 When you're thinking about benefits, you're speaking more into the emotional side. Welcome to the Smarter Building Materials Marketing Podcast, helping you find better ways to grow leads, sales, and outperform your competition. All right, everybody, welcome to Smarter Building Materials Marketing, where we believe your online presence should be your best. Salesperson, I am Zach Williams, alongside our director of strategy here at Venbeo, Deanna Murphy, who's on the show with us today, talking about features, benefits, message, market fit, how to win your customer more. Excited to have you on the show today, Deanna. Thanks for having me. So you and I are chatting about features, benefits, the difference between them, why most people get these confused, and how this can ultimately impact your bottom line. And we thought this would be a great episode to cover, because this is something, frankly, that every manufacturer and every brand, for that matter, deals with is how do I position my brand the right way, and how do I make sure I cover the right features and benefits? And I think one of the biggest aha moments for me during that Conversations Act was the difference, like the true delineation between features and benefits. A lot of times they get lumped in together. You'll see websites just have features and benefits, and then there's just this big block of text. You explained it really well. I want you to explain that again for your podcast listeners. Well, I think about features and benefits, like you said, like we tend to think of them as like one and the same thing, but they're actually two very different things. And the way that I look at them is that features are about you. They're about the product, they're about the brand. The benefit is about your customer. Like that's the easiest way to look at it. So good. And we're gonna bring up a couple of manufacturers here, and we're not doing this to call anybody out, but it's really helpful to see the difference between them. So I was looking at Zip Systems, Cuba's product, which we think is a great product, and they have a section here on their site that talks about what is Zip System? And they've got four bullet points right here, and you think, oh, this is the features and benefits. Well, some of these are features, and some of them are benefits. The reason why this is important is because if you're thinking about trying to wing over perspective, customer, or prospect, it's much more important to talk through benefits because benefits ultimately speak to a pain point. Features back up a pain point. Or what I like to think is we buy because of pain points and we rationalize because of those features that support the pain points. Exactly. And I think too, when you're thinking about benefits, you're speaking more into the emotional side, and we know that so many of these decisions are made emotionally. Yes, we wish everyone made their decisions rationally, but they don't. There's a lot, even in the building material space where we're not selling lipsticks and weight loss supplements, there's still a lot of emotional buying happening. And when we think about speaking to benefits, that's where the emotion is. That's where the pain comes in, and that's where people are making those decisions. One of my favorite headlines I've ever seen from a, and this is just pure messaging, but it's features and benefits wrapped into one, is the Nest thermostat. They have a headline, so get on their website somewhere that says programs itself, which is a feature, right? That's about the product. Then it says, then pays for itself. Pays for itself is about the customer, right? That's the benefit that they want. I frankly could not care less if this thing programs itself. What's the benefit to me? Oh, well, it's gonna pay for itself because it's gonna save you so much money. Oh, well, that's how I get it. So the feature always sets up the benefit. Right, and now you can rationalize the cost that you're spending on it because it's gonna pay for itself. I checked them out recently for our podcast, and they moved away from that main headline on their main banner, and this is really interesting. Saving energy is a beautiful thing. Is there a main headline? And I was like, oh, I don't know if I like this much, but actually I do because if you think about people that buy Nest, they buy it because it looks good, but they rationalize why they buy it because of how much money it saves them. They're really buying it because it looks really nice when someone walks through their hallway and they're like, oh, look, you've got a Nest product. But they say, oh, it saves me a bunch of money, but what they don't tell you is like, well, I like looking cool. And I think there's also the fun techy factor behind Nest of being able to change it on your phone in that really cool interface. But I think there's a natural desire for newer generations to get into something new. Like we wanna feel like we're doing it different than our parents did it. And this just feels like a new take on an old thing. None of us want the old thermostats that we had to turn up and down when we were kids. We want the newest and the latest and the greatest because we feel like we're making our own way and inventing our own path. And I think that's also one reason why Nest has been really successful. All right, so let's give you a couple of examples here. So, like I said, we're looking at Zip Systems website, and they have a great website. How they spell out why you should use their product and all of the different reasons why I think are really well articulated. But they have that section I was mentioning a minute ago about what is Zip System? And they have four essential bullet points here. And they have the first one is, it's a little, it says speed and ease of installation. That is a benefit, right? Because if I'm a builder, I'm installer, I care about speed, right? So like that's a great one. Let me just preface all this by saying a feature is not necessarily better than a benefit. But it's important to understand what you're speaking to. Like I tend to think a feature either sets up a benefit like we talked about in the headline of Nest or it supports the benefit. So for Zip, it says speed and ease of installation. Well, then they have a supporting sub-headline that says Zip System creates a quick and simple two-step installation that eliminates the need for house wrap and fill. Okay, the two-step installation is the feature. The benefit is it's quicker to install. And I think one other interesting piece that we pulled out from our conversation is that a lot of times brands just list the features and they never turn it into benefits. So they're just like, you know, installs quickly, lasts longer, maybe it's easier to install. What does that mean for your user? And so making sure that your messaging is complete. You wanna list out your features but then also close the loop for what it means for the decision maker. The other items they have here listed are continuous air barrier, integrated water resistance barrier, structural durability. Those are all about the product. Those are all features. Not bad. Maybe those are things that like people know that they want. The benefit of those like continuous air barriers is like, oh, you know, your house is gonna be easier to remain cool and or hot depending upon the time of year. Integrated water resistance barrier, the benefit is beneath the headline, which is helps protect against water intrusion while still allowing the panels to properly dry. That's the benefit. They start with the feature and then with the benefit and then structural durability. That should probably say, what did you say about that? I like the way you listed that earlier when we're talking about it. For zip systems, I think I would go with something like build stronger houses faster, stronger, more moisture resistant homes more quickly. Cause that's really what you're getting. You're building a better home and you're getting it more quickly. So yeah, I think I would story brand it. It's what I would do and I'd come up with that benefit statement. Another brand I like, and this is just cause I love this brand is Milwaukee Tool. The tool industry is so interesting because never met like a carpenter or like a debt builder who doesn't have like a quote unquote tool. They're always like, oh, I'm a Milwaukee guy or I may I'm a DeWalt guy or whatever it is. It's so interesting to me. Name me another like another category in the construction building product space where people are that obsessed about particular brand. I would be interested to know how much of that comes down to the battery because I know the batteries are interchangeable. So once you get like the battery set for the one brand, you're almost tied into that brand for life. Be an interesting case study to see maybe if you just gave away the batteries and then that locks them into buying all of your tools. Anyway, something else. Well, we're looking at their drilling section on their website and they have like three main bullets. They say most powerful, most compact, then auto stop control mode, enhanced safety. All of those are features except for the very last statement which is enhanced safety. So most powerful, that's about the product. That's a feature, most compact feature, auto stop control mode feature, right? Not bad cause it's like very to the point but it's a jump for the contractor whoever's buying this to go, okay, why is most powerful important to me? Why is most compact important to me? And I think people have gotten used to seeing those terms and this is kind of another reason why you need to close the loop with what the benefits are because people have gotten used to seeing that side note. We were doing some vacation planning and my 12 year old finds this venue that he wants to go to and he's like, mom, it says it's number one. And I'm like, babe, it just says it's number one. Like number one for what? They could be number one for the number of tickets that they have to refund. They could be number one for the people who get food poisoning there. Like it could be number one for anything. So these statements, like most compact, most compact, what? Like what does that mean? Most powerful, most powerful what? Like compared to what? Compared to everything compared to something that's four times the size compared to other drills of that size. What does it mean? So I think putting the benefits in there really helps clarify what those features are actually saying assuming that you have something to say about it. That's why you wanna close the loop because people have almost become blind to statements like this because everyone is out there saying that. Everyone is out there saying, well, we can say we're the most powerful because of this like one way that we look at it, but then DeWalt might also be able to say they're the most powerful because they're just looking at it from a different lens. It makes me think about car crash safety tests where Consumer Reports does like a car crash with like a compact, smart car. And they're like the number one highest rated safety in its class. And then like the Hummer is like the force most safe but like which one are you choosing? If you're getting in a crash, are you gonna be in a smart car? Are you gonna be in a Hummer? Of course you're gonna be in a Hummer because if those two things collide, I know who's gonna win, you know? Yes, I think it's very important to continue to tell that story when you've got the feature, it's not enough and it's not enough to just frame the feature as you want to see it. It's important to really define to the user what that feature is going to do for them. And this is important to Deanna just to make sure we're aware. I know we're looking at websites but this is true for any copy that you use whether it's in an ad, whether it's in a trade show booth, whether it's just even in conversation with your team. Like frankly, like nobody really cares about the features necessary unless they're backing up or supporting the benefit. So this even comes down into your sales training or copy in your email. It's a part of everyday all day communication. And being able to continually frame. So one exercise that we've do a lot of times with sales teams is working on their elevator pitch. So when someone says, I work for zip systems. Oh, and somebody says like what is zip systems? What do you guys do? And you could go on and on, right? You could talk for 60 to 90 seconds and give somebody all the specs and all the details and all the features and the person's going to walk away and immediately forget it because you gave them nothing to tie it back to their pain point. So how can you massage your elevator pitch to get it to a place where you can make an impact on someone in 30 seconds, right? You're meeting 500 people on a trade show floor. You want to be as impactful as possible. This is how you do it. Oh yeah. I mean, if you were introducing yourself and you say, oh, you know, we're good zip. What do you guys sell? We sell an envelope system for around your house. And you're like, okay, great. I already have an envelope system. So I don't need you. Yeah, but that's why different is better than better. You know, what makes you different? What is the benefit? All right, Deanna, who else do we look at here? I'm going to throw one at you. I want to hear your opinion. Cambria Quartz, one of our favorite brands. Their SEO description. It says, American made Quartz countertops are long lasting, easy to maintain and elegant. Cambria Quartz surfaces are durable, non-absorbent and available in stunning designs. Tell me what you think. I think those are excellent features, but you said something in the very beginning when I asked you to tee it up, you know, which is, it's one of our favorites. Why is it our favorite? Because it's beautiful. Like there's stuff that's just gorgeous. Like that's why you like it, which it's hard to articulate that in written form. Like the very last statement was like, it's stunning designs, okay, back it up. And then you see the pictures of the video, you're like, yeah, that stuff is absurdly incredible. That's a really interesting call out. So you're right, Zach, we do love Cambria. We love Cambria because of their incredible imagery, their beautiful products. They have an incredible marketing team, but I'm interested in your opinion with features and benefits with a very visual product like Cambria Quartz. Can you rely less heavily on techs? Are they gonna be able to pick up a lot of the features and the benefits from your imagery? So if the purpose of the benefit is to elicit an emotional response, they're leveraging the right assets, not just a written form, it's a visual form, right? So they're using visuals to support their features or their written features. Stunning designs is a feature, but what they can't say in written form is, hey, when something comes to your house, they're gonna be like, how in the world did you get that installed? Where in the world did you get that? I mean, I guess you've seen these headlines that are like designs that are gonna make people envious. You could say something like that, but they allow the imagery and pictures to do the work for them, which I think is smart. Like that's good marketing. Like that's why they're winning in a lot of ways, is they understand how to allow their imagery and products to say the benefit. I agree. They do a really good job of using the imagery to pull in that emotion. Yeah, this has been awesome. Hopefully for our listeners, you guys got some good benefit and some features. If you will, gosh, I can't help myself. And today, I'm gonna show you in how to write persuasive copy, how to understand what actually moves your customer. If you found this episode helpful, check us out at vendiotacom.com slash podcast to subscribing and more. Until next time, I'm Zach Williams alongside Deanna Murphy. Thanks, everybody.