Benefits

What is a Product Benefit?

When products and services offer something to the customers that satisfies their needs and desires, that something is known as a Benefit of the respective products and services. The factors of satisfaction can be:

• Actual – This may include things like performance, design, price and other factors.

• Perceived – This may include popularity, reputation, image and other similar factors.

A Product Benefit is the answer to questions that the customers ask when they are introduced to product features.
The questions are usually of the forms:

• So what?

• What is in it for me?

• Does the product do what I need it to do?

Product features are just facts about the product. Features alone rarely convince customers to buy the products. Product Benefits weigh in and give meaning to the features, showing customers something of value that they can get in exchange for purchasing the product.

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Why is a Product Benefit important? Benefit-Driven Marketing

Product Benefits are more important to customers than product features. So, it is crucial for marketers to understand the Benefits of the products or services being offered. Benefits should be showcased in the sales pitch and the products or services should be updated according to the pains and desires of the customers.

An effective way to improve the results of product messages is to use product benefits, like:

• Build the message around Product Benefits. This way, you can directly speak to the customers’ motivations to buy the products. The Benefits, in this way, are delivered to customers in a language that is easier to understand and thus increases the chance for action.

• Support Product Benefits with product features. This way, the promotional message is strengthened, as features can act as proof for the Benefits.

Let’s look at an example of Benefit-Driven Marketing.

Software-as-a-Service Marketing

The Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, industry has grown a lot in recent years. As software companies have migrated away from one-time license purchasing models toward subscription-based agreements, many developers have also shifted toward benefit-driven marketing messaging.

Slack is an excellent example of this marketing principle in action. The remarkably popular communications platform may offer a range of handy tools and features that streamline team-based communication, but the real selling point is the time-savings it offers.

Much of Slack’s messaging is centered on how the product can help increase productivity and transparency, a clearly defined benefit-driven approach.

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What does a Product Benefit look like?

Let’s take a look at a real-life scenario and how a Product Benefit can take shape out of it. You will see how you can create clear benefit-driven messaging born out of a need.

Example: An influencer wants to buy a new smartphone because they want a higher camera quality. You just got in a shipment of the latest iPhone models.

Benefit: The iPhone 12’s new Ultra Wide camera and Night mode features will prepare you for any spur-of-the-moment photoshoots or video recording opportunities regardless of where you are.
If you want a thorough guide on creating Product Benefits that can help you increase sales, follow the detailed article “How to Create Product Benefits that Entice People to Buy?”.

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