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In the past, I often declared that the Internet is
not a communications medium. It's much more than that. I'm not alone
as even the government thinks the same way I do. For example, my
country's telecommunications watchdog -- the Canadian Radio and
Telecommunications Commission (or CRTC, which is comparable to the
American FCC) -- officially declared so in 1999 (see
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/ENG/NEWS/RELEASES/1999/R990517e.htm).
In the wake of rumored proposals to regulate the Internet, the CRTC
last year ruled out the possibility by declaring that the Internet is
not a broadcasting medium. It based its decision on the fact that the
web is interactive with its audience -- unlike the television, radio
and other media. As a result, regulators concluded that the Internet
could therefore police itself.
However, my point here is not a political one but a marketing-related
one. It is based on the premise that many webmasters and online
business owners look at online marketing as a mere communications
process. And often, they do so by turning their web sites into
billboard-littered graveyards. They tend to forget that their
electronic stores are sales tools as well.
The greatest limitation of ecommerce is the lack of touch and feel
online -- for example, people can not physically inspect the products
they are buying. Moreover, the Internet is cold, faceless and
impersonal. The lack of human interaction takes away the emotional
element in the sale, as well as the ability to persuade others or
overcome objections.
Understandably, a salesperson's enthusiasm
for, and belief in, his or her product are easy to convey in person.
That person's unique set of sales skills, product knowledge,
personality and expertise is equally advantageous in offline selling.
Most of all, her ability to slant presentations in order to meet
specific client needs, goals and desires are also easier in the
physical realm. But online, these abilities are virtually nonexistent.
Therefore, like a salesperson an online store must communicate those
emotions that empower people to buy. It must also direct visitors to
take some kind of action because, in actuality, the web is more of a
direct marketing process than it is a medium. In both cases, the
responsibility boils down to the words. Words as powerful online. As
web copywriter Nick Usborne of
http://www.nickusborne.com/ once noted:
"Words make the difference."
Words should appeal to specific buyer motives. They should compel
people to act. They should make web sites (and their offers) truly
irresistible. And as common wisdom dictates, the first rule in doing
so is to stress benefits over features. Sounds simple, right? Not
really, for if it were the Internet would be literally filled with
successful web sites. So in an attempt to provide you with some
guidance, here's a tool to help you in developing compelling benefits.
Product Analysis
Worksheet
Product benefits usually consist
of four principal levels. They are features, advantages, benefits and
motives. Each layer has its own set of attributes and characteristics,
which varies depending on the product type and the market to which the
product caters. To illustrate, here's a brief description of each
layer:
-
Features -- what products
have
For example, "This accounting software is application-rich"
-
Advantages -- what features
do
For example, "These applications provide real-time, on-demand,
updated mission-critical information to key business managers"
-
Benefits -- what features
mean
For example, "With much needed, on-demand data, your managers are
able to keep their finger on your company's financial pulse at all
times"
-
Motives -- what motives do
features satisfy
For example, "Cost-savings, control, efficiency, etc"
Obviously, benefits are
essential to successful online selling. But describing them in a way
that's appropriate for and targeted to specific audiences is a
difficult process. A common problem among webmasters is to develop
content using a language that only they can understand -- or "technolese."
This is quite normal as we write in the way we think or talk.
Therefore, in order to simplify the process develop a complete product
analysis worksheet -- a technique developed by Ronald Marks, author of
the book "Personal
Selling: An Interactive Approach." First, list all of the
features of your product or service, including standard, technical,
supportive or abstract features. With each feature develop a
subsequent list of relative advantages. Perform the same exercise for
benefits and motives.
Once achieved, look at your worksheet and then ask, "Do the
descriptions which I've given my product truly reflect (and cater to
the needs of) my specific target market?" Also, "Is the language easy
to understand -- especially for that market?" In other words, develop
benefits that appeal to what Zig Ziglar calls your specific customers'
"emotional logic." Zig, a renowned sales trainer, explains by saying:
"People usually buy on emotion and then they justify it with logic."
Therefore, appeal to their emotions first and foremost.
What follows is an example of a product analysis worksheet developed
for IMC's private site at
http://SuccessDoctor.com/IMC/, of which I am a contributor.
And if you read carefully, you'll notice that, while I've created it
on a whim, in all likelihood some of the benefits that I've described
are mentioned on IMC's front page somewhere. (Keep in mind that
worksheets are usually placed in a table or column format, but for the
purpose of illustration in this email newsletter the following example
is described in a more linear fashion.)
Feature #1: Successful marketers share
mistakes and experiences
-
Advantage: Strategies are
therefore tested and proven
-
Benefit: Eliminates the risk
of trying unknown tactics
-
Motive satisfied: Cost savings
-
Advantage: There's a pool of
knowledge from which to learn
-
Benefit: Removes the need to
search the web for information
-
Motive satisfied: More time
Feature #2: The private site has
multiple topic-specific forums
-
Advantage: Members can obtain
individualized consulting
-
Benefit: Removes much of the
guesswork in online marketing
-
Motive satisfied: Profits
... And so on.
Nevertheless, remember that "features tell but benefits sell." And
contrary to popular knowledge, benefits are not vehicles for creating
hype or puffery. As illustrated above they are effective means through
which customers can fully understand and appreciate a product's true
purpose. As my mentor once told me, "Different words mean different
things to different people." In other words, a complex, technical
specification may be easy to understand for the seller -- but what
does it mean to the customer specifically?
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