Feature-benefit Framework
This methodical approach ensures that every feature presented is directly tied to a real benefit that addresses customer needs or desires, making the marketing message both compelling and memorable
This framework is based on highlighting specific features of a product or service and linking each one to a clear benefit. The focus is on practicality and informing the audience about the product’s advantages.
How it's used
This approach is common in technical products, B2B marketing, and anywhere where functionality is a key purchasing factor. It helps the audience understand not just what the product does, but why that matters to them.
Why it's important
It educates the audience about the product, helping them to see how its features will improve their life or work, thus providing a logical foundation to support buying decisions.
Examples
The Feature-Benefit Framework focuses on linking specific features of a product or service to tangible benefits that matter to the customer. It’s especially effective in situations where clear, logical communication is needed to convince potential customers of the value offered. Let’s look at an example using a fictional company that produces a high-tech smart thermostat.
Company: SmartHome Technologies
Product: SmartTherm - Advanced Smart Thermostat
Campaign Objective:
To promote the SmartTherm thermostat and highlight its superiority over traditional thermostats through clear feature-benefit communication.
Feature-Benefit Breakdown:
- Feature: Remote Temperature Control via Mobile App
- Benefit: Adjust your home's temperature from anywhere, ensuring comfort while optimizing energy use. This feature is perfect for those who want to come home to a perfectly warmed house or need to adjust settings when away unexpectedly.
- How to Communicate: Demonstrate this feature in online ads and social media with scenarios, like adjusting home temperature from the office or while commuting back home, emphasizing convenience and control.
- Feature: Energy Usage Reports
- Benefit: Receive detailed reports on your energy consumption, helping you understand your energy habits and identify opportunities to save money.
- How to Communicate: Use email marketing to show potential savings with graphs comparing typical energy use without and with SmartTherm, highlighting potential cost savings.
- Feature: Voice Command Compatibility with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri
- Benefit: Allows hands-free control and integrates seamlessly into your smart home system, enhancing accessibility and ease of use.
- How to Communicate: Create video content that showcases people using voice commands to adjust their home temperature, emphasizing modernity and technological integration.
- Feature: Learning Capability - Adapts to Your Schedule and Preferences
- Benefit: The thermostat learns your schedule and adjusts temperatures automatically for optimal comfort and efficiency, reducing manual adjustments and energy waste.
- How to Communicate: Highlight testimonials in promotional materials from users who have experienced significant improvements in home comfort and energy savings, underscoring the smart learning capabilities.
- Feature: Geo-fencing Technology
- Benefit: Automatically adjusts the temperature based on the location of your smartphone, turning down heating or cooling when you leave and resuming when you return, ensuring energy isn't wasted on an empty home.
- How to Communicate: Use case studies in sales presentations to illustrate how geo-fencing works and its benefits in real-world scenarios, such as reducing bills for busy families or frequent travelers.
Implementation in Marketing Strategy
- Point of Sale Materials: Use brochures and digital displays at retail locations that list key features alongside their direct benefits, making it easy for customers to understand why SmartTherm is a superior choice.
- Product Website: Each feature on the product's website can be accompanied by an iconographic representation of its benefit, enhancing clarity and attractiveness.
- Customer Service and Sales Training: Ensure that all representatives are well-versed in communicating these features as benefits, ready to answer any customer questions with a clear link to how the feature improves their life.
This methodical approach ensures that every feature presented is directly tied to a real benefit that addresses customer needs or desires, making the marketing message both compelling and memorable.