Going Beyond the Sale

Let’s rip off the bandaid right now: your customers don’t care about you.

They care about what’s in it for them. When crafting your Amazon product listings, if you spend too much time talking about how awesome your product is or keyword stuffing without telling the buyer why your product needs to be their product, the sale is off the table.

That might sound harsh, but it really shouldn’t. This knowledge is liberating, and will help you make better Amazon listing optimization decisions! How? Because it invites you to focus on the right things. What are those right things? The shopper and their emotions.

If you want to develop listings that produce more sales, you have to think about the steps before the sale. What happens when a person searches for your product? What do they feel or experience when they see your photos and copy? These are the questions you have to answer first.

With marketing strategies that focus on benefits and the buyer experience, you will get closer to the success you dream of. It may seem counterintuitive, but the old adage that the customer is always right isn't far off. We believe the customer should always be first.

When they search for a specific a product or service, they want to know off the bat if it will fulfill their desired purpose or need for it. You're going to tell them and make the sale.

Let’s dig into some essential tips for selling on Amazon—the benefits-first way!

Features Versus Benefits: Definitions

Before we dig into the how, it's important to clarify some of the what.

When you understand the meaning of features versus benefits, it will be much easier and more natural to compose marketing messages with them in mind. To make the idea even more tangible, let's imagine we will eventually be creating a product title, bullets, photos, and product description for a set of nonstick pots and pans:

• Feature: a basic, tangible product characteristic. For example, our non-stick pots and pans are ceramic and include 16 pieces.

• Benefit: something intangible; this is the actual human experience associated with your product. Our pots and pans will look nice in your kitchen and make cooking a large meal incredibly simple and cleanup a breeze.

• Buyer involvement: language that names or speaks directly to the shopper. So, you might phrase your benefits with "you" rather than "our."

• Consumer confidence: the shopper’s trust in your brand to be honest, ethical, and beneficial to their day-to-day experience. So, just by consuming your listing, a buyer feels as though they are in good hands and are excited to use your product.

Features are important, but they’re usually boring. If the perceived value of a product depended solely on the number of features it had, the marketing industry wouldn’t have nearly as much work to do. People might see the word "ceramic" in our pots and pans listing, but that might not mean anything to them.

Your task (at least if you're selling on Amazon to make money) is to make the shopper understand why the features of your product even matter. That is, you have to make them see the benefit. You need to tell them the ceramic is lightweight and nonstick, unlike an alternative like cast iron.

To make your potential buyer see the benefit of your key product features, you have to involve them and speak to their emotions. These are real humans, just like you. They want to figuratively "try on" your product when they look at your key features. They need to be able to imagine crafting a homemade meal for their family that is flawless, and then cleaning up without the frustration of stuck-on food. They need to picture having a conversation over a hot stove while stirring a pot of soup. You have to make it feel real for them.

By speaking directly to the browser and their emotions, making them see the real benefit of your product, and showing them why you can be trusted, you can address their pain points and inspire their consumer confidence. 

Features: What Do They Really Offer?

Features need to be stated, but to what extent? Where’s the line between “adequately informative” and “boring?” This can depend on the product itself, but generally speaking, just make the features available. Make them transparent and simple to understand. Don’t harp on them like a stereotypical 1950s car salesperson. 

Of course, as an Amazon seller, you want to tout the features in your product listing, and your buyers also want to know them. You do need to say that the pans are ceramic, their sizes, their color, etc. But it doesn't have to be dull or passé.

When you do state features, make sure they’re actually features.

“Better than them” isn’t a feature; it’s a claim.

“High-quality” isn’t a feature; it’s a cliche. 

You could use clever adjectives along with your features, like "vibrant blue" or "tough ceramic." But they need to know that the material is ceramic and the color is blue. Saying "high quality" doesn't mean anything or bring an image to mind unless it's paired with another phrase.

The amount of detail you state in your product details page or product images can also depend on the category and type of product. If you are selling tech, there are certain features that a technologically-minded person would want to know that someone who just needs a new set of kitchen towels wouldn't.

When you are selling a computer, you want all the details. You want to see numbers.

When you buy a set of kitchen towels, you don't need to know the thread count and size.

Highlighting features requires balance and a keen understanding of your product and, more importantly, your target market.

The Benefit of Benefits

It’s like the saying goes: features tell, but benefits sell.

To grasp the true impact of benefits, you must realize that you are not really selling your product, you're selling an experience.

The reality is that when customers look for a product, they want to picture it as part of their lives. They need to imagine that dinner guests will comment on their gorgeous cookware. They need to know they can relax after cooking dinner knowing that they can simply toss their pots in the dishwasher without a second thought and enjoy their evening.

How they will feel, how their life will change—those are the benefits.

To create benefits-driven copy, you need to think beyond the sale. Most people know the frustrating sting of buyer’s remorse, and as such, most people want to know how the product will actually affect their happiness. Buying stuff can be fun, but that’s fleeting. Where is the real joy in your product?

Here is another example to bring this idea into focus:

Imagine you’re selling some thick wool socks. They’re made of Merino wool; Merino is a textile catchword that will jump out more than most features. But why should the shopper care? They care because the socks will keep their feet warm, making outdoor experiences more comfortable and enjoyable. 

• Boring: “Our socks are made of 100% high-quality merino wool, woven thicker to give you more value.”

• Beautiful: “Be cozy and warm in your boots with heat-insulating and impact-softening merino wool.”

The first is product-focused and makes an empty claim about “value.” The second makes the buyer imagine how their feet feel in the cold. That sensory idea is a powerful trigger for purchasing.

Check out this Hubspot blog for more guidance on how to tell the difference between features and benefits.

Customer Involvement

What is customer involvement? It’s language that brings the shopper front and center and speaks directly to their needs and expectations. You’re not just marketing the product—you’re marketing the relationship between the consumer and the product or brand.

How do you actually apply that idea? How do you sell the relationship between a shopper and something they haven’t even bought yet? Start by getting to know your prospective customers. You can do this by analyzing your reviews or reviews of brands like yours, product surveys, and feedback forms.

This type of feedback is extremely important to you as an Amazon seller creating your product detail page. The information you learn about what your potential buyers want and hope for in a product will shape how you speak to those desires and shape your path to the sale!

Once you know what specific benefits with grab buyer's attention, spark their imagination!

Optimize images, bullet points, and product descriptions that make them feel like you are speaking directly to them and strive to inspire thoughts of future ownership. Write text that’s written as though the customer has already made the purchase. Treat it as though the buying decision has already been made, and you just need to make the customer feel good about it. How?

As abstract as this seems, in reality, fostering customer involvement doesn't have to feel like you're jumping through hoops. You just need these 2 hacks:

1. Lead with imperative verbs.

2. Use “you” and “your” instead of "our" and "ours."

Imperative verbs are verbs used as a command. They instantly involve the customer because their presence in the conversation is always implied. For example:

1. Change the way you experience coffee.

2. Brighten your child’s day with dinosaur decals.

3. Feel the difference in your knees, every day.

Not only do these examples involve the customer, but they are also benefits-driven! After beginning with the benefit, we reinforce it with a solid foundation of features rather than just listing them. When you start a sentence with key features, you risk losing a customer's attention before they get to the meat of the benefit.

The second quick, simple way to bring the customer forward is to lead any benefits with “you” or “your.” Take a look at these examples:

1. Your French press helps you squeeze every drop of flavor out of your coffee.

2. Your kid will love decorating their room—you’ll love how the decals don’t peel paint off the walls.

3. Your knee brace is fully adjustable and wraps around your entire joint for full-circumference support.
   
   

Examples of What Not to Do

It can be difficult to put this advice into practice. A good starting place is to take a look at what to avoid when stepping into benefit-driven search engine optimization.

Let’s review some real-world examples of Amazon bullet points that are feature-forward. As you read these three examples from live Amazon listings, ask yourself how they compare to your own.

Our first example is from a Macbook charger listing:

Focusing on features is common in tech marketing, and there is a place for that. But for this legacy-model Macbook charger, they’re missing out on a big emotional driver: the desire to keep a computer going for longer. “Restore power to your trusty Macbook” would take very little space to say and add a lot of emotional gravitas. 

Let's move on to our next example, a Wi-Fi router.

Bad A+ Content: WiFi Router

What does half of this even mean? People know as much about tech as they need or want to know. Something like “Protect Your Identity with HomeShield” or “Integrate with OneMesh smart home systems” says way more about what the product actually does for the shopper than these trademarked labels and tech-jargon blurbs.

Let's look at one final example of what not to do with this laser thermometer.

Bad Product Description: Laser Thermometer

This product description is for laser thermometers, which are often used to assess illness and measure the operation of important things like industrial ovens. You use them to ensure that something isn’t broken or that a loved one isn't sick. Why not appeal to that emotion?

What Should You Do Instead?

Pay close attention to how these samples don’t just tell you stuff—they reflect something about the end-user experience! 

Good Photo Text: Coloring Book

“Great for Travel” would be a vague feature statement on its own. This photo text is good because it pairs that generic statement with customer involvement and a clear, succinct statement of the actual benefit.

This set of bullets delivers immediate buyer engagement, leads with the benefit, and directly addresses critical customer groups. This helps them connect with shoppers.

Good A+ Content: Plush Toy

This example wins on immediate browers involvement, explicit acknowledgment of shopper emotions, and a clear statement of the core benefit. Buyers will want to know how big it is and what it’s made of, but the purpose for the product’s existence is far more interesting. The benefit is the hook! 

Enhancing Consumer Confidence with Customer-Centric Product Listings

How do you know when you have achieved consumer confidence? Reviews and search results are handy metrics, but shoppers speak more clearly with their wallets. When you start resonating with shoppers, you’ll see it in your sales stats.

Finding the perfect balance between features and benefits is tricky, and you’ll need to do some experimenting to figure out what’s right for your brand. But a wall of features isn’t a selling point, it’s…a wall and a barrier to purchasing. Overwhelming the buyer without speaking to their emotions is typically a bad idea; they’ll just go somewhere else where they feel more seen.

Go Deeper: Watch this video all about Features & Benefit Selling

Kick Your Copy into High-Selling Gear

Are you unsure where your listing stands in terms of features vs. benefits? Reach out for a free listing analysis and let us take a look at your Amazon listing creation and search engine optimization! Mention this blog and we can make our analysis specific to features and benefits. We analyze this stuff all day, every day! 

If you’re having trouble striking a balance in your copy, finding relevant keywords, and sparking interest to get the sale, our Amazon listing copywriters can help you out with a fresh-from-scratch listing.