This is one of the most important marketing principles in existence. It is simple, but commonly overlooked by most amateur marketers. When we advertise, we are attempting to communicate a message that will attract customers. What should that message be? We may have a wonderful product or service to offer. We may understand why and how it would be of use to someone. Other people, however, don’t know as much about it as we do—and they don’t want to spend time learning. Therefore, an advertiser needs to get the maximum impact from any attention their ads receive. While many advertisers push the features of a product or service, pushing the benefits is the way to get that maximum impact.

What’s the difference between a feature and a benefit? A feature is a quality or technical aspect of something. A benefit is how that quality or technical aspect can benefit people. For example, a feature of a sports car might be that it has a five-hundred horsepower engine. The benefit is that it can go from zero to sixty MPH in under five seconds. Simply put, the benefit is what the product or service can do for the buyer. Advertising the benefit helps spark the imagination of prospective buyers, and hopefully gives them a feeling of “that would make some part of my life better!”

Here are a few more examples of features translated into benefits:

If we are familiar with a product or service, we tend to think the benefits will be obvious. But remember, people aren’t giving it much thought. They have other things on their minds. If you want their attention, you need to clearly communicate how your product or service will be a direct and significant solution for them.

Here are some benefits that could be attributed to products we see:

• It will make you feel more free (by saving you time).
• It will make you feel more loved (by connecting you with others).
• It will make you feel more respected (by learning a new skill to display).
• It will make you feel richer (by saving you money).
• It will bring excitement to your life (from action and adventure).
• It will make you feel more energy.

Spark their imagination

One of the best marketing tips I have ever come across was in an article about selling houses. The tip was: buy a brand-new propane grill. The idea was that when prospective buyers look around the house, the grill will spark their imaginations and lead to a positive feeling. Sparking imagination in order to lead to emotions is our primary goal in marketing. After all, the product is not what people are most concerned with. They are concerned with how buying the product will make them feel. And who doesn’t feel good thinking about barbecuing for themselves and their family? (Needless to say, I took this advice. I had no trouble selling the house, and I believe that the grill did its job by sparking imagination.)

Selling the benefit appeals to emotions, and emotion is the gateway to making a buying decision. As the expert sales trainer Zig Ziglar says, “People usually buy on emotion and then they justify it with logic.” Another way of expressing this principle is in the old maxim, “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.” What sparks your imagination more: a cut of meat, or a cut of meat sizzling on a grill? (My apologies to any vegetarians for this example.)

This doesn’t mean the features shouldn’t be mentioned. They can, and often should play a supporting role. As Zig Ziglar says, people justify their emotional decisions with logic. The important thing to keep in mind, however, is that it’s the benefit and emotional appeal that are in the driver’s seat for buying decisions.

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