What is the difference between benefits and features ? To answer this question that I often get, either by email or at conferences, I have decided to finally write a blog post in the hope that my readers will stop wondering.

In fact, we will not only compare benefits and features a third element of the marketing process which is by no means immaterial: Profit.

So today I propose to start with a basic notion of marketing. Just to be clear and on the same wave length of what really marketing is.

Because it is really going to be about the ABC of marketing, or more precisely the BenefitsFeaturesProfit process.

As you have understood, BFP is an acronym for Benefits, Features, Profit.

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That said, let us begin …

What is the difference between benefits and features and profit

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These are the three levels of commercial argumentation used in an advertisement, during a negotiation with a prospect, in a sales page or even, quite simply, in a blog post.

Let’s see the definition of these 3 words in the advertising context.

1 – The feature

A feature is what defines the product or service.

A feature can be a technical and precise functionality, a physical evaluation (weight, size, …), a line, …

Features define a particular product or service and distinguish it from competitors’ products and services.

2 – The benefit

An benefit describes what the feature brings to the consumer of the product or service.

Each of the features of the product / service can be translated by a benefit for the consumer.

However, some features do not bring any particular benefit to the potential customer. You may as well ignore them for your advertising argument but not necessarily for the simple description of the product.

3 – The profit

A profit is the optimal benefit, the added value, that the product or service can bring to consumers and customers.

A profit positively and directly affects the consumer.

To summarize

To help you understand and remember this acronym, in short, any product or service has features that bring benefits to the customer.

How to exploit these 3 levels of commercial argumentation

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Understanding these 3 levels of commercial argumentation can help you better address your prospect. Let’s take a concrete example …

Imagine that you want to sell a computer. This one is equipped with an SSD (Solid State Drive: the equivalent of a traditional hard disk, without the mechanical part). This corresponds to a characteristic or feature of the product.

But not everyone is able to understand the feature of this product. This one in particular. Only connoisseurs, experts or specialists can.

A computer with an SSD starts and launches applications much faster than if it did not have an SSD. This corresponds to a benefit brought by the characteristic.

This way, everyone can understand it. Everyone has experienced a computer slow to react. And everyone can imagine themselves in front of a more responsive computer.

With such a computer, the user loses less time waiting for it to load and gets less irritated. In addition, the user spends more time on his actual work and is more efficient. Which can earn him a better appreciation of his hierarchy. The user can also grant the time thus released to his family for a better quality of life. This corresponds to a profit offered by the benefit derived from the product’s feature.

That too, everyone can understand and imagine. Everyone can easily feel the experience of such a profit.

What to retain from this small example?

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Make sure that you make good use of the features !

Staying at the feature level is a mistake because you cut yourself off the non-specialist population to understand the benefits and profits of the features. You must go beyond that.

However, not talking about features is also a mistake. Even if the non-specialist public cannot understand at first sight, the feature will be proof of what you are advancing in terms of benefit and profit.

Finally, a particular feature may be a discriminating element between 2 equivalent products or services, even if the benefit and the profit induced are not directly perceived by the prospect.

In addition, a connoisseur, a specialist or an expert will look for the feature first. They understand them and will know what the benefits and profits they can draw from this product or service. In fact, their process is the reverse: they have identified the desired profit, so they will look for the feature that will bring them.

Know your audience to modulate the use you make of features.

Overshoot the simple benefits

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The benefits of a product are something attractive. They are important to present. In addition, they are also easy to demonstrate. You would be wrong to deprive yourself of it.

That being the case, this represents the basic level of a real business argument.

You have understood that presenting only the features is not enough. Switch over to the benefits is inevitable and essential. But you can do more than just that because many marketers stop at this level.

You will understand, it is when presenting the profits that the consumer will be able to move to your product or your service.

An advantage is not a profit. An advantage may be a profit to your consumer. To make the distinction between the two, I refer you to my previous example, with the computer equipped with a SSD.

When presenting the benefits of your product or service, your prospect silently asks him/herself, “Yes … and so what?” Answer to this question, even if they don’t phrase it, to identify the profit. You can even take the lead and ask yourself the question before being in front of your prospect, while writing your advertisement, your sales page or even your blog post.

One last tip: a profit is often expressed with “more than [something positive]” or “less than [something negative]”.

Conclusion

In a future article, we will see how to better exploit these 3 arguments: the features of your product, the benefit brought by the features of your product, the profits offered by the benefits derived from the features of your product.

But at first, it was important to understand this concept and to differentiate between these 3 elements.

Also, I invite you to get my free Internet Marketing course by clicking on the banner below …

Here are some articles that you will find useful too:

• How To Make Money Online With No Money Down
• How to Retire on Little Money
• 10 Small Business Marketing Strategies That Work

Thanks for reading

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Hopefully, you now understand what is the difference between benefits and features. If you have any other tips in this particular field, my readers and myself would like to hear from you. And, should you have any problems that you would like to be resolved, please make use of the box below and someone and/or myself will respond typically within 24 to 48 hours. If you liked reading this article please share it socially and post your appreciation in the comments area below, I will highly appreciate it!

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