A good website strategy first identifies a market need, which indicates a target market, and then fills that need. Now that the Internet boom of 1995-2000 is over, your strategy usually has to add an element of basic business revenue, considering who will pay how much to have that need filled. Features and benefits statements are classics of standard marketing. For every product and every service you sell, develop your features and benefits statements. Follow this logic for your website:
First, understand the difference between features and benefits. Take a look at the example below, describing features and benefits of Bplans.com:
border=1 width=450 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> | Benefits | Features |
- Reassurance: I can do this.
- Peace of mind: my plan is okay.
- Information: how to develop a plan.
- Answers: experts to answer related questions.
- Resources: consultants, experts, authors.
| - Sample business plans
- Free, online how-to books
- Expert Q&A
- Sample Plan Wizard
- Finance Wizard
- Sample marketing plans
- Sample web plans
- Planning forum
|
Now consider the distinctions. Features are characteristics of the site, while benefits are positive values to the person who uses the site. The features serve as a means to offer the intended customer benefit. Usually people buy benefits more than features. The site's ability to give people reassurance that their plan is okay, answers to questions, resolve doubts, and specific how-to steps is why it's successful. Site designers create features, but people buy benefits.
Good marketers understand features, but emphasize benefits. They use features to explain and develop benefits. There are exceptions to the general rule. Some websites, some markets, and even some industries are feature-driven. For some buyers, computers and personal electronics have this tendency. Sometimes the features and benefits merge together.
When communicating features and benefits, always emphasize benefits. Generally the benefits sell your site, not the features. Engineers and product development teams love features, as do gadget-oriented buyers, but benefits sell, while features really just deliver benefits.
Among online trading websites, for example, advertising often sells benefits related to reliability and expertise, more than specific website features. As you look at the online brokers marketing, think about this as background. Most of these ads push benefits, but some push price alone, and some push features. Think about ads you know and how they suggest benefits and specifically inform about features.
