Appreciation Marketing – Features VS Benefits

Previously we have discussed that we should discover what it is that our prospects actually need before we attempt to market what we have to them. If they have no need for whatever we have, they should not purchase our product or service no matter how great the deal is that we make them, unless they plan to give it away as a gift. Trying to force it on them is a disservice to them and will backfire on us.

We often get caught up in the list of great features that our product or service has. We know that these features are so wonderful that everyone will love them and will want them. Not everyone will feel this way, in spite of what we believe. Everyone may not need everything that our offering will do or how it does it.

Our prospect may ask, after we list the outstanding features that our offering has, “So, what’s in it for me?” We should have already asked this same question before we start marketing to anyone. We should have put ourselves in the place of the prospect and looked at our product or service from their viewpoint.

Does the prospect have a need for our offering; does it provide a solution to that need? What is the benefit of our offering to the prospect? Will it save the prospect time, effort, or money? Will it save them manpower that can be utilized elsewhere or not expended at all? Can it make their day better, easier, or shorter? Does it prevent a loss, or does it open up a new path of revenue?

If our product or service cannot make their day better, they do not need it. If our offering has no benefit for the prospect, there is no need for it in their eyes. We must make them see a benefit to having what we are marketing to them. We must make them see that what we have for them will make them money, make their life easier, or make them glad that they purchased from us.

There must be a benefit for the prospect from buying from us. If there is not, they have wasted their money and will dislike us so much that they will tell everyone else to refrain from buying from us, perhaps from being our networking partner. Do we need that reputation? Is that a benefit for us? I think not.

Maybe they cannot see their own need and how our offering can solve that need. Perhaps they think that the money spent with us will not be recouped through savings in time, effort, and manpower. We must make them see this gain and make them understand that it all comes down to a plus for them. That plus must overshadow the expenditure that they made with us.

Everyday we are bombarded by the news of the latest gadgets all of which have ever-increasing price tags. Do we need them or can we get along without them? What are the benefits, and what do those benefits mean for us? We must ask ourselves those questions about our own products or services before we try to market.

What are the features of your offering, and do they solve the needs of your prospects? If they cannot see a benefit in buying from you, they will not do so or will regret doing so later. That attitude will not lead to referrals for you. Please can leave your comments here, or email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com, or call me at 360-314-8691. Look at your proposals from the viewpoint of your prospect and ask yourself: “Do I need this, and what’s in it for me?”