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Suggest You - Features are not Benefits
Every event whether it’s a meeting, party, seminar, conference, charity event, or your high school reunion will have common threads regardless of what it is, where it’s held, when or why it is happening. The following common threads are found in every organized event. Make sure you plan each of the following steps thoroughly and you are g
Wow. Makes you want to buy that hammer, huh? What a waste of money. This would be funny if it didn’t happen so often for so many products and services in so many industries.
Now, you could improve that hammer ad immensely
California like the rest of the country has many non-English or limited English speaking residents particularly within the Latino population. To capture these markets many companies often employ bilingual individuals. Sometimes these bilingual individuals chose to take advantage of the limited English speaking for greater profitability to
Perhaps you’re rolling your eyes as you read this because this is such an obvious point. You didn’t get to where you are today by not knowing the difference between your products’ features and benefits.
Of course you didn’t, but a funny thing happens when a person is put in charge of their company’s advertising. They often tend to forget that features are not benefits. They forget that nobody cares about their product’s features except the product designers and some salespeople.
Now maybe you’re different than most people. Maybe your company’s ads are all about the benefits of your products. Go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve achieved the goal of this step and may move on to the next.
But, if your ad is filled with bullet points describing all the wonderful features of your products, take a moment and read on.
Say you own a company that manufactures hammers. You could show a big picture of your lovely hammer below a headline that reads, “Introducing the best hammer for all your hammering needs.”
Beside the picture, you could list the many reasons your hammer is the best: solid steel head, unbreakable fiberglass handle, super comfortable rubber grip, etc.
Wow. Makes you want to buy that hammer, huh? What a waste of money. This would be funny if it didn’t happen so often for so many products and services in so many industries.
Now, you could improve that hammer ad immensely
You're beyond the paper and list-keeping stage. Thankfully, your business has grown to a point where you know you will have at least weekly income and expenses. Soon it will be daily. It's already starting to get hard to do your accounting manually and it will only get worse. What do you want to spend the majority of your business day o
Of course you didn’t, but a funny thing happens when a person is put in charge of their company’s advertising. They often tend to forget that features are not benefits. They forget that nobody cares about their product’s features except the product designers and some salespeople.
Now maybe you’re different than most people. Maybe your company’s ads are all about the benefits of your products. Go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve achieved the goal of this step and may move on to the next.
But, if your ad is filled with bullet points describing all the wonderful features of your products, take a moment and read on.
Say you own a company that manufactures hammers. You could show a big picture of your lovely hammer below a headline that reads, “Introducing the best hammer for all your hammering needs.”
Beside the picture, you could list the many reasons your hammer is the best: solid steel head, unbreakable fiberglass handle, super comfortable rubber grip, etc.
Wow. Makes you want to buy that hammer, huh? What a waste of money. This would be funny if it didn’t happen so often for so many products and services in so many industries.
Now, you could improve that hammer ad immensely
I have done my penance in the advertising industry. You might even call me an “ad-man.” I have engaged advertising’s rude and unwanted impressions. I have penetrated the unaware with my client’s messages. Oh, yes, I have been apart of the creation and distribution of junk mail and newspaper inserts. I have sold obnoxiously intrusive radio s
Now maybe you’re different than most people. Maybe your company’s ads are all about the benefits of your products. Go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve achieved the goal of this step and may move on to the next.
But, if your ad is filled with bullet points describing all the wonderful features of your products, take a moment and read on.
Say you own a company that manufactures hammers. You could show a big picture of your lovely hammer below a headline that reads, “Introducing the best hammer for all your hammering needs.”
Beside the picture, you could list the many reasons your hammer is the best: solid steel head, unbreakable fiberglass handle, super comfortable rubber grip, etc.
Wow. Makes you want to buy that hammer, huh? What a waste of money. This would be funny if it didn’t happen so often for so many products and services in so many industries.
Now, you could improve that hammer ad immensely
The surety bond market is currently a very conservative market. Contract and commercial bond departments throughout the nation have tightened up their underwriting practices due to enormous loses throughout the industry. Many sureties have had to close their doors, other have had their ratings drop to a level where they can not write the sa
Say you own a company that manufactures hammers. You could show a big picture of your lovely hammer below a headline that reads, “Introducing the best hammer for all your hammering needs.”
Beside the picture, you could list the many reasons your hammer is the best: solid steel head, unbreakable fiberglass handle, super comfortable rubber grip, etc.
Wow. Makes you want to buy that hammer, huh? What a waste of money. This would be funny if it didn’t happen so often for so many products and services in so many industries.
Now, you could improve that hammer ad immensely
Every year the dance begins. Supervisors and managers know they’ll soon have to do the annual performance review for all of their employees. They get the notice from HR reminding them of the deadlines. They get copies of the forms that will be used. They may even get some training on how to use the forms or conduct the reviews more effe
Wow. Makes you want to buy that hammer, huh? What a waste of money. This would be funny if it didn’t happen so often for so many products and services in so many industries.
Now, you could improve that hammer ad immensely by discussing a benefit in the headline and backing it up with other benefits to illustrate why the consumer would be nuts not to buy your hammer. It’s that easy.
But we’re almost through half of our twelve steps now. We can go even further. Let’s be courageous and think a bit more. Use your imagination and put yourself in the mind of your consumer.
Take your laundry list of benefits and think bigger. Is there a single overarching, perhaps intangible, benefit your consumer can enjoy based on the myriad of real benefits your product offers?
Aw! You’re on to something now. Just keep reading these articles, my friend. It only gets better.
This article introduced the fifth of twelve steps. Challenge yourself, your staff and your advertising agency to revolutionize your ad program. If you missed a previous step, contact the author for a complimentary copy. And, remember, every revolution begins with just one step.
Jeff Berney is a freelance idealist, brand evangelist and writer. He can be reached at www.jeff@jberney.com.
© 2006
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