Features vs. Benefits: Which Drives More Sales?

You’ve seen it countless times – there’s a product, and its inseparable companions – the features, and its benefits.

In fact, have you ever wondered how a feature could also be a benefit?

Of course, both serve different purposes, but sometimes a feature could also be seen as a benefit.

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Features vs Benefits

Features are attributes that explain what a product or service does, while benefits are an explanation of how those features are helpful to users.

Of course, it is always beneficial to have features that make it easier to understand what a product/service is. Still, never forget to feature benefits that provide the clear value of your product/service.

In other words, features tell your customer the “what” makes a product special, while benefits tell them the “why” it will make your life better. The first focuses on the product/service you’re offering, and the second focuses on the life of the customer.

Now, what would be most beneficial to you, our faithful readers, would be to take a look at some examples.

Features vs Benefits Examples

Here are some examples of benefits vs features, in terms of some popular services and products:

Product/Service	Features	Benefits
Project Management Software	Communication, reports, templates	Saves time, helps manage your team better
WordPress Retainer	Business consulting, maintenance, website development	Takes care of the technical side of business, helps your business grow
Computer mouse	Wireless, ergonomic	Healthier and easier work
Bicycle	30 gears, enhanced brakes	Healthy lifestyle, safer to ride

 

You see, both features and benefits help the buyer make an informed decision. Customers want as much information as possible before spending their money on a product or service.

If you fail to include features, users will not know what the product or service does. Similarly, without listed benefits, potential customers might not be certain how the item will help them resolve their issue.

Of course, one of the most notable examples of features vs benefits comes in a musical form:

Sure, it’s nice to know, especially for tech-savvy customers, that the player has a storage of 1 GB. However, saying that it can fit 1,000 songs in your pocket sounds much more practical, magical, and helpful.

Here’s another, more humorous example, comparing the benefits of day and night:

In this case, the benefits of the night will only appeal to a certain type of person.

Or, think about how you might convince a friend to adopt a cat. We all know what one looks like. It has claws, a fur coat, meows, etc. However, what are the benefits of having a cat? It’s a faithful companion, provides comfort, relieves stress, and so on.

Which of these do you think is more likely to convince your friend to get a cat? Chances are, it is the benefits.

PS: We’re not saying you should get a cat, but you should.

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Which Drives More Sales: Features or Benefits?

Even though some people may think that both are very different things, smart marketers, and sales people know that selling benefits rather than features can be a very good marketing tactic.

One of the proven methods of this is simply asking a simple question at the end of your statement.

For example, you are a SaaS company, trying to turn a lead into a customer. You offer marketing automation software, and usually a sales conversation would sound like:

“Our tool helps you build better campaign segmentation, email marketing automation, and lead generation, no?

In fact, you will have access to better analytics, and ROI tracking, and content curation will be much simpler, isn’t that correct?”

As you can see from the above examples, by putting a question tag at the end of a sentence you are focusing on the benefits of the product’s features.

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An exclusion to this rule could be found in the tech-related field, though. Since features are often the same as benefits.

This is because tech-savvy people already know how an SSD (solid-state drive), for instance, will help them save time, and improve efficiency. Thus, they would be more interested in features, like the capacity, interface, form factor, etc.

Always be well aware of who you’re targeting, and what the product offers them before you start stating the obvious.

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In Conclusion

Usually, people need to hear the benefits of a product/service, in order to decide if it suits their needs. However, features can help you establish what the benefits of your product/service are.

It’s a good idea to always make sure to conduct proper research on the needs of your clients. This will help you understand their issues, and provide them with an adequate solution.

Want to know the benefits of working with DevriX? We provide reliable, long-term business solutions that will save you time and help your business grow.