What are the Major Differences Between Poc and Demo?

What are the Major Differences Between Poc and Demo?

Nalin Senthamil
July 22, 2022
3 Min
min read

Are you confused by the difference between a demonstration and a proof of concept? 

Although both demonstrations and proofs of concepts often involve showing off your product or service, they have some distinct differences.

Demo vs. POC: to understand the difference between these two, you must understand both in-deep. 

Let's explore. 

What is a demo? 

A product demo is a presentation of your product or service to a current or prospective customer. Your sales team showcases your products and shows their different capabilities of them. It aims to attract customers and clients into buying your product by showing how effective it would be in their business.

The ultimate goal of a product demo is to build trust with your potential customer and ultimately close the deal!

Why is a Demo Important in Sales?

Sales demos play a crucial role in closing deals with your prospects. The demo determines everything from explaining all the features to captivating them to trying your product. 

Here are some of the things that stress the importance of a demo; 

Showcases product insights 

When you showcase your product without educating your prospects about the features, would they even consider it? 

Not at all! That's where the product demo comes in. 

It showcases the product and highlights the features of your product in a way that solves the user's pains. A product demo is a key that educates your prospects about the core features of your product and aids in closing deals. 

Aids in the decision-making process 

When it comes to deciding the type of product you need, understanding the ins and outs of the product becomes essential. The same applies to your prospects. 

In fact, around 80% of people have more confidence in making decisions after watching a product demo. That's huge!

While there is always information available online, it can be challenging to ensure that you have all the significant critical bits at your fingertips before making a purchase decision. Ignition uses the same interactive product demo for their customers and aids them to make a decision, 

Source

That's why demos are not only engaging but helpful and necessary when determining the best product to enhance your home or office.

Boosts interactions

Product demonstrations will help you engage and communicate with your potential customers. 

For example, customer demonstrations allow potential customers to experience a product for themselves. This can help their peace of mind knowing what they have purchased and what they will get for the bucks spent. 

Benefits of Giving a Perfect Demo

Now you know how vital a demo is. The next question that pops up in your mind is, what will you get from these demos? 

Demos won't stop at providing a better understanding of your product. But they also aid in multiple things like; 

  • Helping your sales teams to work efficiently. Why? The demo makes the decision-making process cakewalk and lets your prospects close the deal ASAP. This makes your sales team work efficiently towards other tasks too. 
  • Getting instant feedback. Your demo allows the prospects to explore all the features available on the product. Thus it opens the gate to enquire about their feedback on your product features. 
  • Experiencing the product. Instead of lecturing about the product, the demo allows prospects to experience the product for themselves. This approach simultaneously enhances your chances of closing the deal.
  • Creating satisfied customers. Sharing Interactive product demos can serve as reference guides to customers. Providing these at the point of purchase means you're giving customers the opportunity to see your products in action before they make a decision about whether or not to buy them. Thus, you can create satisfied customers who know your product and it’s worth. 
  • Bringing clarity. By demonstrating the functionality and functionality of your products, you give potential customers an idea of what they can expect when they invest in your product.
  • Creating word-of-mouth marketing. Interactive product demos not only do they make things more understandable for your potential customers, but can also be shared easily among their team to make better buying decisions.  

What is a POC? 

POC is short for "Proof of Concept," this is a more formalized version of the trial, which involves leveraging a more in-depth understanding of how your product functions to test it out with specific use cases. It demonstrates how your product will help your prospect's business and how it fits their needs. 

The ultimate goal of POC is to understand better how your product may work within the different needs of your customers. This, in turn, ultimately allows you to connect with potential customers by showing that you understand their needs and can offer them something to meet those needs.

How Can POC Help You Close Deals?

Will POC help you close the deals? Hell yes! 

POC helps in multiple ways that drive the prospects to take action rather than ghosting. Here are some of the ways that POC can help you close the deals;

Proves the worth of your product 

Proof of concept shows that a product or service works for a specific area within the buyer's organization. This way, your customers can verify how your product or service works within their environment. It makes it simple for your prospect to understand the value of your product. 

Allows you to personalize

POC helps you personalize the demonstration crafted according to the needs of your prospects. Once your prospects know how your product works for their needs, they will make instant decisions instead of delaying the decision-making process. 

Focuses on value 

Your prospects won't care for the number of features available on your products; they care only about the value it can add to their business. With a strategic POC in place, you can demonstrate how your products can bridge the gap between their needs and develop trust in your product. 

Develops trust 

Trust also goes a long way when it comes down to decision-making that leads to purchase. POC is similar to having a test drive to check whether your product aligns with the user's needs. If they find the test drive worthy, they will gain trust in your product and ultimately end up closing the deal.

Major Differences Between Demo and POC

Demo vs. POC: A demonstration differs from a proof of concept since the former is a presentation, whereas the latter is the actual implementation. A demo is somewhat similar to an informational, which involves sharing information with people about a product or service in a more relaxed setting. 

A POC focuses more on testing the viability of a particular piece of technology by building something that demonstrates how it works. For example, consider the situation of buying a car. A demo is a salesperson explaining the car's features, whereas POC is taking a test drive to experience the features and evaluate whether the car fits your desires or not. 

Demo POC
Short and focus on highlighting the features available on the product Involves experiencing the features of the product.
Only explains how the features will help the prospects Proves how your product helps in real-time under particular requirements
It doesn’t demand any commitments or money from both the parties It demands money, time, and other commitment from both the parties
It won’t consume much time. In general, demos last for 30 mins-1-hour It consumes time and takes at least 30-60 days as a trial period
It either helps in closing the deal or moves the prospects to the next stage. The chance of closing the deal is high compared to the demo, as it involves testing the product.

Wrapping up 

When deciding to show a demo or a proof of concept, there are certain things you have to remember. Fundamentally, one key difference between a demo and a proof of concept is the level of detail: A demo shows costs, timelines, benefits, and estimated return on investment. 

A proof of concept goes into greater detail about how this solution will work as it shows off how your product/solution works through an advanced demonstration or test to see how well everything comes together.

Demo vs. POC, whatever the case is, having an interactive demo on your shelf will help you make the best impression on your prospect's mind. Need guidance in creating an interactive product demo? If yes, Storylane is your best partner. 

Why overlook its importance if a demo can aid in closing deals? Book a demo, and let's get started. 

Supercharge your funnel with Interactive Demos

Book a Demo