As the owner of a small business, you may find it challenging to reach your target customers. They are bombarded every day with so many messages and ads from various industries and companies that it can be difficult to make yours stand out in your direct mail marketing campaign. However, one way you can do this is to focus on the benefits of your product or services instead of their features.
How can you use the benefits of your product or service to your advantage in direct mailers? Before answering that question, you need to know the difference between features and benefits and how benefits can be more effective in marketing.
What Are Features?
Simply put, the features of a product or service are the plain facts. For example, the features of a car include not just its color and size but also the horsepower, torque, and interior luxuries like a sunroof and leather seating. These facts are important for your customer base to learn in order to make a decision about the specific product or service they want to purchase; however, before that, you need to convince them that they need or want to make the purchase in the first place. That’s where the benefits come in.
What Are Benefits?
The benefits of a product or service answer this question for the customer: “What’s in it for me?” Benefits take the features a step further and identifies what the customer could gain. While a feature of a certain car may be its spacious interior, the associated benefit would be comfort for everyone in the vehicle.
Why Should You Focus on Benefits?
Although some of your customer base wants to know the facts about a certain product or service, your marketing efforts should emphasize what they get out of the deal. Highlighting the benefits persuades your target audience that they’re missing out if they don’t purchase, and everyone in business knows how powerful the fear of missing out can be.
How Do You Highlight Benefits in Your Direct Mail Campaign?
Before designing a direct mail ad, you should take time to identify the benefits of your product or service. Think about the needs they meet—such as fundamental necessities like food and clothing, safety or health concerns, self-esteem needs, or the need for your customers to establish and realize their personal achievements. Once you recognize what your customers stand to gain from your product or service, use your direct mailer to communicate the importance of meeting these needs through your company.
What does this look like in practice? For a dental practice, the direct mailer could focus on getting the most value out of insurance benefits or having more confidence in their smile. It could also include reviews from satisfied patients who share the features and benefits they enjoy about the practice.
In the end, in some industries, the features may be important to include in direct mailers. However, if you instead focus on the benefits of your business, you can grab your audience’s attention and show that you’re ready to meet their needs. As a result, you may see more demand for your product or services, helping your small business thrive.
About Strategic Marketing Solutions
Strategic Marketing Solutions was founded by Travis Russell, who has an extensive background in designing direct mailers and building successful marketing strategies. Although he personally has the most experience assisting dental practices, he and the team specialize in serving any kind of small business. If you think Strategic Marketing Solutions could help your company improve your marketing efforts, contact us through our website here.