What's Wrong with Talking about Features?
Nothing! Features are important. Your customers might be looking for particular ones that will make up the bulk of their buying decision. But the content of a data sheet is not marketing messaging. Marketing copy needs to resonate, not simply persuade and inform.
What Not to Do
I'm going to use an example of a cold email I just received, because it perfectly encapsulates what NOT to do.
We are an end-to-end marketing firm that delivers top brand visibility across Google and AI search.
1. #1 Google rankings
2. Visibility in AI search
3. More qualified inbound
4. Better organic ROI
5. More revenue opportunities
And more.
So what is this missing?
We are an end-to-end marketing firm that delivers top brand visibility across Google and AI search.
Great. Which end to what other end? What's the value? Also, we are a marketing firm. How dare you.
1. #1 Google rankings
Big, but vague, promise. What am I ranking for? Our name? We already have that. If it's for the keywords "design and marketing agency", good luck. Also, what if we were a company that only responded to RFPs?
2. Visibility in AI search
Okay, basically everyone needs this. But what does the visibility get me? Where along my prospect journey is this important?
3. More qualified inbound
This is ALMOST good. Because we all want more qualified inbound. But they need to pinpoint how this saves time and effort.
4. Better organic ROI
What does this even mean?
5. More revenue opportunities
Does this mean more customers? Or more opportunity to get customers? Am I opening a new service line? Does this free up time so I can do other things?
And more. So.. like.. French fries delivered to my house every morning? Hmm note to self: look up french fry subscription services.
Yes, I picked an example that's basically one step up from a phishing email. I'm sure you ignore several of these emails a day and would NEVER stoop to this level yourself. But take a look at your marketing and see whether you're making any of these mistakes.
Yikes. Ok, Where Do I Start?
You have to get out of your head and into your customers' heads. The best way to do this is to literally ask them about the problem you've solved. Set up as many meetings as you can with your customers and ask them about their experience before, during, and since bringing your product on. Some questions you can ask are:
- Why did you start looking for this solution? Did something happen? How did the problem make you feel?
- What had you been doing before? What was this costing you in time, money, and brain power?
- What other solutions did you research?
- Why did you decide to work with us?
- How has the experience been so far?
- How much time, money, or brain power did you save? (reference their answers before)
- Would you recommend us to your peers? Why or why not?
Record the conversation so you can stay engaged, rather than taking notes, and try to keep your questions open-ended. This is the golden information that helps you understand why your customer chooses you. And I already know what you're thinking. "We know our customer! We deal with them every day! We know what they're thinking!” And sure. Maybe. But are you talking about your product from their point of view? Have YOU internalized their problems? Sometimes the specific phrases a customer uses will encapsulate your benefits perfectly.
So How do I Write a Good Value Proposition?
You want to capture the most expensive, annoying, and pressing issue that you solve. Look back at your calls and identify the issue that seems to elicit the strongest emotion. The one that the customers can't stop complaining about. Then think about the result that made them most excited, and how they described getting there. Put them together and you get something like:
PRODUCT helps you SOLVE THIS PROBLEM and GET TO THIS RESULT by DOING THIS THING.
E.g. French Fry 24/7 helps soothe a perimenopausal woman's cravings by bringing delicious french fries to your door when you wake up sweating in the middle of the night!
Not a perfect example, perhaps one that only appeals to me, and the copy needs some workshopping. But that's what testing is for. Your client interviews will likely spring up many problem and solution statements that you can then test in your messaging.
The Important Thing is to be Memorable
When it boils down to it, the reason to do all this work is to be memorable. Most folks will not remember a list of specs, but they WILL remember a story. Particularly one that touches their pain points. You're showing that you're not trying to shoehorn your product into their problem, but have built your solution around it.
