Understanding Features and Benefits
Features and benefits are the backbone of any successful sales and marketing campaign. Unfortunately, many fall into the trap of believing that features alone are enough to sell a product, thinking that the more features they list, the better the product will seem.
A poor sales and marketing campaign simply lists a product’s features, expecting consumers to see the ‘obvious’ advantages and automatically understand how those features will improve their lives. A good sales and marketing campaign, however, will not just list features but will explain the benefits that each feature brings to the customer.
What Are Features and Benefits?
- Features are the facts about your product – what it is or what it does. For instance, a car may have a 1.8-litre engine, 52 miles per gallon fuel economy, auto-locking, and a digital radio. These are all features.
- Benefits, on the other hand, are how those features improve the consumer’s life or meet their needs. For example, a fuel economy of 52 miles per gallon leads to the benefit of saving money on fuel. A digital radio allows the user to listen to their favourite stations in crystal clear sound.
Every feature has a corresponding benefit, even if it isn’t immediately obvious. The art of a good marketing campaign is identifying these benefits and making sure they resonate with the customer.
Why Benefits Matter More Than Features
There are some consumers who love feature-packed descriptions, particularly when it comes to highly technical products like laptops or top-of-the-line cameras. For many, features serve as useful facts that back up the product’s value. However, most customers are thinking, “What’s in it for me?” They want to know how a product will benefit them personally. This is why it’s essential to communicate benefits, not just features.
Features tell the customer what the product is, but benefits tell them why they should care.
Have you ever shopped for a product and felt overwhelmed by jargon? You wanted the best product within your budget but didn’t fully understand what all the features meant. The same can happen to your potential customers. Benefits break down these features into understandable terms that show exactly how the product will improve their lives.
An Example of Features and Benefits
Imagine you are launching a new vacuum cleaner. Here’s how you might communicate its features and benefits to make it more appealing to consumers:
- Feature: The vacuum is lightweight.
Benefit: No more lugging around heavy equipment – you can clean faster and more efficiently without straining your back. - Feature: It uses cyclone technology.
Benefit: Your carpet will get a deeper clean, prolonging its life and saving you money. Plus, the quiet motor means you can clean without the annoying drone interrupting your music or conversations. - Feature: It doesn’t use a conventional vacuum bag.
Benefit: Forget the hassle of messy vacuum bags that split when you’re trying to remove them. You’ll enjoy a cleaner, simpler way to dispose of dust. - Feature: The vacuum is cordless.
Benefit: No more untangling cables or searching for plug sockets. You can clean any room in the house without restriction. - Feature: It’s made of a reinforced plastic.
Benefit: The vacuum is highly durable, so even if you drop it down the stairs, it won’t break. - Feature: It has fewer moving parts.
Benefit: Fewer parts mean fewer things that can go wrong. This vacuum will last longer and save you money on repairs in the long run.
Why Features and Benefits Are Both Important
In any sales and marketing campaign, both features and benefits play important roles. Features provide the facts and back up your claims about the product, while benefits show the consumer why they should care and how the product will solve their problems or improve their lives.
Even the most feature-rich product will be hard to sell if the consumer can’t see the benefits. Ultimately, it’s the benefits that make a product compelling.
Do You Know Your Own Features and Benefits?
If you don’t fully understand the benefits of your own product, how can you expect your customers to recognise them? It’s crucial to identify both the features and the benefits of your product or service, so you can communicate them effectively in your sales and marketing efforts.
At The Last Hurdle™, our Business Development Specialists are highly trained and experienced in helping businesses identify and leverage their features and benefits. We can help you craft a marketing campaign that resonates with your target audience and highlights why they should choose your product.
If you’d like to talk about your sales and marketing strategy or need help identifying the key features and benefits of your products or services, call us today on 01604 6545455 or email hello@thelasthurdle.co.uk.
Let us help you turn your product’s features into benefits that sell!
