Win over your customers with benefits, not features

Do you buy a cup of coffee from Starbucks because it has 95 milligrams of caffeine?

Of course not.

You buy it because you are a sophisticated coffee connoisseur who wants to relax in a European-style cafe.

But so many businesses focus on the 95 milligrams of caffeine - the features of their product or service - instead of the benefits to their customers.

If you focus on the benefits, you'll make it easy for your customer to buy from you.

So how do you tell the difference?

🟢 Features

Features focus on attributes - what a product has or does. These are often physical qualities, such as size, speed, or material. The seller usually loves talking about features.

🟣 Benefits

Benefits focus on happy outcomes that result from those features - benefits are often a positive feeling or an intangible but important result. These are the things that matter most to the customer.

Here's another way to think about it:

Features answer "What is it?" while benefits answer "What's in it for me?"

Here are some examples:

Example 1 - Phone

🟢 Feature: Your phone is water-resistant.

🟣 Benefit: If you spill your Starbucks coffee on your phone, you can still check Cleopatra's antics on your cat-cam.

Example 2 - Mattress

🟢 Feature: Your mattress is made with memory foam.

🟣 Benefit: You get a fantastic night's sleep and feel refreshed and energetic.

Example 3: Sneakers

🟢 Feature: Your running shoes are made of breathable fabric with an ergonomic sole.

🟣 Benefit: You run your best 10k time ever. (Cue Chariots of Fire.)

See what I mean?

Don't get me wrong. You do want to mention features.

But be careful. If you focus too much on features, you will start to talk too much about yourself and your product, and your customer will lose interest.

Focus on benefits and you'll win the sale. 🙌🏼💲