Don’t sell me features!

I want to emphasize the importance of selling benefits, not features. Every business owner, marketing professional, or sales person needs to realize that their customers buy benefits, not features (although features can influence their purchasing decision and would act as the Reason To Believe or commonly known as RTB in the advertising lexicon).

To understand what I mean, go to an electronics store, to the computer section specifically, and observe the laundry list of specifications they put next to each laptop displayed. It’s strange that although the laptop is a device for the masses, store owners still show a whole list of features and technical specs that only an experienced person or a computer engineer can understand. It is only when you translate these list of features into benefits that you are able to understand what they mean and consequently more likely to purchase the products.

Think of your advertising campaigns. Are you selling features or the benefits?
“42” LCD screen” vs. “cinema viewing experience in your living room”.
“Lithium battery” or 5 “hours of non stop usage time”.
“8Mbps speed” or “song download in 10 sec”.
…
To quickly test your communication, put yourself in the shoes of someone who has no clue about your business and ask yourself “so what?” (so what if it is a Lithium battery, or if my shampoo has Zinc… ). Rework on your communication until people understand the benefit or the value you are trying to sell them.

So what are you selling?

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