Lets face iteven though most of us arent prowling used car lots wearing plaid polyester leisure suits, were all in the sales business. Whether youre trying to persuade lawmakers to pass legislation favorable to your company, hoping to soften the blow of an unpopular personnel policy or launching a new teen-driver safety initiative, youre selling. And as all advertising prosespecially those in direct-response marketingwill tell us, youve got to tailor your sales messages to emphasize benefits over features. People will buyor buy intoyour product or your message when theyre emotionally convinced that it will improve their lives or protect their assets, family, or health. Its OK to mention featuresa bills particulars, a products warranty, a campaigns dollar goalbut they must be tied to benefits or your prospect wont be moved to take action. Sounds simple, right? The new Ecologica XYZ wagon will allow you to buy 3 times more Birkenstocks and enjoy two soy lattes every day with your $2,500 in annual gas savings is a benefits-oriented statement. The new Ecologica XYZ gets 79/mpg highway and 69/mpg city is a features-oriented statement because it doesnt tell you how that gas-mileage information will improve your life. But youd be surprised by how many seasoned communication/advertising pros focus exclusively on features. Case in point: A friend was recently working on marketing collateral for a medium-sized business. The key contact at the business was excited about the companys new state-of-the art phone and computer system, and wanted to devote a whole page to glowing descriptions of them. My friend asked the client how the new infrastructure actually benefited their clients or prospects. Well, its important to us and were really proud of it, so we want it in there, the client countered. Happily, my friend was able to convince the company to include a benefit with each feature they mentionedi.e., how the new super-powerful system would mean that customers would be served even faster than before, etc. Anything else would just be vanity. So vet each piece of copy you turn out to see if it passes the benefits-vs.-features test. A good rule of thumb: If a sentence begins with we or our, its probably emphasizing a feature; you statements tend to be more benefit-oriented. If you dont, your audience will go, Whats in it for me instead of Take my money, please! or How do I sign up? |
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