What Do You Try to Sell to Your Readers?

It is vital to realize that the features of a product do not sell as well as the benefits of those features. It is not difficult to deduce why this is so.

Why do people buy a product? They buy because they believe the product will benefit them.

Some may argue that there are buyers who buy based on the features of a product. This is so because the prospective buyers are already associating the features with the benefits.

For example, I bought a 24-inch LCD monitor for my computer. I bought it because the LCD monitor is 24-inch. In this case, I had already associated the 24-inch feature with the benefit of productivity because it enables me to view a few windows without having to pop one above the others. So, in this case, feature alone may work with me. However, most people do not buy 24-inch LCD monitors because they are not sold the benefits of a bigger LCD monitor.

Now, let’s suppose you specialize in 24-inch LCD monitors. If you emphasize that your LCD monitors are 24-inch, it works only with people like me – the prospective buyers who are already “converted”. It will not work with the majority of prospective customers. In this case, you need to sell the benefits of a 24-inch LCD monitor such as increased productivity, good for the eyes, can see pictures in greater definition, less strain to the neck, and so on. Now that I have high-lighted some benefits of a 24-inch computer monitor, ask yourself whether you are now more willing to consider buying a 24-inch LCD monitor.

Let me stress that even a convert needs reinforcement of his beliefs. Emphasizing the benefits will strengthen the resolve for a convinced customer to buy. I already had a 19-inch monitor, and so I need to justify buying a 24-inch LCD monitor to replace the 19-inch LCD monitor. The benefits provided the justification to my self and to my wife.

Conversely, we should not just emphasize the benefits but do not explain why the benefits exist. You need to explain how the product features make these benefits possible to provide credibility behind your benefit statements. Otherwise, the benefit claims sound like unjustified hype.

Jacob Gan