Product demonstrations are a great way to communicate the merits of your product.Most people haven’t the time to sit around and read hundreds of words about how your bread-slicing device is revolutionary, even if those words are entirely true.Moreover, you’re not going to be able to cram as much detail into a written explanation of your product’s merits – slicing up an entire loaf of bread sliced into neat squares is, after all, going to be far more persuasive than merely explaining that you can.

But there’s a world of difference between a bad presentation and a truly effective one, and learning where these differences lie is key to ensuring that you get your message across.Let’s take a look at how you might create an effective demonstration.

Choose a product wisely

There are some products for which demonstration is more suitable as a marketing technique.Conversely, there are some where it’s not much use at all. Generally speaking, the best demonstrations are of items whose merits are obvious can be appreciated quickly.The hypothetical bread-slicing machine we’ve just considered would fall into this category.Other items, like double-glazed windows or air-dehumidifiers, will be less easily exhibited.

Personalise everything

Unless yours is a very specific and unusual sort of business, you’re unlikely to be targeting your product at an audience comprised of robots.If you’re going to appeal to human beings, then you’ll need to appeal to their emotions.Make them wantto like your product.The easiest way to do this is to persuade them to like you.This needn’t mean going on a charm offensive, but a few quips and pre-rehearsed jokes will help to break everything up and ensure that it isn’t dry and boring.

Where possible, try to encourage your audience to imagine themselves using the product.Saying concretely “you’re going to attach this to here,” for example, will do this far more effectively than the more abstract “this can be attached to here”.

Let the product do the talking

Of course, the aim of the exercise isn’t to deliver a lecture – it’s to demonstrate the product in action.This means that the amount of words in your demonstration should be slashed to a bare minimum.Ideally, the demonstration should be entirely without words – you’ll be able to fill the awkward silences with natural conversation in order to avoid a bizarre ‘mime show’ effect.

Be versatile

Not every product demonstration will unravel in the same way – some will go smoothly, others will encounter difficulty.You might even run into a hostile audience!If you’re delivering your demonstration via the internet, this might not be such a problem – as you might not be quite so taken aback by an interlocutor who’s hundreds of miles away.If you’re asked difficult questions by someone who’s right in your face, on the other hand, you risk losing your cool.

Of course, all of this is part of the learning experience.If you’ve carried out hundreds of demonstrations, you’ll begin to form an inkling of what to expect – that’s why it’s important not just to practice your presentation, but to fine-tune it, making tweaks along the way, and incorporating any recurring questions into the demonstration itself.

Be willing to learn

In order to be a truly effective demonstrator, a little bit of humility is required.After all, the chances are that your first few attempts aren’t going to go off entirely without a hitch.It’s therefore worth spending some time analysing what’s gone into your presentation, and what can be done to make things better.In doing this, it’s worth taking a look at the more successful demonstration on the internet, and examining what makes them so great.A good example is the infamous ‘Will it Blend?’ series on YouTube.The merits of the series are obvious:the presenter is charismatic, the product is excellent, and its benefits are on display with barely any explanation.

Get a professional to do it

Not everyone is cut out to be a great product demonstrator.And, moreover, not everyone has the inclination to learn.That’s okay – just as you wouldn’t personally involve yourself in every other aspect of your business, there’s no reason for you to learn to handle the product demonstrations, too.A good field marketing agency, or dedicated product demonstration agency, will be able to provide exactly the expertise that’s required.If you’ve got a product that you know your customers would love, if only they knew about it, then such an approach is almost guaranteed to yield conversions.