shows, or through online video tutorials.
Depending on the product and the audience, product demos can take many different forms. For example, a product demo for a new technology device could involve a live demonstration of the device’s features and capabilities, while a product demo for a food product could involve a taste test or cooking demonstration.
What Is the Difference Between a Product Demonstration and a Sales Demonstration?
A product demo and a sales demo are similar in that they both involve highlighting a product to potential customers, but they have different objectives.
A product demo is focused on educating the customer about the product and its features, benefits, and functionality. The goal of a product demo is to create an emotional connection between the customer and the product, build brand awareness, and drive sales. The emphasis is on demonstrating the product’s features and capabilities rather than directly selling it.
Product demos can also provide valuable feedback for businesses, as they can get an opportunity to observe customer reactions and make subsequent improvements to their products.
A sales demo, on the other hand, is focused on selling the product to the customer. The goal of a sales demo is to persuade the customer to make a purchase by highlighting the product’s benefits and demonstrating how it meets their needs. The emphasis is on how the product can solve the customer’s problems and improve their life.
Both types of demos have their place in the sales process, and businesses often use them in combination to create a well-rounded, effective marketing strategy. For example, a product demo can be used to generate interest and build brand awareness, while a sales demo can be used to close the deal and make the sale.
What Are the Benefits of Product Demonstrations?
Here are some of the main reasons why your business is sure to benefit from product demonstrations:
Increased Product Awareness and Engagement
By demonstrating how your products work, you can educate your customers and give them a hands-on experience with your offerings. Sensory engagement helps build affinity with your brand and increases product awareness, which can lead to improved sales.
Customers can ask questions and get a feel for your products, which helps to build trust and establish a personal connection with your brand.
Improved Product Understanding
Product demonstrations allow customers to see and experience your products in action, which can help them to understand their features and benefits more effectively. This could lead to potential purchases as customers are more likely to buy an item when they fully understand its value.
Increased Credibility
With product demonstrations, you are showing your customers that you are confident in what you are offering. This can help to persuade them to make a purchase.
Competitive Advantage
By incorporating product demonstrations into your marketing strategy, you can differentiate yourself from your competitors and display your products in a unique, memorable way. This can give you a competitive advantage and help to attract new customers.
Who Conducts Product Demonstrations?
Depending on the type of product and the target audience, product demonstrations can be conducted by a variety of individuals or organisations.
At Kitchen Kandy, we provide our clients with brand ambassadors, also called product representatives or product specialists, who have been trained to conduct product demonstrations for specific products.
Our brand representatives are knowledgeable about the products they set up and demonstrate, and are highly skilled in tailoring visual merchandising to each brand connection.
Why Invest in Product Demonstrations?
Product demonstrations are powerful tools for businesses looking to build brand awareness, increase engagement, and drive sales. Whether you are conducting in-store activations or setting up your products at trade shows, product demonstrations can help you stand out from the crowd and achieve your marketing goals.
An article by the MIT Management Sloan School describes this move to real-life engagement as “embracing the experience economy”. This approach can help businesses thrive, and is proof that there is still space in the retail ecosystem for physical store interaction – provided it relates to what customers want and are actively craving to experience in the in-store environment.
The future of retail is experiential, and if you are a business eager to design experiences for your customers that resonate with their product needs, there is plenty of room to explore opportunities to demonstrate products in your brick-and-mortar retail space.
So, future-proof your business by adapting your business model to go beyond just putting products on shelves or focusing on only selling units. Stand out from your competitors and actively seek ways where you can optimise the customer experience in-store – starting with product demonstrations that are on-brand and customer-centric. If you’re ready to start incorporating product demonstrations into your marketing strategy today and see the results for yourself, contact the Kitchen Kandy team. We’d love to work together to help you surprise and delight your customers and drive sales in-store with every demonstration.
