We’ve all seen the product page with a bullet list of features that scrolls and scrolls. As a customer, how does that help you make a purchase decision? If you’ve done your research or you happen to be very knowledgeable about every feature, then the list may inform your decision. However, that’s a big assumption to make if you’re trying to sell to someone — that they somehow understand how each feature means they should pick your product instead of someone else’s.
More Isn’t Always Better
Let’s say that you do have a very knowledgeable buying audience and they understand the specifications of your various product features. Are there situations when one spec is better than another? Would the average customer know about these situations? Even with knowledgeable audiences, there may be the tendency to go with the biggest or best specification, which may or may not be the best for their circumstance. While a V8 engine certainly has a lot of power and torque, it may be overkill (and costly) if someone only needs to get one person around town.
Understanding Problems, Offering Solutions
Unfortunately, the term “solutions” is overused in today’s business world. Everything is a solution. The problem is, hardly any of them are solutions to a specific problem. Customers know what problem they are trying to solve, but not necessarily how to solve it. By understanding a customer’s problem, you can offer them the right product/service to help them out — and help them understand why that is the case.
Think of Benefits as Solutions
When you put yourself in the shoes of your customers and really understand their problems, it makes sense to have product benefits instead of product features. Benefits should speak to how the product helps solve the customer’s problem and why it does it better than other possible solutions. Thinking of benefits as solutions to customers’ problems puts you squarely in line with their thinking.
What companies are good at offering benefits instead of features and why?
