The product benefits conveyed in the copy are not clear, so why should users pay for it?

If the benefits of your product are not clear, then you should first sort out the benefits and selling points of the product for users.

Nowadays, most companies pay special attention to the packaging of their brands and products.

They constantly emphasize to users the core functions, outstanding product advantages, strong brand, price advantages, differentiated features, personalized services, personalized concepts, etc., and even spend a lot of money on product packaging in various channels .

Repeatedly tell users "Our product is very suitable for you now", "Our brand is so awesome", "You will regret it for the rest of your life if you don't use this product", "Many people are using our product, even XXX is using it" ... and so on.

In a word, it is to tell users: Believe me, our product is definitely suitable for you, you deserve it, there is absolutely no problem.

This is not wrong in itself, but the premise is, why should they believe you?

When users cannot understand more about every aspect of the product, no matter how much you say, they will not be able to make a judgment.

The bigger problem is that everyone thinks their own products are good, but they themselves can’t tell what makes the products good!

This problem is rather embarrassing, but also very common. People don't clearly sort out the benefits and selling points of their products, but just push them out there.

As a result, the strategy is unclear, and the product benefits conveyed in the copy are confusing. Why should users pay for it?

Today I will share with you a great tool : Product Benefit Ladder . It may help you.

The so-called product benefit ladder actually means that for a product, we can conduct a layered analysis from its most basic product features, to product functional benefits, and then to higher-level benefits, like layers of a ladder.

In this way, you can more clearly sort out the benefits and selling points of your products and achieve a match between products and users.

I divide this product ladder into: product features, product benefits/advantages, consumer benefits, and emotions/values.

Product features: These are the most basic functions and attributes of our products, such as their characteristics and features, which are also the support for the product’s selling points.

We must be very patient to collect and understand product features, as they are the basis of everything. If we don’t know the basic features and attributes of our products, and if we deal with this step casually, then everything that comes after will be empty.

Product benefits/advantages: You can understand this as the "selling point" of the product. It is said from the product's perspective, that is, the benefits that the product can provide to users.

For example, laptops are very thin, and the back seat space of a car is very large.

Consumer benefits: This is based on the product benefits above. You can understand it as the "buying point" of the product. The selling point is said from the perspective of the product, while this is said from the perspective of the user.

What kind of value can our product advantages translate into for users? What practical problems can it solve? For example, if a laptop is very thin, it is very easy to carry; for example, if the back seat of a car has a lot of space, the whole family can travel together.

Emotions/values: These are the benefits that the product brings to users at a higher level in terms of emotions, values, and concepts. It is a resonance of emotions and consistency of values.

Not every product has emotional/value expression, but if a product can do this, it will truly bind the user and the brand together. For example, "Born for fever", "Self-discipline gives me freedom", "You are beautiful".

After thinking and analyzing layer by layer in this way (I suggest you draw it directly), you will find that your mind, which was previously empty about the product, has suddenly become richer.

You can look at the old picture below, which is very intuitive. It is a brand ladder diagram for Coca-Cola , which is quite similar to the product benefit ladder discussed here.

When it comes to products, I personally don’t like this kind of vertical analysis. I usually prefer to use mind maps to make horizontal product benefit ladders.

Because a product actually has many core features and functions, I don’t like to mix them together. I prefer each feature to extend along a main line, which is clearer and more intuitive for me.

as follows:

Each step direction can form a corresponding independent strategy and copywriting, and you can know which direction should be the main push and which direction should be used as a collaborative one.

I dare say that using this kind of thinking over and over again is much more effective than racking your brains to figure out how to advertise!

Let’s take a look at a previous Vivo X7/X7 Plus advertisement and analyze it using the product benefit ladder method.

Product features: 16 million soft light selfie function;

Product benefits/advantages: Bright and clear photos of people, illuminating your beauty;

Consumer benefits: It is easy to take beautiful photos of yourself;

Emotions/values: Show the best of yourself.

In short, if you haven’t sorted out the benefits and selling points of your own products, or you find that the benefits of the products you promote are confusing.

Then you need to ask yourself a few questions from the product to the user, from the inside out:

1. What are the notable features and functions of your product? (feature)
2. What are the specific benefits of this function or feature? (Product Benefits)
3. What value can this benefit create for users? What goal is to be achieved? What practical problems are solved? (Consumer interests)
4. What kind of emotional resonance can this benefit given to consumers trigger in them? What kind of values ​​can it bring? (Emotions/ Values)

Answering these questions will completely change your product strategy.

Moreover, when you clearly know these interest points of your product, you can occasionally use dimensionality reduction attack when competing with other products.

What does it mean?

When others are still talking about the basic features of the product, you can talk about the product’s benefits; and when others are talking about the product’s benefits, you can be more advanced and talk about the consumer’s benefits, describing the product through higher-dimensional benefits.

Speaking of this, there is also an interesting true story.

In 1983, Jobs said to John Sculley, then president of PepsiCo :

"Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to change the world with us?"

These irresistible words aroused Sculley's ambition, so he resolutely went to Apple and served as the CEO of Apple at the time, and began to change the world with Jobs.

You see, Mr. Joe is also a bad guy. Why didn't he say "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to sell computers with us?", but said "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to change the world with us?"

Because he never thought of comparing the two products on the same product feature dimension, but used Apple's values ​​(changing the world), the highest dimension, to compare Pepsi's product features (sugar water), the lowest dimension.

How can this be compared? When it comes to this kind of dimensionality reduction attack, only Steve Jobs can do it.

Of course, it is not recommended for small and medium-sized enterprises to talk about feelings and values ​​right from the start. You may think it is very advanced, but end up ruining yourself. We still need to solve the basic questions of "Who am I" and "What do I do" first.

However, when others are still talking about various product features, you might as well bring up your product benefits and consumer benefits to gain the upper hand.

Okay, that’s all for today’s sharing.

If the benefits of your product are not clear, you need to carefully sort out the benefits and selling points of the product for users. Please remember: product benefit ladder.

Hope it helps!

Source: Mumu Laozei (ID: mumuseo)