Ever struggled to describe your product to someone and felt as though words simply weren't sufficient? That's where product demo software can prove to be a game-changer.

Rather than simply telling others what your product does, you can demonstrate it to them — in an easy-to-understand, interactive manner that sticks. Regardless of whether you're looking to win over a prospect, onboard a new user, or retain current ones, an effective product demo can be the tipping point.

‍

With so many options available, however, how do you choose the one that works for you?

‍

Don't worry— this tutorial walks you through it all, step by step. We'll take you through everything you need to know in order to select the ideal product demo software for your company. And to make it even simpler, we'll be using Hexus — a powerful yet easy-to-use demo platform — as an example so we can illustrate what an excellent solution in action looks like.

‍

What is Product Demo Software?

Product demo software lets businesses create interactive, guided experiences of the product. Rather than static slide decks or generic videos, these demos let users engage with a product in a hands-on way — even without logging in or installing anything.

The greatest demo software has to assist sales and marketing teams:

‍

• Educate buyers about how the product works 
• Personalises experiences for different audiences, creates 
• Reduced friction in the sales funnel, 
• Accelerates onboarding and streamlines training.

A product demo isn't just a sales aide — it can be a foundation of your go-to-market strategy as a whole.

Why Selecting the Right Product Demo Software Is Important

Selecting the correct product demo platform isn't solely about bells and whistles — it's about identifying a solution that meets your objectives, integrates into your stack, and grows with you.

Here's why making this choice is important:

• First impressions matter: Your demo is usually the first hands-on experience a lead has with your product.
• Time savings: A quality tool saves you from doing demos manually and redundant sales work.
• Data insights: Quality software provides you with insights into how prospects engage with your demo.
• Scalability: As your team expands, your demo solution must accommodate more users, variations, and touchpoints.

‍

Let’s walk through: Your 15-Step Checklist

This is your entire checklist for selecting and getting the most out of your product demo software investment:

1. Define goals and use cases
2. Identify must-have features
3. Shortlist vendors (Hexus, Walnut, etc.)
4. Request a live demo
5. Run a trial or pilot
6. Evaluate UX and learning curve
7. Analyze pricing and ROI
8. Assess onboarding and support
9. Personalize demo experiences
10. Track engagement metrics
11. Embed demos strategically
12. Enable internal teams
13. Integrate with CRM and marketing tools
14. A/B test and optimize
15. Share wins internally

Step 1: Define Your Goals and Use Cases

Prior to reviewing any software, begin with clarity on your top goals.

‍

Ask:

• Who will be using the demo software? (Sales, marketing, customer success?)
• What are the top results you desire? (Lead generation, self-serve trials, onboarding?)
• Do you require interactive product simulations or simply screen captures?

‍

Example:

If your marketing team requires a no-code solution to put demos on landing pages for lead capture, your requirements will be different from a sales team looking to customize live demos over calls.

‍

Pro Tip: Write down every department that will find demo software useful — their requirements will differ, and the best solution will support multiple use cases.

‍

Step 2: Identify Must-Have Features

Once you are aware of your objectives, determine the essential characteristics your dream solution should have.

Typical features to look at:

• Interactive tour: Make users click through critical workflows.
• No-code editor: Develop demos with or without developer assistance.
• Templates: Ready-to-use flows for easy setup.
• Analytics: Monitor where users fall off or linger.
• CRM and marketing integrations: Synchronize demo use with Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.
• Personalization: Develop customized demo routes or insert client names/logos.
• Mobile responsiveness: Make demos accessible across devices.
• Security & compliance: Necessary if dealing with sensitive information or enterprise customers.

‍

How Hexus Shines:

Hexus excels with its codeless builder, making it simple to create fully interactive demos in hours rather than days. It includes powerful analytics dashboards, allowing sales and marketing teams to optimize every interaction of the user journey. Hexus also has versioning so you can keep different demo flows for various audiences.

‍

Step 3: Shortlist Top Tools (and Consider Hexus)

There are numerous product demo platforms available, all with their pros and cons. Some of the most frequently compared tools are:

• Hexus
• Walnut
• Navattic
• Reprise
• Storylane
• Demostack
  
  

When shortlisting, consider:

• Pricing structure (per seat vs usage-based)
• Reviews from companies like yours (size, industry, sales cycle)
• Customer support responsiveness
• Speed of implementation
  
  

Why Hexus is a Strong Contender:

Hexus is especially well-liked by startups and mid-market businesses due to its:

• Affordability relative to enterprise-heavy solutions
• Speed of deployment (live in under a week)
• Friendly UI for marketing and sales
• Consistently high-rated customer support

‍

Step 4: Request a Live Demo (of the Demo Tool)

It sounds meta, but the best way to test demo software is by using a demo.

At this step, you'd like to:

• See how the software works with your particular type of product (SaaS, mobile app, etc.)
• Ask them about version control and updates
• Explain onboarding time and support offered
• Look at samples from companies in your vertical

‍

Questions to Ask During the Demo:

• Can we embed the demo on our site?
• How simple is it to make variations for distinct buyer personas?
• What tracking and analytics are included?
• How customizable is the user interface?

‍

Tip from an Expert: Get the vendor to demonstrate a customer scenario matching your company type. For instance, if you are a B2B SaaS selling to large enterprises, inquire how Hexus assisted a comparable client in shortening sales cycle time through interactive demos.

‍

Step 5: Pilot a Free Trial

Most vendors, including Hexus, provide a free trial or pilot program. This is your opportunity to try the software in a production environment before committing to a purchase.

While testing during your trial, try to:

• Make one end-to-end demo
• Internalize it and get feedback
• Test the integrations (CRM, email automation, etc.)
• Review analytics from first viewers
• A well-organized pilot will reveal any friction points and confirm the usability of the software for your team.

‍

Step 6: Assess User Experience and Learning Curve

Even the strongest tool will not work if your team will not use it. Prioritize UX, onboarding resources, and learning ease.

‍

Hexus is a standout with its minimalist UI and easy-to-use editor. Zero-code teams can create entirely interactive product experiences without requiring engineering hours. 

Hexus has more to provide:

• Onboarding assistance with templates
• Help center with how-to guides and best practices
• Fast customer support via chat

‍

Checklist:

• Is the builder intuitive?
• Are there sufficient resources for learning?
• How fast can a new user publish a demo?

‍

Step 7: Analyze Pricing and ROI

Pricing varies widely across demo platforms. Some charge by usage, others by the number of users or seats. Carefully evaluate your budget and expected ROI.

When comparing costs, also consider:

• Time saved on live demos
• Increase in conversion rates
• Improvement in lead qualification
• Reduction in sales cycle length

‍

Hexus Pricing Benefit:

Hexus is frequently less expensive than others yet provides premium functionality. It's a great option for expanding businesses that require enterprise-grade demos without enterprise pricing.

‍

Step 8: Keep Support, Onboarding & Scalability in Mind

Think ahead. You don't want a tool, you want a partner.

Important factors of support:

• Is onboarding customized?
• Is customer service quick and competent?
• Does the vendor provide demo optimization assistance?

‍

As your team and product grow, so too should your demo tool — with support for:

• Multiple users and roles
• Multi-language demos
• Security controls for larger orgs

‍

Hexus excels in this area. Its customer success team works closely with users to make ongoing performance optimization adjustments, and the platform itself is designed to be able to handle everything from seed-stage startups to more established teams working with intricate workflows.

‍

Step 9: Personalize the Demo Experience

A demo that fits all can only take you so far. Buyers today want personalization — and the most effective demo software enables it.

‍

Why Personalization Is Important:

• It creates relevance and emotional engagement.
• It indicates to prospects that you get their particular challenges.
• It accelerates decision-making by demonstrating customized solutions.

‍

How to Personalize with Hexus:

• Custom Variables: Place company names, job roles, or logos in demos with dynamic tokens.
• Conditional Logic: Create routes depending on the user role (e.g., "If CMO, display analytics features").
• Use Case-Specific Flows: Develop various demos for verticals such as healthcare, fintech, or eCommerce.

‍

Pro Tip: Leverage Hexus's URL parameters to auto-personalize demos from outbound email campaigns. A link can load a special demo version per prospect without additional manual effort.

‍

Step 10: Track the Metrics That Matter

You can't optimize what you can't measure. Strong analytics are one of the greatest benefits of product demo software versus static content.

Metrics to Track:

• Engagement Time: How long they linger in the demo
• Click Path: What features they visited (or skipped)
• Completion Rate: Who completes the journey
• Drop-off Points: Where attention is lost
• Source Attribution: Which campaign or channel led them in

‍

Hexus Analytics Example:

• Hexus offers a visual engagement heatmap and in-depth journey tracking. 
• Export this information to marketing platforms or CRMs, and use it to:
• Automatically score leads
• Activate follow-up campaigns on demo behavior
• Determine which demo content should be improved

‍

Tip in Action: Set notifications in Hexus when a valuable lead has finished a demo. Your sales team can follow up with a timely, relevant message.

‍

Step 11: Embed Demos Throughout the Customer Journey

Don't make your product demo a one-time thing. Most effective with strategic placement along the customer journey.

Where to Embed Demos:

• Landing Pages: Utilize gated or ungated demos for lead generation
• Email Campaigns: Add demo links to nurturing flows
• LinkedIn Ads: Send traffic to interactive product overviews
• Sales Pitches: Supplement or replace live demos
• Onboarding Flows: Teach users interactively without live sessions
• Help Centers: Convert documentation to interactive guides

‍

Hexus in Action

Hexus has flexible embed options: full-page demos, iframe widgets, modal popups, or links. You can A/B test placements to determine what leads more clicks and completions.

‍

Best Practice: Embed demos in retargeting campaigns. If a person visited your pricing page, show them a short, targeted demo on the main value points.

‍

Step 12: Enable Your Sales and Customer Success Teams

One of the most underleveraged yet potent uses of product demo software is empowering internal teams. Sales, SDRs, and CS reps love having on-demand, personalized demo experiences.

‍

Sales Enablement Concepts:

• Demo Playbooks: Develop a library of brief demo modules for standard objections.
• Follow-Up Links: After a call, reps can share a customized recap demo outlining what was covered.
• Battlecards: Provide reps with demo paths for comparison with competitors.

‍

Customer Success Use Cases

• Interactive Training: Use product walkthroughs instead of PDF manuals.
• Feature Updates: Demonstrate UI changes without the need for a live session.
• Renewal Campaigns: Refresh clients on the value with refresher demos.

‍

Hexus's permissions and folders simplify demo asset organization across departments, with access controls per team.

‍

Internal Tip: Have a "demo library day" — have each team create one demo and share feedback across departments.

‍

Step 13: Merge Demo Data with Your CRM & Marketing Stack

Integration with your wider tech stack multiplies the return on value of your product demos.

Influential Integrations to Consider:

• CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot): Push demo interaction data into lead records.
• Marketing Automation (Marketo, ActiveCampaign): Initiate email flows from demo interactions.
• Calendly/Chilli Piper: Insert demo links pre- or post-scheduling forms.
• Slack/Zapier: Alert teams when a key account watches or completes a demo.

‍

Hexus Integration Highlights:

• Real-time HubSpot integration to sync contact records with demo activity
• Webhooks and Zapier support to automate processes
• Simple embed with CMS systems like Webflow and WordPress

‍

Tactical Tip: Take demo behavior as a scoring input in your lead qualification model — someone finishing 90% of your product tour is a hotter lead than someone skimming.

‍

Step 14: A/B Testing and Optimization

Handle your product demo like any marketing asset — optimize and test it continuously.

‍

A/B Test Variables:

• Demo length (brief vs. lengthy)
• CTA placement (beginning vs. end)
• Tone of narration (informal vs. technical)
• Layout styles (cards, sliders, modals)

‍

Hexus Tools for Optimization:

Hexus makes it easy to clone and customize demos, making it a breeze to run A/B tests. You can also segment analytics by campaign or traffic source to see which version works best.

‍

Optimization Hack: Create different demo entry points for paid vs. organic traffic — what works for cold leads may differ from warm prospects.

‍

Step 15: Showcase Results Internally

Once your demos are live and working, communicate wins to your internal team. This builds buy-in and encourages other departments to adopt the tool.

What to Share Internally:

• Engagement metrics vs. past content types
• Sales feedback on lead quality
• Increase in demo-to-close ratio
• Time gained in onboarding or training

‍

Example from a Hexus Customer:

A B2B SaaS business improved demo completion by 42% and time-to-close by 25% when they adopted Hexus throughout sales and marketing. They communicated these victories through an internal Slack channel with a customized dashboard to encourage greater adoption.

‍

Sharing Tip: Send a brief "demo success" monthly newsletter internally to keep the momentum flowing.

‍

Real-World Examples of Great Demo Use

Let's look at some examples where teams have utilized demo software — specifically Hexus — successfully.

1. SaaS Startup Launching a New Feature

A mid-sized SaaS business debuted a new AI capability and utilized Hexus to build a mini-demo integrated within the launch email. Outcome: 3 times click-through rate compared to product update emails with no interactivity.

2. Agency Generating Leads Through Content

A marketing firm employed a Hexus-fueled demo to demonstrate how their reporting dashboard functions. The demo was placed in a blog post and turned 17% of blog readers into qualified leads.

3. Sales Team Lightning Live Demo Load

An enterprise sales team substituted 30-minute introduction calls with brief self-guided demos delivered by email. This freed up each AE more than 5 hours every week and enabled them to focus on high-intent leads only.

‍

Productivity Tip: Leverage Hexus's public gallery to view samples of how businesses organize their product demos.

‍

Conclusion: Unlocking Growth through the Ideal Demo Tool

It's more than a tactical choice to pick the ideal product demo software — it's a growth lever. The ideal tool optimizes your sales process, maximizes marketing efficiency, minimizes onboarding resistance, and ensures a consistent, interactive customer experience.

Hexus is a robust, intuitive, and scalable solution that strikes the right balance between cutting-edge features and simplicity. Whether you are a startup, an expanding SaaS business, or an enterprise seeking to update your demo stack, Hexus provides the functionality and adaptability to realize your objectives.

‍

Ready to Try Hexus?

If you’re looking for a product demo solution that’s flexible, powerful, and built for modern teams, Hexus is a top choice. Start with a trial, explore templates, and launch your first interactive demo in just hours, not days.

Visit Hexus to get started or book a live demo today.