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adama
- March 12, 2025
Unleashing the Power of Benefits in Your Marketing
In today’s business world, it’s easy to get lost in the minutiae of product features and service specifications. However, the true key to customer engagement lies not in what you offer but in what those offerings do for your customers. Are you selling a drill, or are you selling the ability to hang a picture and beautify a home? This distinction between features and benefits is paramount for crafting compelling marketing materials that resonate with your target audience.
Think quick. In 10 seconds, can you list the 5 key benefits you offer your customers?
I bet you said “Yes.” But are you sure you listed benefits? If you’ll bear with me for another 10 seconds, I’d like to test out a theory on you.
Recap your answers – maybe even write them down. Now, list the 5 main things your business does. In other words, what are your 5 core services? What are the 5 core features of your product?
If your first list looks anything like your second, chances are you’re mistaking features for benefits. As a result, likely, your marketing materials aren’t engaging your customers. Customers don’t want to know what you can do. They want to know what you can do FOR THEM.
Don’t talk features – talk benefits.
Don’t be alarmed. You’re not alone. Most business owners and marketing managers are so close to their product or service that they have a lot of trouble distinguishing benefits from the features of their offering. Ask a web host “what are the benefits of your service?”, and you’ll likely hear something along the lines of, “we offer load-balanced server clusters.” But that’s not a benefit… that’s what they do. The benefit is superior uptime and performance.
So many people think of features instead of benefits that it can work in your favour – to dramatic effect. If you can accurately identify your benefits and convey those benefits to your market, you’ll be light-years ahead of most of your competition. You’ll be converting leads into sales while they’re still bogged down trying to promote features.
Let’s assume you’ve ever sat down to write a sales letter and wondered how you’re going to grab your reader’s attention, or you’ve ever gone ‘round in circles writing draft after draft of web copy without ever hitting the mark. Now you know where you were going wrong.
The only question remaining is, how do you do it right? Advertising copywriters and website copywriters do it all the time – and most of the time, they do it with benefits. Benefits are the copywriter’s holy grail. But if you’re not a seasoned copywriter, how do you identify the benefits you offer your customers?
Understanding the Psychology of Benefits
The shift from features to benefits is rooted in understanding human psychology. Customers are driven by their needs, desires, and pain points. They don’t care about the technical specifications of your product unless those specifications directly address their concerns. According to a study by Invespcro, 90% of customers find personalized marketing content more appealing. This personalization stems from understanding what benefits resonate with them.
- Emotional Connection: Benefits tap into emotions. They create a connection between the customer’s desires and your product’s ability to fulfill them. For instance, a security system doesn’t just offer “motion sensors”; it offers “peace of mind.”
- Problem-Solving: Benefits directly address customer pain points. A project management software doesn’t just offer “task tracking”; it offers “reduced project delays and increased team efficiency.”
- Value Proposition: Benefits clearly articulate the value your product or service provides. They answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”
Identifying Your Benefits: Practical Strategies
There are any number of ways to identify the benefits you offer. This article discusses just three:
- Customer Research
- Speak to Your Sales Team
- Make it Easy for Your Customer to Get Buy-In
The method you choose depends on your time constraints, budget, and level of customer interaction.
1) Customer Research: The Voice of Your Audience
The most obvious way to identify benefits is to ask your existing customers. They’re spending a lot of money on your offering, so you can be sure they know what benefit they’re getting from it. (In many cases, it can be handy to ask them what benefits they’d like to be getting from you, too!) Unfortunately, like everyone else, your customers are busy people. In most cases, you won’t get useful feedback by simply sending an email inquiry. You have to make it easy for them to respond, and you have to make it worth their while. Think about questionnaires and surveys for quantitative data and interviews and focus groups for qualitative data. These are the simplest techniques, but you still have to make sure you interpret the results appropriately. And always remember that they’re self-report methods. People will sometimes tell you what they think you want to hear. (That’s also why you have to word your questions very carefully – try not to ask leading questions.) Of course, there are plenty of other research techniques around. Do a bit of homework and find the methods which best suit your business requirements. But don’t get carried away by the possibilities. All the research data in the world is pointless if you’re not talking the language of your customer.
- Quantitative Data: Surveys and questionnaires provide numerical insights into customer preferences. Utilize tools like Google Forms or SurveyMonkey to gather data efficiently.
- Qualitative Data: Interviews and focus groups offer in-depth insights into customer motivations and experiences. Engage in open-ended conversations to uncover hidden needs.
- Data Interpretation: Analyze research data to identify recurring themes and patterns. Translate raw data into actionable insights.
- Avoiding Bias: Frame questions neutrally to avoid leading respondents. Ensure anonymity to encourage honest feedback.
2) Speak to Your Sales Team: Frontline Insights
Sadly, not every business can afford to invest in market research. If your budget doesn’t stretch far enough, try talking to your salespeople. They’re out in the field every day, talking to customers. And because their livelihood depends on their success in engaging customers, chances are they’ll be able to tell you what your customers want to know. (A word of warning, though… Be careful not to make lofty promises. Unlike your sales team, written collateral doesn’t generate a rapport with your customers. Customers won’t make as many allowances, so you can only stretch the truth so far in writing before your credibility suffers. What’s more, if you do push the boundaries, you’re more likely to be held to your word!)
- Regular Feedback Sessions: Conduct regular meetings with your sales team to gather customer feedback and insights.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Data: Analyze CRM data to identify common customer inquiries and pain points.
- Sales Call Recordings: Review sales call recordings to understand how customers respond to different product pitches.
- Honesty and Accuracy: Ensure that sales team insights are grounded in reality and avoid exaggerating product capabilities.
3) Make it Easy for Your Customer to Get Buy-In: Addressing Decision-Makers
If you don’t have the budget for in-depth customer research and you don’t have a sales team, a good tip is to imagine how your customer gets buy-in from their boss. Quite often, the decision maker is someone higher up the food chain than your direct audience. Your audience will probably be the key stakeholder – they’ll be the user of your product or the recipient of your service. But when they find an offering they like, there’s a good chance they’ll have to sell it to someone further up the line. If you can make this sale easier, you’ll have a foot in the door. Don’t just appeal to the sensibilities of the direct audience. You also need to ask yourself what they need to know to convince the decision maker. If the decision maker is a CFO, think Return on Investment (ROI) and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). If the decision maker is a CIO or MIS, think about performance, technological sustainability, availability, manageability, and ease of integration. If the decision maker is a CEO, think liability, risk management, and ROI. And only use jargon to prove you know your stuff. Remember… jargon will probably have the ultimate decision maker scratching their head, not reaching for their chequebook.
- Tailored Messaging: Develop messaging that addresses the specific concerns of different decision-makers.
- ROI Calculations: Provide clear and concise ROI calculations to demonstrate the financial benefits of your product or service.
- Case Studies and Testimonials: Showcase how your product or service has helped other businesses achieve their goals.
- Clear and Concise Language: Avoid jargon and use language that is easily understood by all stakeholders.
Prana Business: Amplifying Your Benefit-Driven Marketing
At Prana Business, we understand the power of benefits-driven marketing. We can help you:
- Identify and Articulate Key Benefits: Our marketing experts will work with you to uncover the core benefits of your product or service.
- Craft Compelling Marketing Materials: We’ll create engaging content that highlights your benefits and resonates with your target audience.
- Develop Targeted Marketing Campaigns: We’ll design campaigns that deliver your message to the right audience at the right time.
- Analyze Marketing Performance: We’ll track and analyze your marketing performance to ensure that your message is effective.
Don’t let your marketing messages fall flat by focusing solely on features. Embrace the power of benefits and watch your business thrive. Prana Business is here to guide you on this journey.
Reach us now to schedule a consultation and discover how we can help you craft benefit-driven marketing campaigns that resonate with your audience and drive conversions. Let’s transform your marketing from good to exceptional.