The Difference Between Features and Value

There are numerous articles, blogs, Tweets and discussion groups that talk about content marketing. The consensus across the web is that content needs to be highly relevant and engaging to break through the clutter. So, why is it that so much B2B content misses the mark?

I call it feature focus.

I do a lot of work in the IT realm where features are a dime a dozen. Companies are proud of their solution's features. They worked hard to create and develop them. They listened to customers (hopefully) and designed their interfaces and the ways in which the solution functions to address outcomes their customers value.

The issue is that your prospects don't know all that. In fact, they likely don't care much unless they can get information that applies to their perspective on the problem they're trying to solve.

Unfortunately, because they know them so well, many companies create marketing content focused on the features.

A feature is something your product or solution does.

Value is something your customers get because of what your product enables.

Here's a partial list of "Key Benefits" found on a web page designated for a "business champion." (I had real hope when I saw the company had pages for buyer types.)

• Single, universal index of all types of content, data and media
• Advanced search features including dynamic facet generation, tag clouds and multi-lingual support
• Sentiment analysis, concept clustering and classification
• Search with SQL or keyword-based queries
• Workflow and alerts to provide real-time updates to users and other applications

These are not benefits or value statements. They are product features. A business buyer will look at this list and click the back button in a flash. In fact, they might never even see this page as there's not a word included that a business user would be likely to use in a search query.

The company apparently expects the business buyer to know how to translate each of those statements into some kind of advantage. That's asking your prospect to expend way more effort than they're probably willing to do.

Whenever you get tempted to talk about your features, think about what they do and write about that instead. Just try it and see what happens. Tell your prospects a story that matters.

Comments

[kazhus]

Great reading material. I’ve learned a lot by reading here. Thanks! Recommended for everyone!

[Larry_kunz]

This is excellent advice, even though it's often hard for us content producers to accept. It requires us to leave our safe, friendly world and step into the world of the customer.

The people who wrote about the "single, universal index" and "advanced search features" would tell you, I'm sure, that those things are intrinsically wonderful and their value is obvious to everyone. Who wouldn't be excited about advanced search features? Everyone here at the office just knows how fabulous they are.

The trouble is, the world extends a long way beyond the office. Thanks for reminding us of this.

[Scott Donovan]

Too many features kills the service.
It takes too long for people to understand when having too many features.
People need the bare necessities and that's what they stick with.

[Jeff Ogden]

I love this post, Ardath, because it describes an epidemic in the technology industry.

There was a concept from Made to Stick called "The curse of knowledge" The idea of the curse is that once you become an expert in something, you lose the ability to speak to mere mortals. A very popular blog post came from this idea.

Your example was spot on. It was a good example of what Jill Konrath talks about -- gobbledy gook.

Write from the buyers point of view. That's what works.

Jeff Ogden, President
Find New Customers "Lead Generation Made Simple"
http://www.findnewcustomers.net