Stop baiting your beloved users
Instead, make them fall in love with your product
I’ve been seeing way too many examples of companies baiting their users with a “START NOW” CTA only to try to get them to schedule a demo with a sales rep.
If you ask me, this approach can be seen as nearly disrespectful towards users, but the worst thing is that it’s a strategy destined for disappointment - for the company and for the user.
Consider your users
End-users get thrilled by product trials, not sales calls
Decision makers delegate trial experiences, rarely hopping on initial sales calls
Buyers, however, are ripe for sales demos
Therefore, a “START NOW” CTA -
Will successfully attract end-users who click in anticipation, only to face disappointment and a punch to the face when they encounter the “BOOK A DEMO” step
Will fail at attracting buyers and decision makers, who skim the page looking for “BOOK A DEMO,” thus hurting your booked demos KPI
The strategy misses the mark.
Avoid shortcuts, as they usually don't yield the desired results.
“START NOW” should be true to its promise
If you ever considered doing something along these lines, I’d like to wager that you’re considering Product-led Growth but aren’t ready to flood the gates just yet.
One of the core pillars of Product-Led Growth is to lead with value. In some aspects, it should have been named “Value-Led Growth”.
Instead of enabling self-serve signup, you will want to let users get as close as possible to trying out the product itself.
Let dive into 5 examples.
1. Demo video
Showcase the product with a short video on your site.
Remember - this isn’t a promotional video for marketing purposes, no. This video focuses on product value.
The video should demonstrate the value users gain from two or three use cases tops and immediately follows up with a “BOOK A DEMO” CTA.
Less fluff, more compressed & condensed value.
If possible, include case studies and testimonials for existing users while keeping it as short and engaging as possible.
2. Interactive demo version of your product
Until it’s time to let users sign up, consider building a limited stripped-down version that lets users sample the key features without full functionality.
Make sure that the interactive demo is impressive and coherent enough to give users a clear idea of how valuable your product can be if only they BOOK A DEMO and get access to the real thing.
3. Interactive demo using 3rd-party tools
Instead of developing an interactive demo yourself, try these instead: Reprise, Navvatic, Walnut, Demostack, Storylane
With these 3rd-party tools, you can build interactive demos of your product and embed them on your site for users to try out and increase their willingness to BOOK A DEMO.
These tools are awesome if you want to validate the need for an interactive demo before you prioritize it with Engineering and build it yourself.
4. Recorded product tour webinars
Instead of having users join a live webinar, let them watch a recording and educate themselves on their own time.
You know how hard it is to coordinate a meeting with your peers? It’s just like that.
Since recorded webinars are ~30 minutes long, they won’t be engaged with often, but the users who choose to watch them demonstrate a high intent and interest.
Considering layering Product-led Growth? Let’s talk. Book a demo :)