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“Would you like an interactive video demo or a personalized demo with an account executive?”

Out of 649 potential leads who answered this question, 52.9% answered that they would prefer the self-guided video demo. While 47.1% answered that they would prefer the personalized demo with an account executive.

Overview

For years the only option for a demo on one of our clients websites, was to schedule a 30-minute discovery call with an account executive. However, we ran a trial to evaluate the result of creating a new option for self-guided video demos. The processes started with a bot which asks the question listed above. “Would you like an interactive video demo or a personalized demo with an account executive?” After selecting the button response “self-guided video demo,” the bot asked for their email address. Then  it displayed a link for the site visitor to access a video library on a separate website. If the site visitor selected “Personalized Demo,” the bot would ask a series of qualifying questions, then allow the site visitor to book a time on the calendar of the appropriate AE.

Pros and Cons

An advantage to offering self-guided video demos is that the company can capture more leads from the group of people who are not interested in speaking with an account executive, but are curious and seeking information about the product. The video demo appeals to people who don’t have time to book a 30-minute meeting. Or who don’t want to commit to a human interaction. Or who are looking at multiple options (but are not yet ready to commit to fully investigate one specific company), etc. Without this option, this group of people would essentially be lost to the company and are less likely to become leads.

However, personalized demos are more successful for driving opportunities. In a personal meeting, the account executive has an opportunity to establish a personal connection with the lead. They can also cater his or her sales pitch to the exact needs of that potential customer. Some people who are marginally interested might be won over during a personalized interaction. Whereas the video may not have the same effect. One possible issue does arise when people who would be willing to sign up for a call instead choose the video demo. Then they have a lower quality experience with the company because of the lack of that human interaction. Although, for site visitors who do not move along in the sales process after the video demo, at the very least the site visitor was given immediate interaction with the company and an increased awareness about the company’s product.

Proper Implementation

The key to creating an additional option for self-guided demos is proper implementation. The video demo needs to be set up  to capture additional leads and keep them moving through the funnel. When the demo bot was initially launched, providing an email address was not a requirement for the site visitor. This created a problem as people would go to the client’s website, look at different pages, interact with the bot, then see the video demo. The company had no way to know who those people were. There was no way to target and nurture an unknown guest to the video demo website. Or even know if that person took any further action after the video demo.

The email requirement was later added. Allowing the company to tracking these people and guide them through the sales funnel. For the video demo to truly be a part of the sales process, there must be a clear call to action after the demo. This tells the site visitor the next step so they now exactly how to proceed. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is to place a bot on the video demo website. At that point in the process, the call to action for site visitors would be to book a higher-quality, personalized demo with an account executive. Therefore, the purpose of adding a video demo is not to replace the personalized demo, but to capture a larger audience. Conticuing to move them to the next phase of the sales funnel.

Performance

During the timeframe when an email address was required to view the video demo, 61.3% of site visitors who selected the video demo gave the bot their email address and received a link to the video library. For potential leads who selected the personalized demo, 52.1% gave the bot their email address. However only 8.5% completed the bot flow to schedule a demo on the calendar of an account executive. The email addresses captured through the bot were assigned to marketing campaigns, so the company could nurture those leads.

Conclusion

Whether or not to offer a video demo does not have a blanket answer for all companies; often there is a combination of tactics that can lead to the most opportunities. Every company is different. Finding the right processes, message copy, and timing should be based on trying new things and analyzing the data. New tactics can be carefully set up, meticulously tested, and scientifically implemented to optimize lead generation for your company.