Arunaagiri Mudaaliar

Monday, 23 November 2015

Focus on Benefits, Not Features

Customers buy products or services based on the perceived benefits to them, not their features. We need to be careful not to confuse the two with customers. A benefit is what customers want the product or service to accomplish for them. Features describe everything that defines a product from color to a variety of functions.

Consider these examples. The benefits of a big screen TV are size, clarity and price. Customers may not be as interested in some of the functions the TV can provide. The benefits of a pickup truck are cargo capacity, gas mileage and towing capacity. Features may be engine size, torque, or transmission. A new medication may relieve arthritis pain. That is the benefit. How the medicine works identifies its features.

The next time you prepare an advertisement or fine-tune your sales presentation, clearly outline the benefits of your service or product for the customer. You may like the features. Some customers may like the features. However, always be careful to market key benefits rather than a list of features.

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- About Arunaagiri Mudaaliar

Arunaagiri is an Author of best selling books like 'Unleash your Potential' & 'Jogging for Life Success', an International Sportsman, a Successful Entrepreneur, a widely loved Yoga Teacher and a reputed International Corporate Trainer.

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Friday, 6 November 2015

Flog your Service with USP

As a business consultant, I receive calls from people who want to start a service business. My first question is: Why would someone pay you for a service? While this may seem like a simple question, the answer is more complex.

The first thing a service business owner needs to understand is that most services provide what people want, not what they need. Needs are things like food, clothing, shelter, air, and water. However, within every need is something someone wants.

Take water, for example. My tap water is hard water, full of minerals, and tastes terrible. I want water that tastes better. That’s where water services can help me. I can purchase a service that will deliver water to my house. I can take reusable containers to a refill station. I can buy bottled water. I can even buy a high quality water filter system. Each of these options costs time and money. A salesperson who sells any of these services needs to show me why I should spend my money on the service he offers.

Let’s say you are the water salesperson. You need to know what customers want and why. Customers who want the least expensive option will buy large bottles to refill at service centers and stores. Customers who want convenience sign up for home delivery, but it costs more. A quality water filter system is expensive up front, but less costly over time.

After you know what people want, you need to ask why someone would pay you for it. Thirty billion gallons of bottled water are sold every year, so there is a market. What makes you stand out? Do you have the lowest price? Is your system easier to install or use? Is it your water quality? Your stand-out selling point is your Unique Sales Proposition (USP). Target your customers using your USP. Your USP needs to be something people will pay for.

The next step is to use your USP to focus time and money in marking your service. Mac Ross, a master marketer said, “If you build a better mousetrap but neglect marketing, you will die alone and broke with a garage full of mousetraps.”

Successful businesses spend up to half of their time on marketing. Effective marketing strategies are worth whatever it takes to learn and implement. Just working to provide a good service is a trap. Customers won’t find you.

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Know more practices & principles for having Profitable Customers for Life. Order my book 'Being Customer Centric' today!

Call on: (022) 40035337 / 40794300