XM Knowledge Base
What is product presentation?
Product presentation is the process of bringing your product in front of your customers, whether it’s a new product, or an existing product with new features.
As the name suggests, it involves a presentation (product presentation slides) during which you take potential customers through the details of your product, including what it is, how it works, and how it helps to solve their problems.
A successful product presentation will ensure your potential customers know exactly why they should be interested in your new or updated product and can also help your sales team and marketing team with their plans for further product promotion.
Getting your product presentation right is a critical stage and there are several benefits you can generate with a powerful product presentation.
Free eBook: The state of product experience research
Some of these benefits include:
A. Raise more product awareness
Giving a product presentation to potential buyers can generate far more awareness and draw attention to your product. We’ve all seen the slick product presentations by the likes of Apple that are treated as world events.
B. Help your product stand out
Whether you’re looking to entice existing customers with product updates, or establish credibility with new customers, a product presentation can help you stand out above the competition, which is particularly useful if you’re in a competitive or crowded market.
C. Reach a much larger audience
We’ve already mentioned how companies like Apple use product presentations in their marketing strategy. When Apple gives a product presentation or releases new features, it becomes a world-wide event generating interest not just from customers, but from the media.
Generating this wider media interest has many benefits and can create even more hype about your product among current customers and potential customers.
Getting your company name out in the media will help keep you front of mind when customers come to purchase – which is exactly where you want to be.
D. Generate more sales and revenue
Ultimately your product presentation is a sales presentation that sales teams can use to move buyers towards purchasing by demonstrating your product quality and providing specific product details directly to your audience.
What is the purpose of product presentation?
While product presentations can by used as sales presentations, they provide a specific purpose for product managers to help customers understand exactly why they should be interested in your product and what it can do for them.
It also provides an opportunity to be clear about what makes your product unique, but it also helps you tell the story of your product and help make a connection between the product and your customers.
We’ve all heard Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” presentation, this is what your product presentation can do.
It can help customers understand why you do what you do, and provide specific examples of why your product solves their challenges.
Examples of effective product presentations
Effective product presentations can be different from company to company, but many follow the same template and will include many of the same elements.
The best product presentations will include details like:
1. Your company overview
Give customers some background and an idea of who you are as a company and why you do the things you do.
2. The problem you solve
Whether you solve a new problem or solve similar problems but in a better way, you need to be absolutely clear how you meet your customer needs and solve the problems in the market.
3. What the product is
This is your chance to outline all the benefits, features and other details of your latest product. The information you give here will help build trust with customers and increase the chances of them making a purchase.
4. Case studies
If you already developed social proof for your product with customers, then you should include details of this in your product presentation. If you can include testimonials or other instances to demonstrate how your product works, include them.
5. Call to action
Remember, your product presentation can work like a sales presentation (although it will be more focussed on the product and features than a sales presentation) so you should use a call to action to encourage customers to complete an action, like a purchase.
Here are a few examples of effective product presentations we’ve seen:
Samsung Galaxy Note8
Samsung made great use of visual aids and entertainment to introduce the new Samsung Galaxy Note8 in this product presentation. This goes to show that while you can be effective with a product powerpoint presentation, adding a bit of extra spark can set you apart:
AirBnB
AirBnB’s product presentation is a textbook example of a presentation template that hits all the main points of a great product presentation.
AirBnB keep their product presentation simple, outlining very clearly the problem they solve, where they see themselves positioned in the marketplace, and exactly how the product works.
They also include many figures for revenue, the key benefits they offer and clear use cases when their product would be used.
Tesla Roadster
Tesla is becoming as synonymous with brilliant product presentations as Apple and the presentation of the company’s Roadster was a great example.
All the features were on full display and the audience were given the real sense they were looking at a genuine market disruptor.
Apple 2008 MacBook Air
Of course it wouldn’t be right to have a guide about product presentation and not include the company that has revolutionised this product focussed sales pitch.
The MacBook Air product presentation tagline There’s something in the air makes sense completely in the brand guidelines of Apple too.
It creates a story around the product before diving into the details.
What not to do with your product presentation
Of course, while your product presentation slides can get your foot in the door with customers, they can just as easily end with the door slamming in your face if you get it wrong.
And there’s plenty of examples of what you shouldn’t do in a product presentation:
Ignore brand guidelines
Remember, you want customers to associate your brand along side your product so they think of both synonymously. If you prepare a product presentation that jumps around in styles and themes, you’ll risk confusing customers.
Using too much information
There’s nothing worse than a product powerpoint presentation with big blocks of text that are hard to understand. It’s not just powerpoint slides that can be a problem of course. While it’s important to give customers information in your product presentations, the key is to give them the relevant information.
Cramming in too much risks them losing the key points.
Having a boring presentation template
We’ve shown with AirBnB’s product presentation that a pdf format and a slide deck outlining the key product details, and a clear product roadmap make for an effective presentation.
That can work when you don’t have a physical product.
But as we’ve also seen with the likes of Apple, Tesla and Samsung, if you have a physical product, use it to your best advantage.
Make it all about you
This might sound counterintuitive when talking about your product, but the only reason customers are going to care about it is because they get something out of it. Be clear what’s in it for them, and also try to include them in your product presentation. If you can engage your audience and make your product presentation more interactive there’s a great chance it will stand out.
Product presentation templates
Your product presentation should be a reflection of your individual brand and product, but a product presentation template can help get you started, and there are plenty available:
Visme
Canva
Piktochart
Make product presentations easy with Qualtrics
Your product presentations can make or break years of work, but they don’t have to be stressful to put together, especially with Qualtrics.
With our product dashboards, you have everything you need in one place.
From product roadmap information to audience insights and everything you need about your new product, Qualtrics give you everything you need to get ultimate exposure for your new product and ensure your presentation is a success.
Free eBook: The state of product experience research