Reprint Instructions: Article must be reproduced unedited and in its entirety. Resource box/bio and copyright date must be included. Live links must be given to any URLs within the article and/or resource box. Do not list your own site as the original publisher of this article. Do not direct visitors to link to your site in place of the author’s site. Please email us notification of where the article will be used and a copy of your newsletter if you are publishing the article in an ezine. Thank you! If you've been in the copywriting realm for very long at all, you've heard the phrase "features vs. benefits." It's a fundamental copywriting principle and driving force behind much of what we, as copywriters, create. But there's also another aspect to this equation. What happens after customers buy your product or service? Once they've used what you have to offer, what will be different in their lives? What will the end results, of their buying decision, be? Getting your customers to look at the end results of their actions can be an extremely powerful persuasion tool that you'll want to incorporate into your copy. Let's look at features, benefits and end results and see how all three work individually and collectively to create a targeted push to the point of purchase. Features - The Basic Outline of Your Product or Service Features, in copywriting, are a starting point. They provide a basic outline for what your customer needs to know. Features describe (most often) the attributes of a product or service. If we're using the example of a cordless, telephone-answering system, some features might be:
For a person who knows nothing about cordless phones with answering machines, this list might not mean much. It's a basic blueprint of the telephone and nothing more. Benefits - Make the Product or Service More Personal Benefits enliven the features. Benefits make the features, and the product or service, more personal. They explain how the features will improve the customer's life in some way. Using the features list above, see what the benefits might be. (The list below was taken from Panasonic™ marketing materials and relates directly to their KX-TG5230M model phone.)
Benefits make the features personal. They explain how the features will be of use in the customer's life. End Results - A Glimpse Into the Future We can take this process one step further, however. After customers buy the phone, and after they use it, what end results will they experience? As asked before, how will their lives be improved? What will the effects of their buying decision be? Let's go back to our list and add end results as the last sentence in the benefits list.
Do you see what the end results have done? They've given the customer a glimpse into the future. The feature states that the phone offers 5.8GHz technology. The benefit goes on to explain that 5.8GHz technology is important because it offers clear reception and safety. The end result wraps things up by stating the customer will have a life filled with freedom and no interference from their highly advanced system. Other end results point out how the phone system will make each user's life more convenient, how this smart investment will save time and money, how it will conform to one’s personality and how the phone will lend flexibility to the customer's life. When you create your copywriting plan, be sure to list the features and build your benefits as usual. But, for added power, don't forget to include end results that will help the customers visualize how your product or service will make their lives better. Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to check out Karon’s latest e-report “Writing With Keywords” at http://www.writingwithkeywords.com.
[Back to Copywriting Articles Menu]
|
