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Monthly Archives: December 2018

3 ways of describing benefits vs features

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Understanding and being able to explain the difference between benefits and features is an integral part of telemarketing. You won’t create desire for a product or service simply by listing its properties. Instead, you have to show potential customers how these properties translate to real-world benefits.

At Blue Donkey, we look at it this way: the ‘feature’ is the fact about the product, for example: the engine size, the guarantee length, and the awards it has won. The benefits are what those features mean to the customer, for example 0-60 in 5 seconds, longer peace of mind, and better value for money.

Speaking in features mean a buyer has to go through the mental process of working things out for themselves, to engage someone more successfully you can make features significant, and easier to understand but explaining the benefit as you discuss the properties.

The more succinctly and effectively you can relate the features of your product to the benefits your customers will experience, the better. To help you make this link in all telemarketing situations, we’re taking a look at three great examples of benefits versus features.

1. What’s in it for me?

When you make a telemarketing call, the main thing that customers want to know is what’s in it for them. Before you pick up the phone to make a call, spend a minute or two trying to answer this question. Tailor your call to the specific needs of the customer you’re calling. This bespoke approach will help you to connect with your customer and ensure the benefits you describe are applicable to them.

2. The Popeye analogy

If you’re looking for an easy way to describe the difference between benefits and features, you just need to take a look at everyone’s favourite strongman. Explain to them how they represent Popeye in his normal state. Although strong and capable, there’s still a lot of room for improvement. The product you’re offering is the can of spinach. The feature of the spinach is its high iron content. The benefit of the spinach is that it turns Popeye into a supercharged fighter.

3. So what?

Most buyers won’t be interested in the bells and whistles you’ve developed for your product. All they want to know is what these bells and whistles mean for them. When thinking of ways to describe features versus benefits, put yourself in the place of your customer. Go through your product’s list of features and then think, “So what?”. In other words, consider what these features mean for your clients.

Learn more about making the most of every telemarketing call by exploring our site today.

Exploring the 6 types of buyer

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Buyer types

Taking the time to understand your buyers is key if your sales campaign is going to be a success. As HubSpot says, “Customers are the ones with the ability to determine your business’ longevity and progress.”

Although every decision maker is different, there are certain buyer behaviours that apply to the majority of situations. Familiarising yourself with the most common types of buyer should help you to quickly identify the best approach every time you enter the situation.

1. The apathetic buyer

If you come across an apathetic buyer, it’s often better to save your energy and move onto someone more likely to buy. It can take a huge amount of energy to convince an apathetic buyer to make a decision. Even if you do get them to commit to an appointment, there are no guarantees they’ll actually put their money where their mouth is.

2. The self-actualizing buyer

Self-actualising buyers know exactly what it is they want. As such, you’re more likely to close with this type of buyer. When speaking to a self-actualising buyer, it’s important that you don’t try to talk them into anything they haven’t already got their hearts set on. If you do, you may well introduce confusion into the encounter and put your potential customer off.

3. The analytical buyer

Analytical buyers tend to be self-contained and task-orientated. These types of buyers will often want a lot of detail about your products or services. Take them through all relevant information slowly and methodically. It’s important that you can back up any claims you make with cold, hard facts, so make sure you’ve done your homework and have all relevant data at your fingertips.

4. The relater buyer

Relater buyers often base their buying decisions largely on their professional relationships. If you can build a rapport with this type of buyer, and show that you have a long list of other happy customers, they’ll be a lot more likely to take action. Avoid rushing these types of encounters. Building a relationship takes time, patience and commitment. However, the effort you put in will be well worth it. Once your relationship is established, this type of buyer will be likely to come back to your business again and again.  

5. The driver buyer

Whether they’re pushed for time or not, driver buyers often come across as direct, impatient and concise. Although this can be daunting at first, it’s a great opportunity to get straight to the point. Present the key features and benefits of your product or service and answer questions quickly and succinctly. Don’t try to draw the conversation out for too long, these busy buyers won’t appreciate it.

6. The socialized buyer

Socialised buyers are generally fairly achievement orientated. If you’re able to reach an agreement with this type of buyer, make sure you get it down in writing straight away. Send the buyer a copy of your agreement as soon as possible in order to seal the deal.

Although a lot of buyers fall into these six categories, there are never any guarantees that a particular buyer will respond or react in a certain way. Sales professionals should always be prepared to alter their approach to suit each individual situation and avoid stereotyping customers before their encounter has even begun.

Learn more about building a lasting relationship with your buyers, and improving your sales technique, by getting in touch with one of the expert members of our team today.

How to establish needs and match them to the most compelling benefits

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Matching needs

Most buying decisions come down to a fairly simple equation. If the benefit of the product or service on offer is greater than the costs involved, the customer is likely to part with their cash. However, if the customer isn’t sure the benefits outweigh the costs, they may well be reluctant to initiate the purchasing process.

If you can establish the needs of your customers, and show how the benefits of your product or service meet these needs, your marketing strategy is likely to be a success. In fact, the more effectively you can meet the needs of your customers, the more compelling your benefits are likely to be.

Establishing customer needs

The first and most important step in creating a compelling new marketing strategy is identifying customer needs. There are a number of ways to do this. One of the most effective is to use open questions to uncover more about the most pressing and relevant challenges they face. Open questions usually start with the words Who, What, When, Why, and How. The more open questions you ask, the more information you’ll have to work with.

Matching them to product benefits

Once you’ve established what customers need, take an in-depth looks at the products and services you offer and think about how they meet the needs of your customers. The more closely you can link these two elements together, the more compelling your benefits will be.

It’s possible that different benefits will be relevant to different customers. Be clear about your list of benefits in the context of a variety of businesses and situations. That way you should have a compelling argument for every call you make.

Showing how your brand adds value

You can also look at the benefits you offer in terms of value. The more money or time you can save your customers, or the easier you can make their working lives, the more value you’ll add to both your products and their business. As Shopify says, “Learning to present the value your company and products deliver in a compelling way is one of the most high-value, wide-reaching marketing activities.”

The more clearly you can link the benefits you offer with the needs of your target audience, the more compelling your marketing strategy will be. The more time you spend thinking about the value you offer your customers and the benefits of your products and services, the more likely you’ll be to bring your telemarketing calls to successful conclusions.

The link between needs and benefits in the world of marketing is incredibly strong. It’s also one of the most compelling tools you have at your disposal when making telemarketing calls. Find out more, and learn how to improve your own telemarketing technique, by exploring our site today.