If you needed lawn care services, would you be more interested if I told you that we use commercial-grade mowers with precision-cut blades, apply organic fertilizer in three separate applications, edge with professional string trimmers, and that our crew has 15 years of combined experience?
Or, would you be more excited if I told you this lawn care service would give you the neighborhood’s most envied yard? As you pull into your driveway each evening, you’ll feel a surge of pride seeing your lush, emerald-green lawn that’s perfectly manicured and weed-free. Your weekends will be yours again—no more hours spent pushing a mower or wrestling with stubborn dollar weed.
The second option would have me signing up immediately!
The first paragraph listed features of a lawn care service, while the second described what a customer might experience as a result. It’s selling a benefit instead of a feature. A customer is less likely to care about the technical specifications of your equipment, and more about how beautiful their yard will look and how much time they’ll save.
Why Benefits Connect Better Than Features
Describing benefits instead of features will help a customer connect with your product or service much faster than a list of factual bullet points. You’re promising an outcome, experience, and a solution to a pain point they might have. You’re doing the work for them by translating the features of your product or service to explain how it’s going to solve their problem and improve their day.
A mistake that many business owners make is listing all the positive features about a product or service they’re selling, and forgetting to show their customers why these things matter. Going back to the lawn care analogy, while it’s great that your crew has 15 years of combined experience, does the customer know why that makes your service better?
Suppose you elaborate and say that your experienced crew knows exactly how to diagnose lawn problems quickly and apply the right treatments, ensuring your grass stays healthy and green all season long while preventing costly mistakes. In that case, you’re starting to explain why it benefits the customer.
Where to Put This Into Practice
Your product and services pages are the best place to showcase how you can help your customers. They’re already on the page looking for help, so it’s the perfect opportunity to sell them the outcome they’re searching for.
Remember: customers don’t buy features—they buy better versions of themselves and solutions to their problems. Show them the transformation, and they’ll be much more likely to choose you.