How do you approach demos for your product?
As users, we all want to try a product before committing. As builders, we want to show real value without over-engineering and investing time 'just for show'. Finding that balance is harder than it looks.
I just shipped my demo for Rewo (https://rewo.app), and intentionally went with a live, real demo:
Fully functional product (same codebase as prod)
Uses demo data instead of real integrations
Some interfacing + sync pieces are disabled
Auto-resets on a schedule so anyone can jump in fresh
The goal wasn’t to “fake” the experience, but to let people feel the product without setup friction or commitment. The implementation itself was fairly straightforward — mostly blocking critical pieces and setting up seeded demo data — though some of Rewo’s core value comes from automation that you only experience over time (and via email), which is harder to demo.
As such, curious how others here think about demos:
Do you prefer live demos vs. guided / interactive walkthroughs?
How much functionality is too much to expose in a demo?
Do demos convert better than videos or screenshots for you?
What’s the cleanest demo you’ve seen recently?
How do you approach demos when key value shows up asynchronously or over time?
Would love to learn how you all approach this!
Replies
TinyCommand
@matt_rewo We generally prefer live demos because they let us tailor the walkthrough to a specific use case and show how the product is actually used in practice. When a demo resonates, we turn it into a short video and share it so others with a similar problem can learn from it as well. To communicate long term value, we focus on concrete outcomes such as reduced management effort or measurable cost savings over time.
@priyanka_gosai1 Thanks for your feedback. Do I see correctly that you have chosen to go with guided demos instead of unsupervised (i.e. demo environment where the user can just play)? At least it looks like TinyCommand guides me to scheduling a call for a demo...
TinyCommand
@matt_rewo Yes, once you schedule a demo we ask about what you intend to build. You can obviously sign up and play with the tool on the free plan, but we prefer the live demos because at this stage we also get a lot insights about how users think and their preferences through the demo sessions.
IXORD
Personally, I prefer live demonstrations as well as a detailed guide if needed. This allows me to understand how the product works and whether I need it. It also saves me time, so I don’t have to use the demo version, unless I really need a product that can solve one of my problems, in which case I would engage in testing and in-depth exploration.
We have just recorded a walk-through, which we will implement on our landing page as well. The reason for this is from my own experience - I was trying to decide between platforms for a tool I was looking to use personally. I found it quite frustrating, that each tool was "gated" and you needed to book a call with Sales to get a demo. If I can't get any information on a tool upfront, then I will abandon it and look elsewhere. I ended up going with the tool that had a 5-7 minute walkthrough on their page and taken from this gut-feeling, decided to implement it for our product too.