Persuasive Copy: Stress Benefits

(Third in a Series)

It’s a simple concept that has been around for years but one that bears repeating here. Persuasive copy intended for a consumer audience should come down heavily on the side of benefits. Customers don’t necessarily want to know how your product works, only that it will save them money or time, make them feel better or solve some other need or want. It doesn’t matter that a clothes washer has a 5 hp motor, only that it makes clothes cleaner faster and at a better price than the competition.

Persuasive copy aimed a B2B audience, however, can be different, perhaps a 50-50 mix of features and benefits, perhaps even a bit more titled toward features. Specialists may care about the technicalities and will understand the benefits. Still, for every feature you include should be able to point out a benefit to the user — clearly explaining the feature makes the benefit more believable.

Features are factual statements about the product or service being promoted. But features aren’t what entice customers to buy. That’s where benefits come in. A benefit answers the question “What’s in it for me?,” meaning the feature provides the customer with something of value.

Here are three ways to determine what benefit your product or services produces:

Know your customer. Gather as much information as possible on each market segment. You have to gather demographic data (age, sex, household income, family size, number of credit cards, media preferences and so on) and psychographic data (value system, primary hot button, behavioral style, response mechanisms, fears, passions and so on). Demographic data is fairly easy to come by – observation and conversation are two good methods. Getting inside your customer’s head is a different matter – most small businesses can’t afford to conduct in-depth surveys. You may have to observer and make some assumptions based on external factors. While this is not foolproof, if you put together enough observations, it is possible to derive a reasonably accurate picture of what motivates an individual.

Change your point-of-view. Step out of your role as the provider of a product or service and think like a consumer. You fully understand what you are offering – they may not. Put yourself in their shoes as the buyer. Approach your own product or service as if you’d never seen it. Then ask yourself – and anyone else who will answer – “What benefits will that feature bring me?”

Think in terms of results. There’s nothing wrong with the term “benefits,” but if you refocus the problem to think in terms of “results,” the situation becomes clearer. Results go one step beyond benefits. What is result of the benefit? When you use this “results” approach to discovering your business’ benefits, you can be sure the marketing messages you use to reach your prospects will be right on target.

(Next: Differentiate Yourself)

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