Benefits versus features, which one works best when writing copy that sells?
This typically depends on your audience and the knowledge and experience of your targeted customer. Benefits work well for new customers who aren’t familiar with industry jargon, but when trying to gain trust, you need to give your customer the cold hard facts about the product. A combination of features and benefits work together to educate the potential customer and to convince them that your product is the solution they have been searching for.
The average customer is searching for something to make their life easier, better, or more exciting. Sometimes they don’t realize that your product is the answer to what they need. Customers need you to cut to the chase and tell them why buying your product is the best choice for them. You can’t just tell them the product is great, you have to explain how the product will improve their life. You have to brag about the benefits.
Features act as the proof for your benefits by helping you quantify the claims you’re making. Without features, benefits are not as effective. Merely stating that your product will save a customer time and labor doesn’t offer enough information for them to make an educated buying decision. You will need something to back it up to prove your product is superior to the competition’s. That’s the benefit of features.
Focussing on benefits rather than features is sometimes difficult.
For one thing, space is premium in an advertising piece. A list of features takes up a lot less space than writing explanations of benefits. Shorter bits of copy are easier to read. Many people shy away from large blocks of copy unless you have a great headline to draw them in.
An easy but essential way to balance features and benefits is with the use of glamour or in-use photography. Pictures make your product more desirable, your features more understandable and your benefits more believable.
So, how do you successfully convert features into benefits when writing copy that sells? Here’s a simple four-step formula that will show you how easy it is to convert features into benefits.
Make a list of every feature of your product or service.
Ask yourself why each feature is important to the quality of your product or service.
Next determine how these features connect with the customer’s needs and desires.
Explain in detail what’s in it for the customer at an emotional level.
Now you have the foundation for writing copy that sells. Write about your product’s features in a way that resonates with your prospective customer, letting them know how the product’s features will benefit them. Copy that combines both benefits and features is your formula for success.
