Features and Benefits.

In several of the previous segments in this course we’ve referred to the idea that people don’t buy the product or service you are selling, they buy the result or transformation that product or service produces. That’s why it’s so important to understand what your client’s needs, pains and problems, and not just what they are buying.

For example, nobody buys a book because they need 220 pages of paper stitched together along with a cover. They buy a particular book because they want the information inside the book. Or they want to be entertained and escape from the world for a while. Or they want a story to share. Or they want to be able to talk about this book with their friends. Or they want to show off their command of the contents of the book. Or they want a kind of souvenir to put on their bookshelf.

In this case, the book is a feature. The 220 printed pages is a feature. The specific font is a feature. The binding and cover are features. They are elements or traits that make up the product.

And each of these features conveys an advantage to the owner. The advantage of the binding and cover is that the information stays organized. And it’s easy to handle and store. The advantage of a particular font is that it is easy to read.

And of course, each feature also conveys a benefit or many benefits to the user. In this case, the printed pages include information that will make the owner smarter. That’s a functional benefit.  Or the book owner may appear smarter and better informed when talking with colleagues. Those are  psychological and social benefits.

Finally, each benefit has an impact… the way it shows up in the product buyer’s life and improves it in some way. In the case of our book owner, by reading the information in the book, they are able to use that information to accomplish something they couldn’t do before. If this were a book about marketing, they might use that information to create a new campaign or funnel, to grow their list, and to make more money. All of these things are impacts that transform the buyer’s life in some way. This is what buyers are seeking. 

They don’t need a book. Or pages bound together. They need the impact that the book will have in their life.

So let’s talk about each of these elements separately.

A feature is an attribute, dimension, part, facet, aspect, detail, element, factor, characteristic, quality, trait, module, property, or component of the product or service you are writing about.

It is what your product is. A 7-part video course. A bag with two outside pockets and a secret compartment on the inside. A drink mix with 5 healthy ingredients.

Features make your product different or unique.

For example… the number of blades a razor has is a feature.

An advantage is the physical or practical reason a product has a feature. That 7-part video course we mentioned a moment ago… well, it’s broken into 7 parts to make it easy to understand. And because each of the parts is short, the course is easy to consume. Those are advantages that this particular feature conveys.

Advantages help demonstrate why your product is superior. Why buyers might prefer it over other, similar options. They give the buyer or user some leverage or advantage that products without this feature don’t have.

Earlier we mentioned the number of blades on a razor is a feature. Let’s say you have a razor with four blades. Four blades keep the skin flatter (as the blades pass over) than a three blade razor does. That’s an advantage.

Benefits are how the feature makes the buyer’s life better. This is the thing your buyer says or thinks she wants. She buys the 7-part course because it will teach her how to do something like knit a sweater. Or create a website. Or write in calligraphy.

The common way many copywriting teachers talk about this is with the drill and hole metaphor. People buy a drill, but what they really need is the hole. The hole is the benefit they are actually buying, not the drill, or the particular speed of the motor (which is a feature), or the fact that the speed means they can drill a hole faster (which is the advantage). They need the hole, that’s the benefit… the thing the drill gets them.

Going back to our razor metaphor… the four blades (feature) hold the skin flatter (advantage) so the user geets a smoother shave with fewer nicks and cuts (that’s the benefit).

But the benefit is not enough… We want to take it one step further and look for the impact of the benefit in a person’s life. We want to dimensionalize the benefit so it feels real. We want to make it easier for the user to imagine life with the benefits.

The impact is how a benefit makes life different and better. It’s the transformation. The result. The AFTER you are looking for.

So your four blade razor (feature) holds the skin flatter (advantage) so the user geets a smoother shave with fewer nicks and cuts (benefit) which eliminates 5 o’clock shadow and the need to shave again before going out to dinner (that’s the impact). Or maybe the impact is that the user’s partner loves his smoother skin and is more willing to snuggle and kiss as there is no beard burn. Improved love life is another great impact.

As you write your copy, take time to identify the features of your product or service. Write down as many as you can.

Then take time to brainstorm the advantages of each feature. There may be more than one. In fact, as you get better at this, you should easily identify more than one advantage for each feature. To find advantages, ask, what does this feature make physically possible?

Next, what benefits are possible thanks to the features and advantages. Again, there may be many benefits for each feature and/or advantage. Write them all down. To find benefits, ask, what does this feature or benefit enable the user to do or be?

Finally, how do these benefits impact the buyer’s life? What are the results? How is their life transformed into something better? To find these, ask, how is life different or better with this benefit in the user’s life?

If you understand the impacts, you can come up with some great ways to demonstrate the need for your product. You can show what’s possible with your product and focus on the better future.

Remember, there are multiple dimensions to the features/advantages/benefits and impact framework. Some are physical. Others are emotional, psychological and social.

Think again about the drill and hole metaphor. A person might buy a drill with a particular motor and speed because they need a hole. Those are the features, advantages, and benefits. And they drill a hole to hang a shelf on which they store their books. That’s the impact. Now they have a nice display of books. But take it farther. Because they have a drill and a hole and a shelf and a display of books, their friends may think of them as a bit more intellectual and interesting. Those are psychological and social impacts.

In fact, even the kind of drill the buyer gets may convey certain psychological benefits and impacts. One buyer may be happy with a 12 volt, cordless drill that costs about $20. While another buyer wants a high-power, 18 volt, brushless motor industrial hammer drill that costs $250. Both will create the hole to hang the shelf, but the features/advantages and benefits of the second drill convey very different psychological benefits for this buyer. Understanding not just the need for the hole, but the world view of your buyer will help you speak the right way to these very different drill and hole buyers.

Now it’s time to practice… pick a product or service. Identify as many features as you can. For each feature, identify as many advantages and benefits as you can. Then dimensionalize them. Write a few lines about how the reader experiences these benefits.

Don’t stop at features or advantages. Get to the benefits. And to put your copy on overdrive, make sure you dimensionalize those benefits by showing the impact.