Presenting Smart with John Windsor: The Trap of "Features & Benefits"
February 05, 2008
February 2008 (commentary)
By John Windsor
COMPANIES ALL OVER THE GLOBE use a list of "Features & Benefits" to pitch their products. It's a device used by sales people, product managers, and marketers alike. But, too often, it fails to effectively present the product it pitches.
There are two basic problems that can destroy the effectiveness of a Features & Benefits list:
• In the majority of cases, "benefits" merely serve to justify the "features."
• What are listed as benefits are often just further descriptions of the features.
Hampered from the Start
The problem begins with the title itself. By leading with the word "features," you are announcing that this is about yourself—i.e. the features of your product—not about your prospect's needs or interests. That registers with your audience every time.
It doesn't necessarily help to flip the labels around either. Calling it "Benefits & Features" still puts the emphasis on features, since virtually every listing of is done in a two-column table. It always comes down to the features.
"But don't people want to know about the features?" you might ask. Sure, but within a context—with a reason for being. Meanwhile…
• If your prospects already know what the features are, they already know the benefits. For example, if someone is planning to buy a projector, they'll look to see what the lumens or contrast or resolution is. In most cases, they'll ignore any listing of benefits, since they know that information already. They just want to see the particulars of the features.
• If your prospects don't know what specific features are used for, there are better ways to educate them than with the typical list of features and benefits. Give them a context first, so they'll understand how individual features fit into the overall product performance or application.
Abolishing the Labels
Your prospects don't think in terms of labels. They think in terms of actions, capabilities and outcomes. Most don't walk around saying "I need a solution," or "I need these benefits." They say "I need to do this," or "I need to solve that."
This makes for an interesting challenge when you need to structure and present formal communications about your products: How do you express the value your product provides if you don't attach it to the features your product possesses?
It's simple: separate the two.
Product features are merely a means to an end. They're not unimportant, but they should not be highlighted until a prospect is ready for that level of detail. A prospect first needs to grasp and identify with the overall value or benefit that the product can provide them. So, in place of one "Features & Benefits" document, you potentially end up with three documents or slides:
1) An overall positioning of the value your product provides, in clear, compelling language.
2) A simple list of product features, to be provided upon request, included as an appendix or available as a separate link on a web site. This should not have "benefits" listed unless it is for internal use as part of a training document.
3) Descriptions of specific applications of the product for when you need to educate prospects about your product. This provides context for individual features and does a better job of educating newbies.
If you need a document that catalogs the capabilities of various features, try labeling it as "Features & Functions" (or "Capabilities" or "Applications"). Another approach would be to set up a list of "What" and "How"—as in "What you want to do" and "How to do it."
Avoid the Trap
Now, business does get done in spite of "features" and "benefits." Business always gets done because prospects will wade through all kinds of materials and bad pitches to try to find the answers if their need is great enough.
But in a competitive world (which all of us face, or will), do you really want to leave things to chance—or to a prospect's desperation in your efforts to win more business?
John Windsor, an online columnist for Sales & Marketing Management, and president of Creating Thunder, a Boulder, Colo.-based communications training and consulting company. As author of the popular YouBlog, John offers a unique mix of innovation, communications, sales and marketing ideas. An award-winning marketer, John has held vice president positions in marketing, sales, and business development and has worked with companies like American Express, Reuters, Staples, and Knight-Ridder.
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