Sell the Benefits, Not the Features
Monday, February 26, 2007
As a business owner, you're constantly trying to market your services to let potential customers know about your company. Your marketing plan may include listing your business details in several places - you may have ads in the phone book, in a newspaper or on the radio, and company information may be on brochures and business cards. Whenever a service professional talks about his or her business, many will list the features that best describe what service is provided. But, here's a tip - people don't buy features, they buy benefits.What's the difference between benefits and features? If you're going to place an ad in your local yellow pages, you'll display your company name and contact information. Many companies will put down a list of projects or services they provide. For example, a plumbing company might mention they: install water heaters, specialize in copper re-piping, and handle septic system installations. Your competitors are probably listing the same features. But what's in it for your customer?
A benefit addresses a need. You can turn a feature into a benefit by providing solutions to problems your customers may have. Instead of stating you have several plumbers on call, state you can dispatch a plumber quickly to respond to any emergency. Most plumbers deal with copper pipes - tell your customers how copper will benefit them and that you can save them money because you install more than any company in the area.When your planning your ads and brochures, write out all the features that your company offers. List what sets you apart from your competition and then write out how that will affect your customer. You'll find that you get better results from any of your marketing forms.
