The Dangers of Featureland
In product marketing, you need to sell benefits. But what does that actually entail?
You know your product inside and out, which is a blessing… and a curse. While you have something really unique and beneficial to offer, you’ll end up losing your customers when you wander into the dangerous territory we call “Featureland.”
Getting stuck in "Featureland" is one of the biggest challenges companies face when creating the 4 Assets You Need To Build a Solid Marketing Foundation.
Here's what this means...
What’s “Featureland?”
It’s where you describe all the cool stuff your product does and how it works. And then you wonder why your customers’ eyes are glazing over.
I’ll tell you why that’s happening... Featureland is full of WEEDS. And your customers are getting caught in them.
Tech start-ups, in particular, have a tendency to get caught up describing the (admittedly cool) features of their product. And we understand why… You’ve been thinking about this stuff 24/7. You are really excited to talk about this awesome thing you’ve spent months (or years) developing.
But here’s the problem: Your customers haven’t been thinking about it 24/7. They’ve been thinking about their own challenges that need solving. When you wander into the weeds of feature description, you risk losing their attention.
That’s why at Decoded Strategies we say, “Sell the benefits, not the features.”
People are only interested in a feature when it clearly gives them some benefit - when it makes their life better. Don’t make them wonder what that benefit is. Tell them.
Benefits are the value you offer.
Does the feature you want to describe…
Save time? Save money? Reduce effort? Improve reputation? Simplify life?
Tell them.
Every time you launch a new feature, take the time to identify the benefit of that feature. Lead with that in your sales conversations and marketing. Then remind them of those benefits in their onboarding and renewals.
Features only exist because they provide benefits. Don’t make your customer figure out what those benefits are. Tell them. All the time.
Customers get lost in Featureland. But they thrive in Benefitland. Product marketing needs to sell the benefits of using your product. And when it does, your customers will know why they need to invest in you. And you'll have a blast hanging out together in Benefitland.
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We help tech-focused companies implement the StoryBrand framework in simple, powerful marketing and retention.
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