When developing a marketing strategy to reach your target audience, use what snack brand Elavi founder Michelle Razavi calls “the single greatest marketing hack and mindset shift”—that is, shifting your focus from features to benefits.
In the case of Elavi’s Protein Brownies, key features include their 11 grams of protein and the fact they’re sweetened with dates instead of table sugar. But what does this actually mean to the consumer? “Benefits are that next layer,” Michelle says on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. “It's a deeper, more subconscious level of marketing. We are conveying to the consumer, why is this beneficial for you to consume, to purchase, to bring into your life? That allows you to build that emotional connection.” Benefits go beyond a product’s objective features to describe its subjective appeal.
Elavi’s packaging highlights both features and benefits, showing the direct connection between the brownies’ ingredients and how those ingredients will improve customers’ lives. Implementing these tools in your own marketing will help clarify what your product is and why consumers will want it.
What are product features?
Product features are the attributes and characteristics of the product itself. They are the qualities and properties of what a product is, often in a measurable way. For example, when marketing a car, features might include all-wheel drive, a moonroof, and heated seats. These are all examples of physical parts and mechanisms that are included in the car itself. Product features matter because they give customers a clear explanation of exactly what they are getting.
What are product benefits?
Product benefits are the positive outcomes customers can expect as a result of purchasing your product. This is your opportunity to reach potential buyers on an emotional level by showing them a problem your product will solve or a way it will make their lives better. If a car features all-wheel drive, a moonroof, and heated seats, consumers may benefit by going offroading, enjoying views of the night sky, and staying warm in frigid temperatures—all of which contribute to an overall feeling of freedom. When assessing product benefits, you’re highlighting the ways your product will improve your customers’ lives.
Features vs. benefits
While product features are the characteristics of the products themselves, product benefits show the customer what the product can do for them. If you’re selling bedding, for example, the thread count and material your sheets are made of are both features of your product. A potential benefit of your sheets could be that they feel just as comfortable on a hot summer night as they do in the dead of winter.
Even if customers are intrigued by your product features, it is not always immediately obvious to them how those features make their lives better. Marketing messages that highlight features and benefits together can help clarify why your product is the best choice.
On her Shopify Masters episode, Elavi founder Michelle says that without clearly showing consumers how your product will benefit them, you’re relying on them to connect the dots themselves. By linking benefits to features in your marketing, you provide the customer with a clear understanding of the connection between the specific traits of your product and the positive outcomes they will provide. Doing this, as Razavi says, “allows you to tap into that purchasing decision.”
How to use features and benefits in marketing
- Use features in product comparisons
- Connect features and benefits on your product pages
- Emphasize benefits over features in social media
- Support benefits in ad copy with visuals
Features and benefits are both valuable tools in marketing. Features educate customers on the specifics of your product, while benefits engage them emotionally to drive their purchasing decisions. Here are four ways to use both in your marketing:
1. Use features in product comparisons
A side-by-side comparison of features quickly communicates how your product beats the competition.
For example, Slice is a beverage company that offers healthier sodas. On the brand’s website, each of its flavors has a graphic comparing the soda to the “Old School” equivalent. With these graphics, Slice clearly shows that its products feature more fiber, less sugar, and lower calories than the competition—with the added feature of having no high fructose corn syrup.
You can also use features to differentiate between versions of your own products, helping customers choose the one that’s best for their needs.
FactoryPure is a home goods retailer that sells a variety of generators. At face value, it may be hard for customers to know which generator is right for them, especially if they offer the same wattage. Seeing generators and their features side-by-side makes it clear that while they both have 1800 watts of output, one model offers dual fuel capabilities while the other does not.
2. Connect features and benefits on your product pages
Emphasize the appeal of your product’s features by directly connecting them to benefits. Paint a picture of how each feature improves customers’ lives.
On the product page for Fulton’s Classic Insole, the top right-hand frame of the graphic puts the features in green and the benefits in black, clearly demonstrating what the features of their insoles are and how those features benefit the customer.
This is where customers want to learn details about your product, and highlighting features and benefits together on these pages shows them what makes your product unique and useful.
3. Emphasize benefits over features on social media
When you want to show potential customers real-world examples of your product’s benefits, incorporate benefits into your social media posts. Thanks to a phenomenon called social proof, consumers tend to be persuaded to make purchasing decisions when they see examples of other people benefiting from the product they are considering. Create content on social media that shows proof of your product making the consumer’s life easier.
This reel from Elavi’s Instagram shows a person sitting on a crowded plane as they reach into the pocket attached to the seat in front of them and pull out one of Elavi’s Protein Brownies. The title and caption emphasize how Elavi’s products are more affordable and nutritious than airport snacks: Two benefits shown clearly in one 10-second clip.
4. Support benefits in ad copy with visuals
When developing ad copy, highlighting benefits is a highly effective way to make your promotional material more engaging on an emotional level. Supplementing these benefits with related images makes them feel more tangible.
This ad from Bathing Culture highlights three benefits in its copy with visuals that bring those benefits to life. The sheen of the body oil evokes gentle cleansing, the soft skin of the model appears to be hydrated, and the rays of sunlight sparkling on the rocks allude to the nature-inspired scents that Bathing Culture offers. Supporting benefits in ad copy with visuals allows customers to envision the results your product will provide them.
Features vs. benefits FAQ
What is the difference between a feature and a benefit?
Features are specific attributes or qualities of a product or service, while benefits are the positive outcomes that a product or service will have on the consumer’s life. For example, all-wheel drive is a feature that some cars offer. It is a system included in the car’s build that powers all four wheels of the car separately as opposed to only the two wheels in the rear. The benefit of all-wheel drive is that it provides drivers with better handling and traction when driving on wet and icy roads.
How do you describe features and benefits?
Features are factual and rational. They describe the individual characteristics of a product, such as what it is made of, what is included in its structure, and its functionality. Benefits are what the consumer stands to gain from buying a product. They reach consumers on an emotional level, as they are the ways in which consumers can expect their lives will be better as a result of their purchase.
What is an example of product features?
An example of a product feature is the material it is made of. If you’re marketing linen sheets, linen is a product feature. One valuable characteristic of linen is that it is significantly more breathable than other fabrics. This quality is then also a feature of your sheets.
