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How to Avoid turning your customers off

Imagine that you own an accountancy firm and you need new software that will help you and your employees jobs easier. You need something that is user friendly, clean and easy to use. The software you have been using for the last 5 years needs an update, your employees complain that the interface has too much clutter and too many buttons.

You search the internet and come across a business that may solve your software problems. You are ecstatic that you have come across a product will make your lives easier. Now you want some information about the product so you contact the business itself.

Before you know it the owner starts telling you about how great their product is and how it was voted the number one product in last year’s gazette. They tell you how the software sells like pancakes and customers have come beating down the door for it. It gets worse, they even tell you how they started their business.

You scratch your head thinking, ‘’ I only want some information about your software and how it can help us, not your life story.’’

In this scenario the business owner is discussing the features of the product (what it does) instead of the benefits of the product (What it does for the customer). Potential customers want to know what is in it for them, discussing only the features puts customers to sleep but when you talk about the benefit their ears perk up

In Copywriting, we write about the benefits of the product or service and refrain from talking about how great your business is. That said, the feature is what enables the benefit but it is not the feature they care about it is what your product or service can do for them. The benefit is the value, the end result! It is the magic they seek out to solve their problem.

People don’t buy based on what they want. They buy based on what they need. Your goal should be to sell to solve a problem. The biggest sales killer is failing to communicate why your customer or ideal prospect should care about what you’re selling to them.

By waffling on about the features you fail to address the real value of what your product or service has to offer the customer and how that can alleviate the pain points for that person should they buy your product or service.

So what are the differences between features and benefits. An example would be the humble coffee mug with a handle. The handle is the feature of the mug but the benefit to the customer is that they can enjoy a hot mug of coffee or tea without worrying about burning themselves.

Another example is a Bic pen.  Most of them have removable caps, which is the feature but the real benefit is that when a customer places the pen into their pocket or bag the cap will prevent the ink from leaking.

If I flew with Virgin Atlantic to Miami for a holiday, imagine how I would feel if the tour operator explained to me the size of the wheels on the plane, the roar of the powerful jet engines or what colour the tailfin is. As a customer of Virgin Atlantic, I would want to know about the Sandy beaches, the warm climate and palm trees and all things Miami. I want to have that image itched into my mind as I await my destination.

Customers purchase on emotion, not logic. It is the experience of purchasing the product or service that appeals to the emotions of the person buying. Does the product or service make them more comfortable or safer? Does it appeal to their lifestyle or make life easier? This probably explains shopaholics well because they are not buying items for the sake of it, it is the experience of buying itself. The very act of taking out the credit or debit card to pay for the 20th pair of trainers they don’t need is the dopamine release.

Although we shouldn’t discount features entirely because they still have their place. But the features is not the selling point. Your business should be about solving problems for people and creating value. It is all about empathy, putting yourself in the customers shoes. It is about addressing their pain points. That is the gem only benefits can address.