When you start talking about your product or your service, its easy to get caught up talking about all it’s fabulous features, but is that really helping get the attention of your customers online?
If you’re selling a service then you probably created it and, quite rightly, you’re super proud of it and all the features you’ve built into it. If its a physical product then you most likely know it better than anyone and you want them to know all about the features that make it so much better than anything else out there. In both cases it’s only natural you want to highlight those features you’re so excited about. You know them so well, you know how important they are and you’re excited to share that with the world.
“Here’s the problem. And it can be a really bitter pill to swallow. No one cares. Seriously, no one cares about the features of your product. What they care about is how it helps them. What it does for them. How their life will improve AFTER they use it.”
This is what you should be talking about in your marketing. You’re not selling your product. You’re not selling its features. You’re selling the transformation it creates for your prospect.
So lets dive in a bit deeper and look at how you can use this little nugget of gold to create better marketing and ultimately achieve more sales!
What’s the difference between Features, and Benefits?
Great question! Features are the factual statements about your product or service. They describe what it is, what it includes, how it’s made and its specifications. Some examples of features…
- A smartphone with a 12 megapixel camera
- A car with 10 airbags and active emergency brake assistance
- A marketing service that does Facebook ads
These are all examples of FEATURES. And while they’re important to you, they’re certainly not the stuff dreams are made of, and they’re only important to your prospect in terms of what they can DO for them.
Benefits, on the other hand, explain why those features matter to the customer. They answer one of the most important questions in marketing; “What’s in it for me?” The don’t just describe your product or service, they genuinely give people a reason why they should want it. It can help to think of the features in terms of their function. For example…
- Instead of talking about a 12 megapixel camera, I could say ‘You’ll be the envy of your friends and family when they see the stunning reels, stories and photos this smartphone will help you create.’
- Instead of talking about 10 airbags and active brake assist, I could say ‘Give the people you love the safety and protection they deserve’
- Rather than talking about our agency doing Facebook ads, I could say ‘Imagine how much easier business would be with a steady stream of new inquiries every month’
So you can see how I’m focusing on what the features do; their function. It’s so much more compelling when you talk about what matters to YOUR PROSPECT and not so much about you, your product or your service. Your prospect cares that you can get them to where they want to be. They don’t care about how you do it!
Why Benefits Matter More.
- Emotional Connection: Benefits speak to the heart. They tap into the emotions and desires of your audience. The science of human behaviour dictates that people make buying decisions based on emotion, not logic. They might use logic afterwards to justify their decision to themselves, but the decision to buy your product (or not) in the first place will come directly from the emotional connection you make with their goals, dreams and desires.
- Customer-Centric Messaging: By focusing on benefits, you shift the narrative from what your product does to how it helps your customers. This customer-centric approach is more engaging, more relatable and genuinely shows people why they should hand over their cash to you. It puts them at the centre of their own success story and allows them to picture how they will feel once they have bought from you.
- Highlighting Transformation: Customers are not just buying a product; they’re buying a transformation. They want to move from their current, less desirable situation to a new, improved state. Benefits paint a picture of this transformation, making it easier for customers to envision the positive changes your product can bring. They’re buying the promise of a better tomorrow. And yes, your product or service creates a positive change no matter how small or insignificant you might think it is. Right from a $5 cup of coffee (OK, who am I kidding. My extra large vanilla soy latte is more like $7.50…) to a $100k kitchen and butler pantry renovation, there is a transformation that people experience when they buy from you. Your job is figure out what that is, and focus on that in your messaging.
How to Identify and Communicate Benefits.
Aaaah, the big question. With the benefits of your product, or the transformation it creates, being so important, how do you uncover what that is?
- Know Your Audience: Before you can talk about the benefits that really matter to your prospects and your clients, you need to get up close and personal with their problems, dreams and desires. If you’re not sure what those things are, check out this great blog on how to uncover your prospects deepest desires! This knowledge will help you craft messages that resonate with them and make them feel like they just can’t live without whatever it is you’re selling.
- Translate Features into Benefits: For every feature, ask yourself, “Why is that important to my prospect?” Keep asking until you uncover the true goal or desire that addresses your customer’s needs and drives their purchase behavior. You want to try and link it to an emotional trigger like their health, their wealth or the quality of their relationships. These are the things that illicit the most powerful emotional responses from people. Also appeal to their ego. How will this help them be seen by others? Will it help them be seen as successful? Or wealthy? Or occupying a position of prestige. Again, refer back to your client persona to understand which of htese is most important to YOUR ideal client.
- Use Storytelling: Share stories or testimonials that illustrate the benefits of your product. Real-life examples can make the benefits more tangible and relatable.
- Focus on Outcomes: Highlight the end result or the transformation your product provides. Use vivid language to paint a picture of the improved situation your customers will experience. Describe how their day, week, month or life will be better once they’ve consumed your product.
So, wrapping all that up.
In the competitive and noisy landscape of marketing, focusing on benefits rather than features is one of the things that can really set you apart. By emphasising how your product or service can transform your customers’ lives, you create a compelling narrative that resonates on a deeper level. Remember, people aren’t just buying a product; they’re investing in a better version of themselves.
Yes, this works for any product or service. Yes, this is every bit as true now as it was 50 or 100 years ago, and it will be equally as true in 100 years from now. How can I confidently say this when there is so much change in advertising and marketing? Because while the platforms change (TV, Newspaper, Radio, Social Media, Email etc…) the psychology of human behaviour is a constant.
“If you can master that, it doesn’t matter what else changes you will always be able to create and run successful campaigns to sell your product and generate sales for yourself and for others.”
So, next time you’re crafting a marketing message, ask yourself: Are you selling features, or are you selling a transformation?
If you’re feeling stuck with your marketing, feel like you’re not getting the results you need from your advertising, or just know you need to increase sales but you’re overwhelmed thinking about where to start, book a call with me today and let us use our Marketing 360 framework to reliably grow your leads and sales in the next 90 days.