Products may be described in terms of
their features and benefits. Features are product characteristics; benefits are
customer needs served by those features. Some examples of features are size,
color, horsepower, functionality, design, hours of business, and fabric content.
Benefits are less tangible but always answer the customer’s question: What’s in
it for me? While product features are usually easy to define, product benefits
can be trickier because they exist in the customer's mind. The most compelling
product benefits are those that provide emotional or financial rewards. It’s
not the brighter smile that the toothpaste offers that is its benefit; it’s
what the smile might bring you (a good-looking mate, a better job, etc.).
Emotional rewards run the gamut of
human emotions, but basically allow the buyer to feel better in some way. For
example, sending flowers to a friend or family member allows the buyer to feel
supportive or loving. Buying products made from recycled materials offers the
buyer the chance to feel environmentally responsible. Products that deliver
financial rewards allow the buyer to save money (e.g., a discount long-distance
phone plan) or make money (e.g., computer software for managing a home based business).
Discovering Your Product's Benefits
To identify your product’s benefits,
you must consider your customers' needs. Imagine yourself in your customers’
shoes, talk to them directly, or conduct surveys asking about their needs and
perceptions. If possible, hire an independent firm to conduct a focus group
with a sample group of customers to test your product for usability and
desirability. Examine customers who have purchased your product in the past.
What do their customer profiles tell you about your product’s benefits? Once
you have a basic sense of your product's benefits, you can set up systems to develop
and track their evolution:
Ask customers for suggestions for
improvement.
· Pay careful attention to customer
complaints and prospect inquiries.
· Train and reward employees for
questioning customers and prospects to learn what they like and don’t like
about your product.
· Watch your competitors. Do the changes
in their product offerings suggest product benefits you hadn't yet considered?
Why is it important to understand my
product’s features and benefits?
Understanding product features and
benefits allows you to:
1. Describe your products in terms
relevant to your customers.
2. Differentiate explain how your
product is different than the competition’s, with different benefits.
3. Effectively choose pricing and
positioning strategies. Refer to strategy ideas below in "Strategies that
are based on features."
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