Imagine you have got a killer product or service and put your heart and soul into it, describing every feature with precision. But you are struggling to get your desired sales. Do you know why? Because you are trying to sell FEATURES, not the BENEFITS. There is a thin line between features and benefits. In this blog, we will try to make you understand the core of features vs benefits and why benefits are the real MVPs (Most Valuable Players) in the sales game rather than features.
Understanding the Difference Between Features And Benefits
Features are the unique qualities of a product or service. They can be things you can touch or see, like a camera on a smartphone, or they can be less tangible, like their speed or ease of use.
Benefits, on the other hand, are the positive results customers get from using your product or service. They address the customer’s emotional or practical needs. For instance, while a feature of a smartphone may be its camera resolution, the benefit is that you can capture clear and memorable photos and videos of important moments in your life.
More precisely, features are what makes a product special, telling customers what it can do. Benefits explain why the product will improve their life. Features focus on what you offer, while benefits focus on how it helps the customer.
Knowing the distinction between features and benefits is crucial when you are trying to create a message that resonates with your customers.
Features vs Benefits Examples
Understanding the difference between features and benefits is a must prior to deciding on a purchase. Features outline attributes or functionalities of a product, whereas; benefits highlight the outcome of those attributes or functionalities. Let us see three day-to-day used physical product examples & a digital product to display your features vs benefits.
Example 1: NotificationX (Marketing Plugin)
| Feature | Benefit |
| Growth alert | Display sales count, and low stock notifications on your website to boost sales. |
| Flashing tabs | Encourage visitors or potential customers to stick in your tab & take purchase action. |
| Discount alerts | Announce marketing campaigns & offers to skyrocket sales with catchy alerts. |
Example 2: Smartphone
| Feature | Benefit |
| 6-inch OLED display | Crisp, vibrant visuals for an immersive viewing experience |
| Dual-camera system (12MP wide, 16MP ultra-wide) | Capture stunning, detailed photos from different perspectives |
| 128GB internal storage | Store ample photos, videos, and apps without worrying about space |
Example 3: Fitness Tracker
| Feature | Benefit |
| Heart rate monitor | Track your heart rate during workouts for optimal performance |
| Step counter | Monitor daily activity levels and motivate yourself to stay active |
| Sleep tracker | Understand your sleep patterns and make adjustments for better rest |
Example 4: Coffee Maker
| Feature | Benefit |
| Programmable timer | Wake up to freshly brewed coffee every morning without any hassle |
| Built-in grinder | Enjoy the rich aroma and flavor of freshly ground coffee beans |
| 10-cup capacity | Serve multiple cups of coffee for guests or throughout the day without constantly refilling |
Why Do Benefits Matter More Than Features?
Whatever aspects of a product address customer needs and desires, it will be successful in sales – BENEFITS. Benefits speak louder than features because they directly solve the customer’s needs. On the other hand, features can be easily overlooked or forgotten, and benefits are always the key to long-lasting impressions and purchasing decisions eventually.
✅ Benefits Play with Customer’s Needs & Emotions
When it comes to selling, focusing on the good stuff—benefits—is a game-changer. Why? Because benefits speak directly to what customers really want and how they feel. Customers are not just interested in what your product or service can do; they want to know how it can make their lives better.
By highlighting the benefits, you are showing them exactly how your offering can solve their problems, simplify their lives, or just make things better overall. This approach strikes a chord with customers on a personal level, motivating them to take action.
✅ Benefits Stick in the Mind
Selling features can be tough to distinguish, especially when they are similar to what competitors offer. But benefits? They stick in people’s minds. When customers see how your product or service benefits them, they remember it better.
That is crucial in today’s competitive and busy market, where information is a constant. The clearer your benefits are, the more successful your business will be. You just need to keep it simple, and you will stand out.
Features vs Benefits: Which One Wins Sales?
There are many who might think both of these are the same but smart marketers or PRO salespeople definitely know and can distinguish between features and benefits. And for marketing tactics, they believe in benefits rather than features. The most proven example of this is asking a question to your customers at the end of your marketing statement.
Let us imagine you are a WordPress company & made a marketing plugin. Your plugin offers to display sales notifications to skyrocket conversion rates, and usually, your sales conversion would now sound like:
“Our tool helps you to display sales notifications, create FOMO marketing alerts, and lead generation, no?
In fact, you will have access to better marketing analytics and ROI tracking, and content curation will be much simpler, isn’t that correct?”
By adding a question tag to the end of a sentence, like in the examples above, you are highlighting the benefits of the product’s features.
Simply put, the feature is ‘What’ and the benefit is ‘Why.’ And for customers, the answer they get from why it always works. So, which one wins sales: features or benefits? The truth is that both are essential components of a successful sales strategy. But in the face-off, benefits ultimately win sales.
However, that does not diminish the importance of features. Instead, it underscores the need to effectively communicate how those features translate into valuable benefits for the customer.
Identify the Benefits & Rethink Your Sales Pitch Now
To sell your product or service well, figure out what your customers really want. Imagine being in their shoes and thinking about what matters most to them. Knowing the features vs benefits & the value of selling benefits, you need to update your sales approach. Instead of just listing features, emphasize how your offering will improve your customer’s life.
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