Features vs Benefits?

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HI All,

First off, I'm by no means a copywriter. But sometimes I try to write my own stuff, and have bought some good copywriting books.

They say that the only "stupid question is, the one that you don't ask"!

Ok, here it goes! This will be a breeze for you folks but everyone has a different opinion..

Sometimes I have a hard time with describing benefits. ..

Why I don't know.

Sometimes it's hard for me to distinguish between the two.

I would just like to get some feedback from you guys, how to bring out the benefits in ME!!

Thanks a bunch!
Steven
#copywriting #benefits #features
  • Features = Logical Facts

    Benefits = Emotional Desires

    You sell on emotions, and not facts. You present facts via emotional desires (benefits), and you close the sale by offering the solution to that desire.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Hey Steve,

    Good question.

    The feature is a fact about your product. And the benefit is what's in it for your prospect.

    Like this..

    The Honda Civic has a 1.8 litre engine... so it is fuel effecient and saves you money on gas.

    The new Maytag air conditioner has 11,000 btu's... so even on those hot summer days you'll stay nice and cool.

    Hope that helps

    Bill
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    • Whilst there's no technical description between the two... to me these are still features.

      Sometimes that's okay though. Sometimes you can give the reader the feature and they'll automatically extrapolate the benefits... but usually not.

      One popular way I've seen that gets to the REAL benefit is the "so what?" angle.

      Here's an example:

      =======================

      The new Honda Civic has a 1.8 litre engine

      So what?

      So... it uses less fuel

      So what?

      It's good for the environment and saves you money

      Now, at this point, it splits into two separate "benefit paths"... let's go with the "environment" angle.

      So what?

      You will be contributing to helping us keep our environment alive

      So what?

      You will feel as though you're making a positive difference in the world, leaving behind a positive legacy?

      So what?

      You'll feel good about yourself.

      =================

      Here's a quick tip: EVERY benefit is about feeling good about yourself... all of them.

      It's how human beings work.

      But they also like specifics and reasons why... so you have to match the features and benefits THEY CARE ABOUT to them.

      Saying "it'll make you feel good" is pointless... but saying "You can sleep soundly at night knowing you've made a positive contribution to your children's future" or whatever might not be (depending on the market).

      Essentially, a benefit is why your customer should care... but sometimes getting the the REALLY powerful benefits takes a bit of sideways thinking.

      -Dan
      • [ 3 ] Thanks
      • [2] replies
  • How to quickly convert features to benefits:

    Ask yourself what that feature/characteristic/element of a product or service does for the prospect ie. what does that mean?

    Example: (feature) this course includes 11 step-by-step videos... (benefits) you don't have to scratch your head figuring out how to do it, the course leads you step by step through each part of the process and you get the results (make money, lose weight, write cash sucking copy) you want faster.
  • In the final analysis, the real definition of 'features' and 'benefits' can
    only be determined by the customer. I think this is a little deep but my
    blog post will explain what I mean by this ...

    Copywriting Tips And Tricks Sell More By Showing Consequences

    -Ray Edwards
  • Hey steve-w,

    I just noticed you said you own some good copywriting books. Bob Bly's "The Copywriter's Handbook" has a good section on features vs benefits. He has nicely tabulated a feature and the corresponding benefits. In the book, it was for a pencil.

    So if you have that book, then you can give it a quick read.

    Regards,
    Revolves.
    • [1] reply
    • Yea, I don't have that one. But I have Two and I can't find one of them but one is by "Maria Veloso" and it's pretty good!

      All of the feedback has been great!

      I know for most of you it comes easy, and really it should be something that simple.

      Sometimes it the simple things that gets us...Or me anyhow... :rolleyes:

      Thanks
      Guys & Gals
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  • Banned
    [DELETED]
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    • With an attitude like that, you're going to miss out on many, many important benefits for all kinds of products, whether for consumers or for businesses.

      Human psychology is a lot more complicated than everything coming down to money.

      Very often, saving time is more important than saving money.

      In other situations, for other kinds of products and target markets, having the positive regard of people one cares about is the most important benefit.

      In still other situations, being able to fulfill a long-delayed dream for the sheer enjoyment of it is the biggest benefit.

      Open your mind to the richness of human behavior. We are complicated beings.

      Marcia Yudkin
      • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • The following post might help you:

    How To Become A Copywriter (Part 7 - Feature Converter, Desire Magician) | CopySnips

    FEATURES are just what something has (i.e. "four wheels"), ADVANTAGES are what the feature can make happpen relative to not having it (i.e. "get there quicker"), and BENEFITS are what the customer will get out of the advantage; how it will help them.

    The problem with benefits is that you can't always spell them out.

    For instance, think of Joe who buys that $50,000 car. He doesn't just want to get from A to B. (A $1,000 car can do that.)

    He wants to feel good driving down the highway. He wants the feeling of power and control, and he wants the status symbol and something he can show off to the girls to make him feel more attractive to women.

    So really, there are FEATURES, ADVANTAGES, BENEFITS and then CORE DESIRES which are even deeper and more subconscious than even benefits.

    Car advertisers understand this, which is why they have guys driving their cars super fast through the wilderness, through hoops of fire, with a girl at the end, or in the passenger seat.

    These advertisers know what they are doing.
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  • Could not have said it better Paul!

    Many people confuse benefits with advantages... I know I once used to, and I believe that is why I used to have a hard time separating features from benefits, because I was stuck on a middle ground.

    Look at it this way:
    Your prospects are stuck on an island, and need to cross a bridge. There are two bridges: Bridge A takes you to another island, and Bridge B takes you to the mainland.

    Now, the island they are stuck on is the feature, the bridges are the advantages, and where the bridges take you are the benefits of traveling that bridge.

    Each bridge has the EXACT same advantage -- they get you off the island. What is important to your prospect is WHERE that bridge takes them.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Paul Great Point...Well Taken!

      Joshua, You hit it on the head...That's where I've been stuck!!

      Steven
  • I tried to edit this into my post but I keep getting an "title is too long" error.

    If you're pitching a copywriter your copywriting services, then having Dan Kennedy as a testimonial speaks for itself, and is thus a benefit. But if you're pitching your average businessman, then you would have to explain the importance of Dan Kennedy endorsing you, making it a feature.

    David
  • Features are the characteristics of a product/service on the other hand how benefits are directly connected with the needs of the consumer. Benefits are sometimes explored after consumption. That's why most of the companies use sampling technique to reach the ultimate list of benefits which they could market.
  • lol yes... I mean, woulda been nice if you'd put a book title, or your take on what features and benefits are, but hey! who's counting?
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    • The End Of Marketing As We Know It

  • here my idea about how to turne your features to benefits by explaining from my extensive research and experience :
    there isn't business owner in the world who
    hasn't wrestled with the features vs. benefits dilemma tossed at them by well-intentioned marketing gurus. The funny thing is, as critical as the concept may be, I've found that not one in 10 businesses really understands the difference. And that's one of the main reasons most small-business marketing efforts don't work!
    Most SOHO owners decide what business to start based on two factors: 1) what they're good at and like to do, and 2) what they assume possible customers will buy. Often those latter assumptions are correct, but small-business marketers also assume that prospects will understand why they should buy the product or service just because they've been told about it. Thus, business owners only communicate the features of their product or service to prospective customers and neglect to mention the benefits.


    and so on you can differentiate between the two terms





    thanks hope it help,
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply

    • So what is the difference? (btw.. im not a copywriter - just like to lurk here)

      Well thats obvious. You can be in a Rap video.
      • [1] reply
  • Here's a real-life example of something I said earlier in this thread, that benefits are very often not about money.

    This is the headline for an ad for RosettaStone software (for learning languages) in National Geographic Adventurer magazine:

    You've Always Wanted to, Now You Can.

    There is no way you can twist this headline into being a money benefit. People targeted in this ad want to learn a language for no practical purpose - or just to have more fun while traveling to exotic places - and the software gives them the idea to start doing it now.

    The readers of this magazine believe in indulging their desires, however outlandish. And the ads appeal to that.

    Marcia Yudkin
    • [1] reply
    • A simple rule-of-thumb: When you're writing or talking about the product or service it's a feature.

      When you're talking about achieving tasks, objectives and goals of a targeted customer, it's a benefit.

      Think about it this way. If it would exist without a single customer -- or without getting to know your customer -- then what you're writing about is a feature.

      It's difficult because benefits mean letting go of the "everybody needs this" myth and getting down to the segment who'll actually pay because they desire it. One requires some thought, and research about the market. The other only requires the product or service in a vaccuum.

      And lots of people resent the notion of taking their attention off the product they've fallen in love with. They reject the very idea, for instance, a product has to be easy to use for someone who didn't build it.

      Users have to interact with a feature and have success in achieving a task for ease of use ...a task which reaches a larger objective. Ease of use using a feature requires there be users -- a feature alone does not.

      Benefits can only exist when you understand the customer and their goals. Too many want to surgically remove user and customer from the equation. Some think they can be anything to anyone that way. They end up being nothing to everyone.
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