SaaS Product Demo and Explainer Videos: Why You Need Them (With Great Examples)

This time last year, we spoke about product-market fit and our journey to democratize demo automation. 2024 was about building upon that vision and momentum – and wow, what a ride it's been!

Over the past 12 months, we grew our revenue by 2.5x, expanded to over 16k teams, shipped a new feature every four days (yes, you read that right), and hosted our very own awards show. But let's back up a bit and explore how it all unfolded.

Shipping at warp speed

From day one, our goal has been to eliminate friction for software buyers and sellers with accessible demo automation products. In 2024, we doubled down on this commitment with over a hundred (100!) product releases, both big and small. Here are some of our favorites:

• Demo Hub: Build demo libraries that address multiple use-cases and buyer personas in a centralized gallery or playlist view. This was certainly our biggest launch of the year.
• Personal video & AI voiceovers: Bring an engaging, personalized human touch to interactive demos with Loom-style video recordings and AI voiceovers. 
• Offline demos: Address the all too common challenges associated with unreliable, expensive WiFi at in-person events and conferences by downloading demos for offline use.

On the PLG front, we implemented convert CTA buttons, an advanced demo editing toolkit (blur, crop, screen layout, etc), as well as deeper analytics and lead attribution functionality, among others. All in all, the tremendous efforts from our product and engineering teams translated into serious business growth.

Growth that speaks volumes

In our previous review, we were thrilled about tripling our growth and establishing Storylane as a leader in the demo automation space. Looking back at 2024, we're humbled and so, so excited to see this momentum continue.

• Revenue grew by 2.5x
• Expanded to 16k+ teams
• Brand search tripled (3x)
• Website traffic surged by 20x
• Our ACV increased by 50%
• Last but not least, we acquired a company! - Storylane acquires PreSkale, expands into presales

Each one of our customers validates our vision and pushes us to innovate further. This year, we're particularly proud to welcome industry giants such as Microsoft, Pearson, Nasdaq and Silicon Valley Bank to our growing list of enterprise customers. Needless to say, we feel the love ❤️

• 60 million+ mins spent watching Storylane demos, 10x more than last year
• 85k+ Storylane demos created
• 5 million demo views per month, 4.7x more than last year

Making some noise (the good kind)

Go-to-market was all kinds of fun in 2024. There’s just way too much to cover, but here are a few highlights that helped us stand out in an increasingly competitive demo automation category.

• Website redesign: Our website went through a complete overhaul earlier this year. This revamp – complete with bright colors and bold styling – reflects our move upmarket.
• Demo-led SEO: What started off as an experiment, Storylane’s demo-led SEO BLEW UP in 2024. Our podcast with Exit Five on the topic has gone on to become their most popular post in the community!
• An eventful year: We took the show on the road at Product Marketing Alliance Summit, Exit Five’s Drive, SaaS Open, G2 Live, and a handful of other fantastic events — a great chance to connect with our community and beyond.
• Customer reviews: Our customers have been incredibly supportive, with over 500 G2 reviews. Out of 145,000+ products. and over 2,100 categories, Storylane was the only demo automation platform in G2's top 100 fastest growing products!
• PreSkale acquisition: Storylane’s acquisition of PreSkale comes at an exciting time, marking our strategic expansion into the presales market in 2025. Read all about it here.

A few more initiatives that helped us make a lot of noise: Demo Dundies (our spin on conventional webinars, themed around The Office’s Dundies), product marketer affirmation cards (a deck of painfully relatable affirmations for our friends in product marketing), and Demo Kitchen (our recipe book inspired series of customer case studies).

40+ Storylaners and counting

As our team continues to grow, we've maintained the supportive, high-performing culture that's been our foundation for four years. This year, we welcomed our first People Success hire and celebrated team achievements with offsites in Bengaluru and Bali.

What’s cooking in 2025

If you thought 2024 was exciting, wait till you see what we've got in store for 2025! We're all set to take demo automation into sci-fi territory with first-of-its-kind AI functionality. We can’t spill all the beans just yet but picture this: an AI demo agent to polish, scale and show you personalized demos.

To our team, customers, and the entire Storylane community - thank you for being part of this journey. We're just getting started, and we couldn't be more excited about what's ahead. Here's to another year of pushing boundaries and helping you create amazing demos!

Storylane acquires PreSkale and expands into presales

We're excited to announce Storylane's  acquisition of PreSkale, marking our strategic expansion into the presales market.

The acquisition comes as presales teams increasingly seek automation tools to scale their operations. While Storylane has built its reputation serving marketing teams with demo automation software, the company has observed substantial demand from presales engineers looking to streamline their processes.

"We've seen a significant uptick in revenue from presales teams in the last year. With the PreSkale acquisition, we're doubling down on presales as a key function for 2025, positioning ourselves as one of the few demo automation vendors that scales across the entire go-to-market motion." - Nalin Senthamil, Co-founder and CEO.

PreSkale CEO Ajay Jayagopal will join Storylane following the acquisition. “When the opportunity came up, I was thrilled by the potential of this idea,” said Jayagopal. “Storylane is the fastest-growing leader in demo automation. Go-to-market leaders consistently praise Storylane for saving teams 10 hours a week and boosting deal closures by 30%. I’m excited to help teams deliver exceptional product experiences and drive business wins.” 

The move appears well-timed, as market trends indicate growing demand for demo automation tools among presales teams seeking to enhance productivity. Storylane plans to apply the same product innovation, speed, and ease of use that drove its success in marketing to address these presales needs.

The company has already established itself as a significant player in the demo automation space, currently ranking second in the category with a 4.8/5 rating across more than 500 reviews. Its platform serves enterprise customers including Nasdaq, Palo Alto Networks, Microsoft, SentinelOne, and Autodesk.

Through this acquisition, Storylane aims to expand its offering to provide comprehensive demo automation capabilities across the entire sales cycle, potentially reshaping how B2B companies approach product demonstrations and technical evaluations.

Let’s face it: One demo is not enough to educate or convert your buyers.

No, your buyers aren’t looking forward to “we’ll reach out to you shortly” or a standard demo experience from your sales team.

Instead, buyers want to explore relevant products and features at their own pace. AKA, specific, short demos that are relevant to the buyer’s specific needs.

Which in today’s B2B buying process, led to the rise of product demo centers.

They’re self-serve product experience sites, which allow buyers to jump to their specific needs or queries faster, easing the buying process.

Let’s break down how demo centers reduce friction and make the buying experience shorter and easier. 

What is a Demo Center?

A demo center is a microsite or landing page where buyers can explore different product demos catered to their use case, persona, or feature that matters most to them. 

Instead of sitting through a one-size-fits-all presentation, buyers can sift through a content hub and discover your product’s value at their own pace. 

At Storylane, we do demo centers a bit differently. We call them “DemoHubs,” offering interactive features to engage buyers, such as: 

• Centralized Demo Discovery: DemoHubs offer a gallery or playlist view that lets buyers easily navigate different use cases and features
• Guided Playlists: Create curated demo sequences to tailor the experience to specific buyer needs.
• Real-Time Engagement: CTAs, lead capture options, and live chat ensure buyers find what they need and stay engaged.
• Analytics & Integrations: Track buyer activity, identify top prospects, and send insights to tools like HubSpot and Slack
• Enterprise Security: Features like SSO, custom branding, and SOC2 compliance offering buyers a secure, branded experience

Infact, here’s how you can experience DemoHub for yourself:

When Should You Use a Demo Center?

At Tradeshows

Prospects at tradeshows or events don’t want another brochure or video; they want to see your product in action. 

This is when a combination of an in-booth digital kiosk or screen and a demo center becomes your digital spokesperson. They allow multiple prospects to explore your product at the same time, at their own pace.  

Tip: Set your in-booth demo centers on autoplay so they continue to run in the background and attract traffic. Here’s our quick guide on using demos at tradeshows.

The Post-Demo Follow-up

We've all been there – that moment when a prospect says, "This is great, but I need to show it to my team." Instead of crossing your fingers and hoping your one-hour demo stuck in their memory, send them a link to your demo center. 

For instance:

It's like giving them (plus their team) a backstage pass to revisit the highlights and explore features at their own pace.

Also read: Best follow-up emails to send after meetings

For Personalized Outreach

A demo center lets you create personalized experiences for different customer ICPs, showing exactly how your product adds value to their workflow. 

Or even when selling to a buying committee, there are always different departments involved- such as finance, IT, etc. You can curate different demos by features or department use cases and compile them in a single demo center.

Prospects in financial services can dive into compliance features, while marketing teams can explore analytics capabilities – all without having to skim through irrelevant content. 

Product Education

Cramming all your product features in a single demo might just do more harm than good. In such cases, complex product features can be broken down into digestible, shorter demos within demo centers. 

That way, you don't overwhelm prospects and help them zero in on the features that benefit their use case. 

5 Creative Examples of Demo Centers (From Our Own Customers)

1. Cognism

Demo center: https://www.cognism.com/demo-centre

Cognism is a B2B sales intelligence platform that services a wide range of audiences. Accordingly, its demo center breaks down multiple use cases and products into bite-sized demos for quick consumption.

Inside the Cognism Demo Center

Cognism’s demo center is set up to make exploring easy. Here’s what it includes:

• Playbooks and workflows, with each self-guided demo highlighting a different feature 
• Filter the demos based on the use case, keyword, or product
• A live chat to answer questions 

2. SentinelOne

Demo center: https://www.sentinelone.com/tour/

SentinelOne is a leading cybersecurity platform that supports a wide range of products.

Cybersecurity is known for its complex, multi-faceted products. To tackle this, SentinelOne's demo center helps early-stage prospects understand product features and use cases at their own pace.

Inside the SentinelOne Demo Center

SentinelOne’s demo center is designed for quick, self-paced exploration, putting the security features on spotlight. Here’s an overview:

• Interactive walk-throughs showcasing SentinelOne's AI-driven product features 
• Demos to showcase how the platform defends against real-time attacks
• Demos that walk the user through investigating and resolving incidents efficiently

3. Cleeng

Demo center: https://cleeng.storylane.io/hub/l7okbjqp672v

Cleeng is a subscription management platform for OTT broadcasters and media companies, helping them manage subscribers, drive engagement, and streamline billing. 

Accordingly, its demo center breaks down how they can best use the platform’s features, from monetization to client retention and management. 

Inside the Cleeng Demo Center

Cleeng’s demo center makes it simple for users to explore each feature’s functionality through self-guided tours. Here’s what you’ll find:  

• Demos that guide through platform features and subscriber management
• A monetization and retention section to discover Cleeng’s tools for tracking viewer engagement and reducing churn
• Demos on integrations with other services or apps

4. Graide

Demo center: https://app.storylane.io/hub/mvqqubx1dzgq

Graide is an AI-powered platform that provides educators with intelligent grading and feedback processes. 

So, its Demo Center is simple and to the point. It takes you through interactive demos on grading an assignment or providing feedback on academic assignments using the product. 

Inside the Graide Demo Center 

Graide’s demo center is shorter, with examples of how they can use the product to grade and score maths, essay or script-related answers. Here’s what you’ll find:

• See how Graide uses AI to speed up grading for various assignment types and to update feedback in real time
• Explore how to provide constructive, specific feedback to students based on the subject
• Track answer history, review updated answers and changes in real-time

5. CD systems

Demo center: https://app.storylane.io/hub/taafwoi7iuzy  

CD Systems is a platform designed for chauffeur services and fleet management. 

Given that the platform caters to new and existing users looking for client booking or real-time tracking and reporting, CD Systems Demo Center tackles everything from setup to using the right pages and features via simple-to-follow interactive demos. 

Inside the CD Systems Demo Hub

CD Systems’ demo hub makes it easy for new and existing users to explore each feature in action with guided tours. Here’s what it covers:

• How to setup the platform and use it to simplify bookings and dispatch chauffeurs with ease
• Demos for getting started, how to assign/dispatch a driver, and create invoices
• How to navigate the platform and use alerts

Create Product Demo Centers with Storylane

With Storylane, you can create, customize, and launch your demo center without writing a single line of code. 

Take it from our growing hub of customers with demo centers.

Such demo libraries help your prospects go through your product features easily (like Cognism did) or show your product in action with the right examples (like Graide did).

Looking to reduce buyer friction with demo centers and see it in action for your own product? Create your first demo today or book a demo to know more.