Your product has nice features...so what?
Photo by Daikrieg
So many businesses out there clamoring for sales. Say a prospect clicks on your website. She's searching the internet for info on your product. She reads your message. If it doesn't grab her attention, she'll click away (taking her money with her). So how do you get your message noticed?
Your Product has Nice Features
Your customers feel that, in some way, your product or service improves their lives. That's the reason they buy. But when businesses write copy about their products and services, they tend to forget how their customers benefit. They're (understandably) caught up in the hectic, day-to-day demands of their business, more worried about getting things done than remembering the benefits their customers enjoy after purchase.
It's easy to list the features of your products, but how do you get at the benefits?
How Asking Yourself "So What" Persuades Visitors to Become Customers
I discovered the value of 'so what' first hand during an interview with a masonry distributor. I was writing a company profile and offhandedly the owner mentioned his fleet of trucks. I didn't think this out of the ordinary. After all, someone has to deliver the bricks.
So I asked myself, "so what?" I like to call disinterested parties in the same industry to get a feel for what the marketplace is like for my clients. I found out that reliable delivery is a tremendously important benefit to the general contractor buying masonry products. My client actually owned his fleet, so he's not dependent on outside freight delivery services. Here's how I described it in the profile:
"...contractors need the right amount of brick delivered every day. They can't store the whole inventory in what's usually a limited space at the construction site. That's where our fleet of well maintained, reliable Mack trucks takes the worry out of daily deliveries. A missed delivery means the masons can't lay the brick, and that's lost profit for the contractor. We don't let that happen."
The benefit: less worry and no lost profits. That's why the feature, a fleet of delivery trucks owned and controlled by the distributor, provides a huge benefit to this company's customers. To a contractor who needs a masonry distributor, that's a great reason to do business with them.
Asking "so what" led me to the important benefit!
Here are a few more from my clients' websites:
An architect:
(Feature) We'll perform or assist with feasibility studies, facilities planning, site analysis, budgeting, and environmental impact analysis. (Benefit) You'll know up front if your project will work, problems you may encounter, and if your financing is in line with current construction costs.
A packaging supplier:
(Feature) Large volume pricing with no minimum order. (Benefit) Improves cash flow by ordering just what you need.
Heavy machinery distributor:
(Feature) Exclusive access to parts and service department. (Benefit) For shorter breakdown times.
You get the idea. Always think...so what?...as you write. Describe your product well, then stretch a little, asking yourself, "What's the benefit this product provides my customers?" Include that benefit in your writing and make sure its one they care about.
Remember when you write to persuade...your customer wants to know what's in it for them. Keep your writing "benefit rich," and you'll turn prospects into customers.
Until next time,
Nick
Other helpful posts on persuasive writing online:
Hi Customer...Will You Write My Website?
