Benefits 1.0 Give You What You Want Out of Life
You’ve created a shiny new mousetrap (yeah, I know, so original). It’s going to make you millions, millions, of dollars. It’s feature rich and will do everything customers could possibly want. It’s made out of recycled plastic and stainless steel, has a built-in UV light, and a patented mouse attraction system. It captures mice instead of clamping them.
You put it up for sale, and wait for the money to roll in.
But. It. Just. Sits. There.
Nobody buys it. You scratch your head and wonder why.
In the February issue of Write Away! I said customers ask “How will your product help me get what I want out of life?” You answer that question by talking about emotion-laden benefits.
There are two kinds of emotion-laden benefits. Benefits 1.0 give you what you want out of life. Benefits 2.0 protect your self image. Today we’ll drill down from each of your mouse trap’s features to identify the benefit that gives your customers what they want out of life. Next week, we’ll figure out how those features protect your customer’s self image and decide which is more compelling.
| Feature | Benefits that give you what you want out of life | Benefits that protect your self image |
| Made from recycled plastic and stainless steel | Your house will be mouse free in no time. | |
| Has a UV light | You won’t have to touch or store icky mousetraps. | |
| Has a patented mouse attraction system | No more frustration – simple and quick to set up. | |
| Captures mice instead of clamping them | Your mornings will be calm. |
Recycled plastic and stainless steel: they’re stronger than wood. Stronger than wood means they’re reliable. Reliable means they won’t break – when a mouse trips your trap, he’s caught. Your house will be mouse free in no time.
Built-in UV light: UV light sanitizes (no, it’s not a little mousy tanning bed). Built-in sanitization means you won’t have to touch or store icky mousetraps.
Patented mouse attraction system: no need to have cheese on hand. No need for cheese means no bedtime grocery store runs or pinched fingers. No more frustration – these are simple and quick to set up.
Captures instead of clamping: You won’t wake up to mangled mouse bodies or hear their little mousy screams. Your mornings will be calm.
Do you think these benefits will sell the most mousetraps or are there more compelling benefits that will persuade customers to beat a path to your internet portal? Let me know in the comments.
Debra, I think these are great! What a fun way to get to the heart of benefits. This example made me think of the precipitating event…the scratching of tiny mousy feet in my attic or walls, the tiny droppings found in corners or under cupboards. Or better yet, the gnawed hole in my chips or cereal box.
I look forward to Benefits 2.0 installment! Keep it coming.
Kathie Nelson
Get Monetized Now!
Business & Leadership Strategist
Thanks Kathie! Those precipitating events make what you want out of life pretty obvious, don’t they? No more screaming, bleaching counters, throwing out food. Any $1 mouse trap will do the job. Why pay for a fancy recycled plastic and stainless steel, mouse-attracting, self-cleaning mouse capture system? As they said in the olden days, “Tune in next week…”
Riveting! I love the way you break marketing concepts down so even newbies like me can understand them. I can’t wait for the next installment.
Thanks Judy! I appreciate the encouragement.
So looking forward to the next post, too! This is so true…and so overlooked. Thank you for the post! 🙂
Hey Krista, Thanks for dropping by. The difference between benefits and features can be tough to understand. I did my best to make it clear.