| Tens of thousands of dollars in sales are lost every | | | | They are buying a solution that makes them feel |
| week; both online and off, by marketers selling the | | | | better or hurt less. |
| wrong thing. It's sad but true. | | | | Features may tell you how fast a sports car can go, |
| Why? It's simple really: they are marketing their | | | | but the benefit is how good you feel as the owner of |
| products or services, and not what their prospects are | | | | such a vehicle. An accountant may offer ways to |
| really looking to buy. | | | | save money on your taxes, but the benefit is the loss |
| What people are looking to buy is not a tangible | | | | of stress that's kept you awake nights. |
| product or service. It is something more ethereal than | | | | This is where the majority of business people make |
| concrete. | | | | the same marketing mistake. They market the |
| It has little or nothing to do with the product or service | | | | features and not the benefits. |
| offered for sale. That is not what people are buying | | | | Features appeal to the logical side, benefits appeal to |
| anyway when they make a purchase. | | | | the emotional side. People only buy from the emotional |
| Let me explain: | | | | side and reinforce their purchase decisions after the |
| Most marketers focus their efforts on features of their | | | | fact from the logical side. |
| product or service. Now, I'm not saying that features | | | | So, you see, what you market and what you actually |
| are not important, because they are. But they are not | | | | deliver to customers are two very different things. |
| what sell a commodity. | | | | What you market is hope for a solution to their |
| People are not primarily concerned with how fast a | | | | problem. They hope your product or service will make |
| widget goes, how high it bounces or what color it is. | | | | them feel better or hurt less. |
| They are more concerned with "what's in it for me?" | | | | This is why an accurate, realistic understanding of your |
| Benefits offer that morsel to them; features do not. | | | | target market is imperative. Know what problems your |
| This flies in the face of the general concept most | | | | potentials face and what their hopes and expectations |
| marketers hold, but bear with me for a moment. To | | | | are for relief. |
| understand this, you must first understand the | | | | Above all else, help them realize their dreams and |
| psychology of the sale. | | | | aspirations by using your product or service as the |
| People don't buy with the logical center of their mind. | | | | vehicle to get there. Helping achieves their goals must |
| They buy from their emotional center. Furthermore, | | | | always be your first consideration. |
| they only buy for one of two reasons: | | | | Give them what they really want and you'll have found |
| * To feel better or | | | | the goose that lays golden eggs many times over. |
| * Hurt less | | | | Appeal to their motives for buying with benefits, |
| People make purchases to solve a problem they are | | | | reinforce that notion with features and watch your |
| facing. It doesn't matter if that's the need for a new | | | | sales increase proportionally. |
| automobile, a romantic vacation for two or legal advice. | | | | |