Why a Big Ego is Always Behind "Feature Filled" Marketing

Why a Big Ego is Always Behind "Feature Filled" Marketing

"I have this great purse that has amazing leather soft as a lamb, with 6 pockets to meet all the needs of today's working woman- can hold your iPhone, your pens, your planner, your photo album and your wallet without alot of stress- making this the PURSE that most women only dream about but realize could never be created for under $1500. We meet that need by giving this purse away for only $ 495. with free shipping!" Sounds alright you might think but once you probe deeper you'll find that it answers only "FEATURE" related needs and the only "Ultra-Specific" attribute it has again is tied into it's features.

Your Ego Will Market Features

One of the hardest things I have ever encountered as a professional copywriter, marketer and SEO specialist is being contracted in to write sales copy, do PR, marketing, branding for a client who has not only a product or service they are interested in themselves, but worse than that- they have personally created. I repeatedly find it easier to work with clients who are marketing someone else's products or services and the biggest reason why is tied to a basic human need of feeling important.

When I work with a client who has a new product or service to bring to the marketplace I typically ask some generic questions:

Who are your competitors
What need are you meeting in the marketplace
Why are you different than everything else out there
What proof do you have that this is in demand or people love what you have
What ultra-specific solution do you offer and how could we make it nearly impossible to refuse

When I ask this of most online and offline business owner, clients and people who contact me for solutions for their business typically I'll hear a bunch of features rattled off to me with full confidence. Little do they realize that features are what amateurs use in their marketing and copywriting. Most times I can explain that BENEFITS are what truly sell anything , and we get things going forward.

But When Dealing With a Product Developer They Typically Focus Only On Features and Think Benefits Are Just a Bunch of Hype

Product developers, company owners who have created their own product or service and even project managers who have been the key role player in a companies success often times think that 'Benefit Focused' is about a bunch of hype. They rarely take into consideration the psycho graphics, the demographics, the needs, the desires, the passions of their prospects. Whether it's real estate, diet products, greeting cards or personal development coaching the main focus of all of your marketing should be the BENEFITS you bring to your prospect and WHY you are so unique, so different and backed by so much proof they would be foolish to not do business with you. When you first set out to do business you need to figure out who your competitor is. If you are selling purses, you might think Coach, Jimmy Cho, INC and other manufacturers are your competitors. Take one good look at what this bag has to offer and then put your feet into the dirt and figure out why YOU are so much better. Right? Wrong. It's the jeans, makeup and other things that women can't do without that are truly your competitors.

You might, if you are like most online and offline business owners just getting started begin to note all the features, the keywords they use in the features and the detail related in the features.

Inside zip pocket, cellphone/multifunction pockets, one exterior front pocket with turnlock closure, one exterior back slip pocket, zipper closure, fabric lining….. and so on the list of features goes.

You might hone in on some 'feature related keywords' like cellphone/multifunction pockets. Whoa… turnlock closure, that sounds fancy. And you'll begin your marketing with features, features, features.

If You Don't Take Time To See The Gorgeous Girls Who Have All They Want You'll Never Compete With Coach!

If you don't go beyond features, you'll never realize the benefits that are truly being marketed at Coach Leatherware ( which happens to be my PERSONAL favorite indulgence for a job well done living a debt free lifestyle as a busy working mother!) and you'll compete on the low end of the market. Did you notice at all the BENEFITS I just gave you of my of reason for buying such an extravagant bag? There's only ONE personality type only ONE Kolbe score that would ever buy a Coach bag because it is made of the highest grade leather, will outlast every bag compared to it, can handle abuse and still look great and because it is made by a company that has gone thru some major changes in the economy and STILL stands out ahead. The REST of us are buying Coach because

It makes us feel rewarded
We feel powerful
It gives us beauty AND brawn
We look wealthy when we carry their bags
For me personally it is a reminder to myself that I have worked hard and am debt free

I never got a Coach bag until I was debt free as I couldn't justify spending $ 500 on a purse if I had debt. Why am I telling you this? So you can understand why more than 73% of women who buy Coach bags purchase them, have more than 3 in their household AND have credit card debt as well. It's not because it's such a well made bag, even though it is. It's because of how it makes them FEEEEEL when they have one, it's because of the BENEFITS this high quality wealthy looking bag brings to their life.

Why an Ego is Always Behind Feature Filled Marketing

If the focus in your marketing is what it means to you the wrong person is in the focus of your advertising campaigns. Believe it or not, when someone chooses to do business with you – it's not about you. It's about the needs that they want met, it's about the benefit they want to gain, it's all about ME ME ME ME! ( I mean them).

Most if not all of your clients could care less how many hours you spent creating your amazing product or service .

They care about their life, their problems, their self esteem, their finances, their family, how many wrinkles they have, if they look fat in those jeans and if they are just as sexy as their 20 year old counterpart. That my friends is where features don't measure up. Imagine if you will a woman coming into a store to buy $ 200 jeans. Is she really interested in the stitching, the quality of the denim or where the product is made? Not typically. She is very interested however in how it makes her look! AND more importantly- don't miss this- how do the jeans make her FEEL about herself, her body, her future, her sex appeal. Trust me Pure Religion did not create a $ 289 pair of jeans because no one on the market had jeans that lasted long or were well made. They created an IDENTITY.

When you can create an identity for your prospect- you can sell them anything

Your prospect is buying an identity from you- and it's not feature filled, trust me. It's something they will pay for, go into debt for, give away their last meal for … ok maybe not but you get my point. When you are marketing online or offline in a magazine, television commercial, website, blog- it doesn't matter, always remember this:

Give Them The Benefits Baby!

and you'll always have what your ego was craving in the first place but couldn't actually achieve with your feature laced marketing.

If you need a copywriter or marketer who specializes in Benefit Marketing and Copywriting, who has a 12 year track record of working online and knows how to create the emotional response you want in your prospect so that they are BEGGING you to take their credit card payment… contact me today for a free phone consultation.

Sandi Krakowski