What do people care about more than anything?

Easy… Themselves.
In that light, it’s easy to understand why so many businesses (perhaps yours included) are so wrapped up in the ins and outs, ups and downs, and all the other feature-specific details of the services and products they offer.
But here’s the rub. Your customers’ only about one thing: “What can this product do for me?”
In other words, your customers don’t care the bells and whistles or the top seller or the #1 in the marketplace. They care about solving their problems, and fulfilling their needs.
To your customers, everything else is just noise.

To help illustrate this point…

I took online vitamin e-tailer, Vitacost, to task in a recent post for relying on feature driven marketing messaging.
As I described, an attractively designed direct mail postcard appeared in my mailbox touting 15% off Vitacost’s impossibly large vitamin + supplement inventory.
Sadly, however, I was shocked and dismayed (well perhaps that’s a BIT of an exaggeration) upon discovering that Vitacost’s messaging favored self-serving hype – “Huge selection!” – rather than focusing on product benefits – “pick up vitamins x, y & z to help heal…”
If you haven’t already read the post, or need a quick refresher, you can check it out here. Go ahead (no worries, we’ll wait;-).
Up to speed? Great, let’s move on…
Now you may be thinking: “Hey, Vitacost sells vitamins. Don’t the features of the service they provide matter?”
Well, those features certainly matter to Vitacost. It’s the crux of their business. But the benefits – the need their service fulfills – is what matters to Vitacost’s customers.
And in that dichotomy lies the danger of favoring features over benefits.
Let’s take a look at a couple more examples to further illustrate this point…

Buying a Pipe Wrench

Imagine you’re in the market for a pipe wrench…
What are the Features?
-Big.
-Red.
-High tensile strength steel.
-Adjustable from 6 inches to 3/8th of an inch.
All stuff you probably need to know (maybe the color doesn’t matter, unless you’re a pipe wrench traditionalist;-). But not very compelling.
So what are the Benefits?
-The right tool – the lock-tight grip™ pipe wrench – helps you get the job done faster.
-The lock-tight grip™ ensures the wrench doesn’t slip off a pipe and crash into your wall, which avoids damage and messes.
-The lock-tight grip™ also ensures the wrench doesn’t slip off a pipe and slam into your face, safeguarding you from potentially grievous injury.
OK truth be told, a pipe wrench is pretty boring, innocuous durable good. But  you likely get the idea here, Clearly, the benefits are far more motivating than the straight features.
But what about hiring a professional service provider to handle a specialized and expensive task?
Something like, oh say…

Hiring a Divorce Attorney

Imagine you’re in the very unenviable position of getting a divorce…
What are the features of Divorce Attorney’s services?
-Educating you on divorce law.
-Recommending the best course of action, given your particular circumstances.
-Negotiating with your soon to be Ex-spouse’s attorney.
-Achieving a fair and equitable settlement that best serves your interests.
All important elements in any divorce to be sure. But like the big red pipe wrench, obvious, generic and germane to all divorce attorneys.
So What About the Benefits?
-A legal expert with practical knowledge of all the ins and outs, ups and downs, and unexpected curveballs that might come sailing around every corner in a divorce proceeding.
-An advocate dedicated to protecting your (not inconsiderable) interests as they guide you along the frequently perilous path to divorce.
-A support to lean on and shoulder to cry as you navigate the emotionally fraught process of dividing not only a civil union, but a romantic and supposedly “till death do us part” alliance.
-A conduit to a fresh start and new life.
As you can see here, benefits step beyond logical matters of course, and dig into the emotion that motivates ACTION.
The importance of the division is becoming clearer, no? Well here’s a really easy way to differentiate features from benefits…

Features Are The WHAT

The WHAT are the “big red steel pipe wrench” and the “negotiate an amicable settlement.” They’re dull, obvious and logical.
And logic rarely, if ever, attracts ATTENTION or motivates ACTION. Two critical components of effective marketing.

Benefits Are The WHY

The WHY are the “getting the job done faster, safer and with less mess” and the “advocate that expertly guides you along the treacherous path while propping you emotionally and securing a fair and just settlement you’re legally and morally entitled to.”
Clearly the WHY is infinitely more compelling than the WHAT.

Benefits are MISSION Critical in Your Marketing Messaging

It’s the WHY – AKA the BENEFITS – behind your services that captivates and compels. Thus is you want your marketing messaging to ATTRACT ATTENTION, ENGAGE INTEREST + MOTIVATE ACTION – it’s IMPERATIVE you lead with BENEFITS.
Because in the end, benefits are what guides your ideal clients along the path from interested prospects to paying customer.

Are Your Marketing Messages Benefits Driven?

Think about the products and services you’re selling. Is your approach to messaging mired in the WHAT? Or zeroed in on the WHY? Not sure where your messaging is landing? Or struggling to craft benefits-why-driven marketing messages? Drop by me Google+ page and share some of you attempts – we’ll into some quick, off the cuff work-shopping. See you there!