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The Sales Power of Features
Every sales and marketing specialist agrees, “Talk benefits, not features!” Yet there are ways of talking about features that can advance the sales effort.
Let me give you a practical example of the power of features from my packaging sales and marketing days, and then relate it to well known and successful marketing campaigns and draw some general principles.
I once sold a product called Microfoam®, a thin, white flexible foam used for cushioning, interleaving, and other types of industrial packaging. The product had two features we liked to talk about.
First, Microfoam® has a high coefficient of friction, meaning, it clings to smooth surfaces such as glass and metal. This is an important feature if you’re using the product to interleave between plates of glass, because it prevents the glass from shifting.
Now you would think talking about high coefficients of friction would put customers to sleep. Wrong! Customers remembered the phrase “coefficient of friction”. They’d get it wrong, saying the product had a “coefficient of friction” or a “low coefficient of friction”, but on one crucial level it didn’t matter – the term stuck in their heads. They associated the term with the brand, and the connection was this – Microfoam is a unique, high performance product.
Second, Microfoam has 50,000 closed air cells per cubic inch. Pretty cool, eh? Customers thought so. Now, I’m sure they didn’t know whether competitive products had 5,000 cells per cubic inch or 500,000, but the takeaway was always the same – Microfoam is one hell of a good cushioning product!
Why Talking Features Works
Features differentiate your brand. We are so bombarded with benefits these days, they all start to sound the same. And in truth, it is sometimes hard to come up with a benefit that really makes your product stand out from the crowd. Everything “makes you sexy” and “takes away bad breath”, but Certs has Retsin! I don’t know what Retsin is, or whether other breath mints have it … but I sure remember Certs.
Maybe you need a Certs after a hearty meal. Everything “tastes great” and “fills you up”, but when KFC announced that it had a secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices for its sauce, its popularity soared. And – KFC talked about features without revealing what the features were. Genius. Today, “secret sauce” is a standard piece of marketing jargon.
Features can be fun. Since we’re talking fast food, how about the classic Wendy’s campaign, “Where’s the Beef?” Wendy’s wanted to differentiate the brand based on its larger than average hamburgers. They sure found an entertaining way to execute the plan! Take a look at this and have a good laugh -
Going against the grain can be a highly effective content strategy. If everybody’s talking benefits, talking features will attract attention.
Over to You
What exciting features do your products and services have? How can you talk about them in ways that are fun and differentiate your brand?
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Brad, your post is so timely! I’ve been reading Collapse of Distinction, a book all about going beyond differentiation to distinction. Your points are perfectly aligned with the thinking in this book. So often we engage in “me too” or “me too plus” marketing. If features are what you do differently, and they make your brand unique, why wouldn’t you talk about it?
Karen Swims last blog post..Authenticity, Transparency and Poetic Musings
Hi Karen, I have to read this book – sounds excellent! Your comment oozes common sense, which may be the reason why firms don’t talk about their distinctive features.
It’s also a question of talking about features in the right way. Often it’s a fine line between being too technical and too simplistic. Too technical bores and confuses; too simplistic lacks impact or arouses suspicion.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..The Benefits of Talking about Features
Brad,
the only product I sell is me (just kidding), so I don’t have any experiences on that field. But the Wendy video is excellent: it is not only fun to watch, but makes your point very clear. Another lesson learned on some strange but interesting field!
Ulla Hennigs last blog post..Berlin, Pariser Platz
Hi Ulla, There was a time when “Where’s the beef?” was part of virtually every conversation going on in the U.S. It was even used effectively in a presidential campaign, but I can’t remember which one. Maybe the “Ulla Hennig” product will go that viral one day!
Brad Shorrs last blog post..The Benefits of Talking about Features
Surprise, surprise. You brought me out of the woodwork on this one! Interesting way of looking at features vs. benefits.
Have to say that your post seems to cut against the grain of what most have preached as the preferred sales approach over the years, particularly in the example you selected. Since – in this one particular product area – we were friendly competition, was always glad to make a call after what many of us regarded as the “smoke and mirrors” of Microfoam(R) Cushioning had been presented to a customer. Made my/our job easier when telling “the real story”!
My comment is a bit tongue-in-cheek but do feel that, in most cases, presenting benefits as features in action – where the rubber meets the road, so to speak – is a better way to fly. The fact that, from what I know, the market for Microfoam(R) Polypropylene Foam Cushioning failed to equal that of polyethylene foam cushioning over the long haul would seem to support what I am saying. And the sale of that business division by DuPont tends to underline my point.
Final thought – I always regarded the high COF of Microfoam(R) Cushioning as a touted benefit to be sold against, not just a feature. The old abrasive vs. smooth argument.
Hi Bill, The ups and downs of Microfoam over the years, or perhaps better described as a steady decline, occurred for a multitude of reasons. Personally, I don’t think the sales presentation was much of a factor – it had more to do with where MF fit in with DuPont, a limited product line, limited application due to its physical characteristics and cost, and most important, the development of new products that made MF, as well as PE foams, obsolete for general purpose use. But I do agree that a good presentation should show the product in action. That’s how I learned never to leave a roll of stretch film in my trunk during the summer. (It melts!)
Brad Shorrs last blog post..The Benefits of Talking about Features
Great arguments on positioning. Positioning against a competitor can be risky, but when the proof is strong, wise. I do think that benefits needs to be front and center, however as the customer can always say that the feature is not important to him. I think of benefits as creating the context within which your potential customer will be eager to hear about your features.
Kay
Kay Plantess last blog post..Value Promise and Profit Potential, Part Two
Hi Kay, I like the way you put that. In sales, it’s better to talk about features not only after creating a benefit context, but when you’ve learned something about the customer’s needs. That way, you can match up features to needs and not waste the customer’s time.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..The Benefits of Talking about Features
Really simple yet effective idea!
If there is something that you want to sell it seems to follow that you would have to explain the benefits of the product, but what causes the benefits? Well, like you say the features!
I really like what you said about 50,000 air pockets, the customers probably don’t know what it means but it sounds pretty impressive and does differentiate the product from the rest on the market.
Interesting idea, one that I will have to try to integrate into my article writing.
Danielle Ingrams last blog post..Google One-Line Sitelinks – May 9, 2009
Brad,
I would have thought that the relative merits of sales pitches based primarily around ‘benefits’ against those which focus on ‘features’ would depend upon the nature of the target customer with whom you are trying to communicate.
Sales pitches based around ‘benefits,’ I would have thought, would be most useful when trying to persuade a large portion of your audience about why they need the product or service which you offer in the first place. Those based around ‘features’ I would have thought, would have been more useful where you are talking to prospective customers who have already decided to purchase a product or service similar to the nature of what you offer, but are undecided about whether to go with your offering or those of your competitors.
Take cricket bats for example. Every cricket player needs one, no questions asked, so cricket players are concerned with the question of ‘which bat’ and not the question of ‘whether I need one,’ and given that virtually all bats offer substantially the same practical benefit, there would appear to be little value in talking about the benefits the particular bat in question provides. What is relevant are the features of the bat compared to other bats, such as how much power the bat provides relative to its weight, which determine whether or not cricket players will choose one bat or another.
But take another example – the marketing of property investment seminars. Prospective attendees are more concerned about why they should attend one in the first place than they are about which particular promoter they should go and see. In such cases, rather than comparing the features of one property investment firm (or individual speaker) against another, it would be wiser for a firm which specializes in property investment education to focus their marketing on the benefits which attending a property investment seminar can provide.
Andrews last blog post..Hate rappers – social menaces or genuine entertainers?
Hi Danielle, Your reaction to the 50,000 air pockets is much like that of the prospects I used to call on … hard to forget, isn’t it? Maybe not quite “Where’s the beef?”, but memorable. I hope it helps your article writing.
Andrew, Have you ever considered a career in sales? You sure have an exceptionally fine intuitive understanding of the sales process and psychology. Thank you for your thoughtful comment – I think you are 100% on track. Generic sales advice is difficult to offer, because circumstances vary so much.
Your example of a cricket bat is excellent, but even there, not all buyers will decide based on features. If you’ll allow me to switch to golf clubs, I’m one of those folks who doesn’t want to hear a long spiel about how this club is weighted or that club has a super wide club face, etc. I’ll make a decision intuitively, by swinging the club and seeing how it feels. I imagine some people might purchase cricket bats the same way.
For advertising purposes, the golf club manufacturer will probably combine a features message with testimonials – e.g., video of duffers like me swinging the club and knocking it 300 yards down the middle of the fairway. I guess the key is identifying the buying style of the customer.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..How a Non-Profit Organization (NPO) Can Raise More Money
Hi Brad,
Thank you very much – I’m very glad to hear you say that.
I don’t feel that my personality lends itself naturally to any form of traditional sales roles, but that does not mean that I would not ever think about becoming involved in some aspect of the marketing process.
I finish up in Korea in three months, and upon my return to Australia, one area in which I intend to explore potential possibilities is the area of professional writing.
I have always found that I the writing process is one from which I personally derive a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction, and my current intention is to enrol on a part time basis in a Professional Writing and Editing course.
(I will probably seek employment within my old accounting profession as well, but given the likely time requirements which will be associated with my studies, I am not yet certain whether I will seek full time or part time employment)
I would really love to explore the possibilities in terms of the various forms of professional writing, and although I was thinking more along the lines of technical writing, publishing or editing, I would certainly be open to any way in which I could become involved in the design of marketing campaigns or promotional effort of some form, especially in a behind the scenes capacity.
Eventually, I would love to start my own business of some form, and no doubt professional writing offers a great deal of opportunities in that regard, although that said, I am a long way from any form of specific plan in that area.
Thanks again very much for your suggestion. You have made my day.
Andrews last blog post..Will good intentions wither in tough times?
Andrew, There’s always a need for talented writers who can think clearly and see the big picture. I hope you will continue to use your blog as a platform to stretch your skills and try out new approaches. Blogs make excellent training camps for aspiring and veteran writers alike!
Brad Shorrs last blog post..How to Prepare Yourself for Launching a Business Blog