Software & SaaS
Setting up recurring follow-ups in a demo
A reminder product is easiest to judge when a demo shows one follow-up returning on schedule. This guide walks through building that first scenario so a prototype proves its purpose quickly.
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Step one: define the item and the cue
Start with a single real-feeling follow-up, such as checking back with a prospect who asked for a proposal. Write down what the item contains: a title, a short note, a link to the source and an owner. Then decide the cue, meaning the exact date and time it should resurface. Keep the form to those fields in the demo. If a viewer cannot understand the item in five seconds, the setup is too heavy. This step also exposes what information a person truly needs when the reminder returns, which shapes every later screen.
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Step two: choose the recurrence rule
Next, decide how the follow-up repeats. Offer a few plain patterns: once, every week, every month, or after a set number of days from the last action. In the proposal example, a sensible rule is three days after sending, then weekly until marked closed. Show the rule as a readable sentence rather than a settings grid, so the viewer sees consequences immediately. Decide what happens when a reminder is missed: it should stay visible and flagged, not vanish. These choices make the demo feel dependable, because recurring behavior is the part users most worry about trusting.
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Step three: show the response and the review
Finally, demonstrate what the person does when the reminder arrives. Provide three clear responses: done, snooze to a new date, or change the rule. Show the resulting state in a short history list so the viewer sees that nothing was silently dropped. Close the demo with a weekly review screen listing items due, overdue and upcoming. Worked through, the proposal follow-up returns on day three, the user snoozes it two days, and the history records both actions. A demo that completes this loop proves the concept more convincingly than any feature list.