Remember the trending memes a while ago of ‘what society thinks I do, what my friends think I do, what I actually do’?
Well, I just typed into a photo search engine the words ‘marketing woman’ and the above image is what came up first…
You may be thinking, ‘that is what you do, isn’t it?’ Or, you may have rolled your eyes (like I did) because you know that taking selfies is NOT how I spend my days as a woman in marketing! Either way, it really doesn’t matter. Because, what I DO doesn’t matter.
I mean, it does matter – I’m good at what I do and it generates great results for my clients – but the point is, it’s the results of what I do that my clients care about.
If you’re trying to market your business by telling people what you do or what your products do, you’re missing a trick. You’re burying your benefits under your features.
Benefits tell people how you or your product or service will make their lives better. They communicate the value of what you’re selling.
Features tell people what you do / how you do it – do they really need to know? Maybe, but they probably won’t pay attention until they’re sold on the benefits…
When Apple launched the iPod, they didn’t lead with ‘a music device with 64 GB of storage’. Yawn.
They advertised ‘1,000 songs in your pocket’.
Wham! I want that! Tell me more!
…And that’s when you should tell them about the features – after they’re already sold on the benefit.
So, I’m trying to ignore the fact that there are people out there that think I spend my days taking selfies, and I’ll keep focusing on the improved relationships I build with their customers and the increased awareness, leads, and sales I generate for their business!
What are the benefits of what you offer?