The answer to this question plays a significant role in the effectiveness of your marketing message.
While features are facts, benefits explain why facts are important. It’s these benefits that target your prospects’ emotions – a key factor in selling situations.
People buy for emotional reasons first. Then they look for facts to validate the purchase.
When you only use features in your marketing materials, you ignore the real reasons why your prospects need your product or service.
An easy way to write response-boosting benefits is to follow your features with the words “so that.” You can physically write these words or just say them mentally.
Here’s a basic example: Let’s say you’re promoting a computer monitor with a 19-inch screen.
Your primary feature (or fact) is the 19-inch screen. With a little research, you can quickly create benefits, especially when you understand your prospects’ needs.
Maybe studies show a 19-inch screen is the optimal size for reducing eye strain. One benefit might be …
The computer monitor screen is 19 inches … so that … you can reduce eye strain by up to 57%.
But why stop with just one benefit? You’ll discover even more powerful benefits when you use “so that” multiple times.
… you can reduce eye strain by up to 57% … so that … you can diminish the times you experience blurred vision, neck pain and fatigue… so that … you can work more comfortably … so that … you can complete more projects in the same amount of time …
A description only touting a computer monitor’s screen size does little to target a prospect’s emotions. However, once benefits are added to the copy, prospects learn why they are better off purchasing the product.
Below is an example of a benefit-oriented sentence pulled from a Sleep Number advertisement I recently saw online.
The feature is the “Outlast® Adaptive Comfort® material.” The material’s benefit (or the “so that”) is that it warms and cools “to keep you comfortable through the night.”
Here are more examples from an advertisement for Amazon’s new Kindle wireless reading device:
• Revolutionary electronic-paper display (feature) provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper (benefit).
• Wireless connectivity (feature) enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle – whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed (benefit).
• Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones (feature) – so you never have to locate a hotspot (benefit).
• Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle (feature) for easy, on-the-go viewing (benefit).
• No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments – we take care of the wireless delivery (feature) so you can simply click, buy, and read (benefit).
Give the “so that” technique a try the next time you need to transform your facts from features to response-boosting benefits. This simple shortcut is certain to increase your prospects’ interest while generating more sales.
