People buy benefits, not
features. They invest in something when
they know what the return is, when they know what’s in it for them.
Unfortunately, we sometimes get
blinded by our own knowledge of the products or services our organizations
offer. We assume customers, members,
donors, or prospects can “connect the dots” between information we provide them
(the features) and their own needs or interests. But that can be a mistake.
According to Laura Clampitt Douglas,
CEO of MAX International Converters Inc. and president of Small Business
Marketing Analysis, often what we think is a benefit is really just an
extension of a feature or a more detailed description of the feature. In her December 2000 article, “Marketing
Features Vs. Benefits,” for Entrepreneur
magazine, Clampitt Douglas suggests that marketers think of “benefits” in terms
of “results.” For example, Clampitt
Douglas says, “When someone chooses
a VCR with a self-setting clock, the assumption is that the benefit is
convenience, but the actual results are that they don't have to read the
instructions, watch a blinking 12:00, and, most important, feel stupid. Those
results are the true benefits.”
So how do you see beyond the facts of your product to the “benefits” and
“results”? Start with each of your features
and imagine them in a client setting.
How would your clients use each feature?
Why would they use them? What
would make them use those features again?
What’s in it for them?
That said, don’t eliminate
identifying your product’s or service’s features. Decisions often start with the factual
“what’s in the box,” particularly when customers are comparing one product or
one company against another. But choices
are made when marketers translate “what’s in the box” into “what’s in it for
me?” Argue your case for every key
feature so your prospect has no choice but to say, “Ahh, yes! That’s what I need.”
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