Using features AND benefits to make your marketing stronger
When you write marketing copy (i.e. words that sell), are you focused on what you offer or what your prospective members get?
That’s the difference between features and benefits.
Great sales copy uses both.
Features are what you offer. Benefits are the positive outcomes they get.
For years I would focus almost entirely on the features in my marketing copy.
I was leaving it up to my prospects to determine why those features mattered and what outcome they would get as a result.
That was a huge mistake.
While some experienced buyers will look at a list of features and mentally translate them into potential benefits, most will not immediately be able to do that.
It’s your job to spell out the benefits of each feature in your marketing copy.
Follow this process to improve your sales and marketing:
- List every feature you offer (big and small—you don’t need to use them all)
- Beside it, put the benefits of those features in terms your prospects care about
- Pick the ones that have the highest value to your ideal members or differentiate you the most
- Make sure your sales copy includes those main features and why they matter
The benefits vary dramatically depending on who is using that feature.
If you have difficulty finding strong benefits to go with each feature, it’s probably because you don’t have a clear picture of your ideal member in mind.
For example, does location matter because it’s easier for the person reading your copy to get to your space?
Or does location matter so their team can get to work easily (thus impacting their ability to attract and retain top talent)?
You need to know why everything matters for your ideal members in order to use the right benefit.
The best way to know which benefits to focus on is to imagine your best/ideal member.
Pick a real person.
Walk through their daily life, imagine their internal experience, and determine why each feature would matter to them.
Or better yet, ask your members why they enjoy certain features.
Then describe the benefits in a way that tells a unique and powerful story.
Paint a picture of the benefits they are buying. What will their daily life look like? How will their life be better?
In the next article, I’ll give you a long list of features with some examples of how to turn them into benefits.
