In this marketing article I discuss the most important element
of marketing - turning features into powerful benefits. If you
want to increase sales, you must focus on the benefits of your
product or service, not the features.
So what is a benefit compared to a feature?
A benefit explains how a product or service will help a person.
If I buy this product, how will it make my life better? Will it
save me money? Will it make me feel better about myself? Will it
make my life easier? Benefits are very powerful sales tools
because people buy products and services for an end result.
A feature explains a fact about what a product does such as a
specification. For example, the new ZMX car has anti-lock
brakes. That is a fact about the car - it has anti-lock brakes.
The problem with only listing a feature is that a feature does
not explain why it is helpful - how it benefits a person. Why
would you want a car with anti-lock brakes? The answer to that
question is the benefit. Anti-lock brakes are much safer because
they keep your tires from locking up and skidding so you do not
lose control of your car. Therefore, if you drive a car that has
anti-lock brakes, you are less likely to be in an accident. The
benefit is the positive end result. In your marketing, it is
that positive end result that you want to focus on.
Here is another example. XYZ Car Company has developed a new car
that gets 100 miles per gallon. The feature is that the car gets
100 miles per gallon. But what is the benefit? Why would a
person want a car that gets 100 miles per gallon? The benefit is
that you will save a fortune on buying fuel.
If you want to improve your marketing and increase sales, you
absolutely must focus on the benefits of your product or
service. Whenever you say what your product does (a feature),
ask yourself, "how will that feature help my customer? What is
the benefit of that feature?"
About the author:
Peter Geisheker is the President & CEO of The Geisheker Group,
Inc., a marketing firm that specializes in developing strategic
marketing programs for small and medium-size businesses. For
more information, please visit
http://www.geisheker.com or
call 920-884-9041.
