What is the difference between a feature and a benefit?

May 19, 2010 |   3 minute read

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What is the difference between a feature and a benefit?

Second post in "Getting Customers to Use Your Business More" series.

If you’re not a copywriter, it can be tricky working out the benefits of your business (which are different to the more obvious features). Business owners typically explain features well. But we're not always great at explaining the benefits for potential customers.

Don't leave it to customers to figure out your business is the best--you need to tell them. Or else they're likely to see (and choose) your competitors first.

To further illustrate the difference between a feature and a benefit, here's how you begin to separate your business's features from benefits. (For copyright reasons, I'll use Tangible Words' Features vs Benefits as an example).

Tangible Words Copywriting/Professional Writing's list of features for website copy:

A list of some of the features Tangible Words offers clients on website wording and content (copy).

  1. Website content professionally written for you.
  2. Short turnaround on your website copy.
  3. Search Engine Optimised (SEO) website content.
  4. Your copywriter becomes an expert on your business.
  5. Editing included.

Tangible Words Copywriting/Professional Writing's list of benefits for website copy:

Looking at the features Tangible Words offers clients, we can determine if these features matter to an audience (i.e. discover "the benefits") by asking "what problem does this feature solve?"

  1. You won’t have to find the time to carefully write about your products. An external, professional perspective helps you save the effort of writing down something you're very close to which other people will want to read.
  2. You need your copy quickly so it goes live on your website and gives customers a message of consistent branding.
  3. Your copywriter will integrate business keywords into your website copy. Your business will be better found by search engines (avoiding the cost of paid advertising E.G. Pay-per-Click)
  4. You don’t have to worry about the wording “not sounding like you.” Copywriters study the ideal tone of your business with copywriting, copywriters sell your business (as well as you do).
  5. You always have the "final say" on your website copy. You don't have to worry about your website copy not turning out like you imagined. If anything, your copywritten website copy will look better than you envisioned.