Telling the story of your product is hard, and trying to stand out in an increasingly competitive and noisy world is even more challenging. No matter your company size, you must move quickly and find ways to bring your product to your customers. Today's buyer wants to experience your product rather than just read or hear about it.
Or, as we like to say, "show, don't tell."
At Arcade, we believe in 'Demo Driven Development'. It's the concept of moving fast ⚡️ — shipping, learning, failing, and winning fast. To do this, you need tools that keep up with that pace and enable you to showcase your (not so) secret weapon — your product.
That’s where interactive demos — like Arcade — come in.
More than 9,000+ teams leverage Arcade to tell better, more engaging product stories. And in 2023, more than 37k+ demos were published by companies worldwide.
This inaugural report serves to answer common questions we hear from buyers and customers, such as:
Whether you're looking to refine your current demos or are starting from scratch, this report is your roadmap to creating Arcades that engage, inform, and convert your target audience.
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This report analyzed all published Arcades from customers with more than 100 views. The decision to focus on >100 views was to provide more statistically significant and actionable data. Additionally, the Top 1%, Top 10%, and Top 25% were ranked based on a score from traffic, play rate, and completion rate. The median was used across all metrics to negate outliers.
Definitions:
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The first step of your Arcade is crucial. Whether your Arcade is embedded on your homepage or included in a Sales outbound email, you want to ensure that it catches the viewer's attention and clearly explains the demo.
What’s the most effective way to increase the play rate? An intro chapter.
Adding an intro chapter to an Arcade typically increases the play rate by 72%
Chapters in Arcade are similar to those in books - they are meant to be markers in the story and ground the viewer in what’s to come next.
What are the highest-performing Arcades doing?
The top 10% typically included 1.4x more branching paths on intro chapters and included 1.2x more intro chapters than the median.
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Additionally, Arcades with sound typically performed 8% better on play rate than those without. Sound options include background music, synthetic voice, or adding a personalized video 📹 .
#1 Advanced Branching
Add ‘branching’ on an intro chapter to increase engagement and provide a more personalized experience. For example, you could ask, “Which use case are you most interested in learning about?” and provide options relevant to your product.
#2 Turn it up!
If you are using sound, add a fun message like ‘Don’t forget to turn your sound on’ in the sub-heading to ensure viewers get the whole experience… it may pique their curiosity!
#3 Clear Instructions
It’s always better to over-communicate than under. Tell the customer to ‘click the button to get started’ and set expectations about what the viewer can expect in the copy.
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Your audience starts the Arcade… now what?
The completion rate measures how many viewers make it to the final step. Said differently, it’s a measure of effectiveness. Did you keep the viewer engaged to the end?
The completion rate is particularly important if you want your audience to take a specific action on the final step — like clicking to 'start a trial' or going to 'book a meeting.'
The number of steps is the most significant factor in driving a higher completion rate. From the analysis, the typical number of steps in an Arcade was 12.
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There are three key components of top-performing Arcades:
Of all the features, chapter usage stands out for these demos, as top performers not only used at least 2x as many chapters but also had:
That being said, balancing chapter usage with the second most significant factor - # of steps is essential. If you are incorporating chapters throughout an Arcade, it will likely be longer; however, there is no hard-and-fast rule.
What's most important is always to make sure to ask:
Lastly, the top 10% of Arcades also incorporated 9% more backgrounds, signaling that more visually engaging demos lead to better engagement. Plus, backgrounds are just fun 🌈 🤩 .
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Every demo is created for a reason. Whether to increase a prospect's intent on your product, educate customers on a new feature, or gather prototype feedback.
That’s why having final click-thru (CTR) options is integral to driving action from a demo.
It closes the loop and gets the viewer on the path to the right next step.
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In an Arcade, there are 4x options for driving action from your Arcade:
When analyzing demos with 'Watermark' text and 'Share CTA Button Text', several insights emerge regarding their usage, strategies, and potential relationships. Watermarks and Share CTA buttons serve different purposes but are both critical in guiding user interaction and enhancing brand presence within a demo. Here's what we can learn from analyzing both elements.
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There were several key themes and action-oriented words that were most commonly used in CTAs:
While watermarks focus on subtle branding and soft engagement, Share CTA buttons drive direct action and specific user engagement paths. Their combined use within demos can strengthen brand recognition and improve conversion rates. The key to leveraging both effectively lies in understanding what the goal of the demo is and strategically incorporating them to guide viewers throughout the journey.
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Demos should be designed to clearly explain how users can achieve specific outcomes or solve problems using the product or service.
This involves:
🕹 Arcade features to try: Intro chapters, hotspots, and callouts
Tailoring the demo to meet the specific needs or interests of the target audience can increase engagement and relevance.
Strategies include:
🕹 Arcade features to try: custom variables and advanced branching
Demonstrating how your product solves a customer's problem is crucial.
This can be achieved by:
🕹 Arcade features to try: synthetic voice and chapters
Attention spans are short. You have a chance to move from passive to interactive viewing. Take advantage of that.
Strategies include:
🕹 Arcade features to try: pan and zoom and backgrounds
Every demo should have a goal. Maximize your viewers' attention by providing clear instructions on the best next steps.
This involves:
🕹 Arcade features to try: custom branding (watermark and share button CTA), forms, and themes
The beauty of an Arcade is that you can keep iterating and making changes to it. It is an evergreen asset designed to be updated.
This involves:
🕹 Arcade features to try: insights and integrations
Whether you're new to creating interactive demos or are trying to optimize your existing content, this report serves as a guide for effectively bringing your product forward and telling more engaging stories that engage your audience and drive action.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Arcade could work for your team, drop us a line at [email protected] or book time.
