Do you feel like potential clients don’t always understand how great your offering is? Then this article will be a quick win for you!
Having helped hundreds of companies significantly increase their growth, I’ve found that some simple tweaks to how you talk about your product makes a huge difference in how it resonantes with customers.
Here’s the simplest way to get started on this easy change: by understanding “features” vs “benefits.”
“Features” describe the product or service and what it does. For example:
- Diet Coke has 0 calories
- The new iPad has a retina display
- Our movers pack your belongings carefully
“Benefits” show which of the customer’s needs will be met. For example:
- You won’t gain weight when you drink Diet Coke
- Movies look more lifelike on the new iPad
- Your stuff won’t break during the move!
Benefits are much more powerful, because they tell the customer exactly why it matters. The benefit answers the “so what?” It speaks in the customer’s language, rather than in your language. So it motivates them more strongly to buy.
BUT — right now I’d bet you’re talking mainly about features. You see, we’re so eager to share how awesome we are, that we talk too much about ourselves. We talk about our process, our experience, our secret sauce.
Sometimes you might think, “Well the benefit is obvious!” True, people can connect the dots–0 calories means it’s better for my diet. However, you have your customer’s attention for a very brief time. Don’t make them do this extra work! Connect the dots for them, so they are sure to see the benefit of what you’re offering.