5 Strategies to Engage Prospects After a Free Trial or Demo

1. Know what to use when: free trial or demo

Product demonstrations and free trials are the most valuable form of content for new users to understand a product’s value and “de-risk” their purchase. They provide users the first glimpse at a product and show how the solution can solve their problems.

However, both differ in terms of the time and effort they demand from buyers, and the points at which they should be deployed in a buyer’s journey.

A free trial requires a lot of work from the prospect in setup and configuration, but it introduces the product well to a buyer and gives them open access to resources they will need to make a purchase decision. 

A demo, on the other hand, is easier to conduct, takes less time and can be tailored to business needs.

2. Engage only the most qualified leads

Registering for a demo or using a free trial don’t necessarily indicate a high-quality lead. Many prospects respond to free offerings even if they aren't actively seeking to buy a product: they could be educating themselves or preparing for the buying process in the near future.

If you are wasting your resources following unqualified leads, it’s worth asking yourself: Are those truly the best leads? To decide which are the most qualified leads for you, look for the following signs of an active buying cycle:

3. Create an outbound touch pattern on multiple channels

The B2B buying journey isn’t limited to a few channels anymore. Software providers must use multiple communication channels to reach out to their leads. That said, after a free trial or a demo, engaging prospects via personalized media holds more water than other channels.

Email and chatbots are low-cost methods to keep in touch with demo and free trial users. More customized support can be given via calls and chats with human representatives right before and after a demo or free trial.

Live phone support and instructor-led tutorials can be expensive. In their place, give users access to informative online content, such as short, easy-to-consume how-to videos or FAQs.

As you select your channels, create a touch pattern to manage your outreach effectively. A touch pattern gives you a visual representation of which channels you will be using, how frequently, and at what intervals you plan to send messages to your prospects. It can be divided around a few themes or CTAs best suited to the buyer’s journey.

Following a touch pattern will help you engage and track your prospects and measure the impact of your conversations more easily.

4. Align your messaging to buyers’ needs

Buyers’ attention spans are short, so it’s crucial to target them with the right messaging to stay top of mind, and most importantly, to do so when they are still listening.

Reaching out with self-centered content that lists the features and benefits of your product instead of addressing their business needs can render your time and efforts put into the free trial and demo a waste.

You can hone in on what buyers want to know after a trial or demo by conducting “discovery sessions” within your team and with the prospect. Focus on gathering their honest opinion of your product, and understand the strategic objectives and goals they plan to achieve with this purchase. 

Then, target them with content centered around the following CTAs.

You can web them in email nurture tracks (as shown below) based on leads’ behavior. Conduct A/B testing to automate the tracks that best suit your demo and trial subscribers. 

5. Wait for the right time to introduce the paid plan

Heading into closing conversations too early or late can be counterproductive. It can make you seem imposing and unhelpful. Be authentic and considerate as you introduce paid product and service offers.

Prepare your prospects with a variety of conversion marketing messages before the demo or trial ends.

• Communicate what happens next after the trial ends and explain the process for upgrading to a paid version.
• Unlock paid features for a limited time or extend the free trial by a few weeks or months to push active users closer to an upgrade.
• Design a customized and compelling offer with lucrative discounts for the first few months for new paid subscribers. The key is to make an offer that a demo or free trial user cannot refuse.

By 2025, 80% of enterprise software providers are expected to adopt free trials or freemium products in their business models. Curating a free-to-paid conversion strategy will enable you to follow up with the right conversations in the right manner after a free trial or demo, resulting in more closed business. 

Sara Hartanov

Sara Hartanov is a Senior Manager of Client Success at Gartner Digital Markets, where she helps software companies connect with buyers through research, reviews, and lead generation. Sara manages and trains account managers and sales leaders to deliver first-class customer service to clients, while focusing on revenue growth, account retention and product adoption. Connect with Sara on LinkedIn.