Zazou Marketing

Tell me the truth: Are you more likely to buy a camping chair because it is made of polyester/nylon mesh or because the fabric dries quickly and won’t puddle water when left out in the rain? If you chose the latter, that’s because you are like everybody else in the world — you like to know how a product will benefit you.

Luckily for REI, I got this example from their website, where they did it right: Their description focused on the benefits of the chair (that the material dries quickly), instead of just listing the features of the chair (that the material is polyester/nylon mesh).

REI successfully touts this chair's benefits, not features, on its website

But just because REI succeeds in giving benefits over features, doesn’t mean that all the big companies do so in their marketing materials. In fact, the New York Times just ran a blog posting about how Ford forgot this very important aspect of marketing and copywriting.

The posting is about the company’s new van that gets 22 to 25 miles per gallon, and it’s being marketed as a small-business delivery van. Here’s a portion of the blog:

“When I looked over the marketing sheet for the trucks before they got here, I couldn’t help but notice that Ford’s marketing people don’t really know how to talk to their customers — they don’t speak “entrepreneur.” It was a classic case of selling the features instead of the benefits….

For instance, they say, “The power train was upgraded to include a proven Duratec 2.0 liter dual overhead cam (DOHC) I-4 engine …” What does that mean? But then I drove the truck and noticed the pick up. Me understand. Me go fast. Me want. How many people even know what a power train is? Or a dual overhead cam? Oh, excuse me, a DOHC.”

The posting goes on to cover point by point how the brochure fails to sell this van to its customer.

Luckily for Ford, the writer actually saw the van in person and didn’t have to rely on the marketing materials to discover that it’s a perfect fit for his needs (and then went on to write about that in the New York Times).

But how many of their potential customers are going to have that same opportunity? And how many of their potential customers will have the chance to tell so many people about the vehicle’s benefits?

According to the NY Times, Ford's brochure for this new van fails to tell its potential customer how he or she will benefit from buying this vehicle.

So take this as just another reminder that if you offer a product or service, you need to find out how it benefits your customer — and then tell your customer all about that in your marketing materials.

A few days ago I was working on a brochure about a new product launch. In it I needed to explain that matcha green tea has more antioxidants in it than any other tea. To do so I wrote, “Matcha has 10 times the antioxidants, when compared to traditional green and black teas.”

Then I thought… “Is that right?”

As I have done in the past, I headed over to my “APA Style Book” and looked it up. Here’s what it has to say:

compared to, compared with

Used compared to when the intent is to assert, without the need for elaboration, that two or more items are similar: She compared her work for women’s rights to Susan B. Anthony’s campaign for women’s suffrage.

Use compared with when juxtaposing two or more items to illustrate similarities and/or differences: His time was 2:11:10, compared with 2:14 for his closest competitor.

So, according to the “APA Style Book,” no, I was not right. It would be: “Matcha has 10 times the antioxidants, when compared with traditional green and black teas.”

I got a call today from a client who wants a brochure. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, so I mentioned a few possible topics that we could cover in the marketing material, many of which were a surprise to him. It made me think that it might be helpful if I posted some general areas that are often covered in brochures.

So, as you think about your own brochure, think about which of these will be most helpful in selling your service or product. And that really is the key — don’t just include that you have been in business for 50 years because you think it sounds impressive; only include that information if it’s going to make your clients buy your product or service. And keep in mind that you almost never want to have all of the following topics covered in one brochure!

Also, just because you talk about your services (or some other topic), you should not label the section “services.” Instead come up with a catchy, descriptive header that helps sell your company, product or service.

Possible features to include in your service or product brochure:

• Introduction – Outline what you offer and–of course–what you do for your client.
• Call to action – Ask the reader to act. Do you want a call? Order a product? Or for the client to visit a website? Then let them know what to do and how to do it.
• Services and/or products – Describe the services and/or products you offer (and always focus on how they benefit your customer).
• Business structure – Describe how you do business and why it benefits your client.
• Clients – Include case studies or a list of people or organizations who have hired you or bought your product. Or you can include descriptions of the kind of companies who have hired you.
• Testimonials – Include testimonials that tell how great you or your product or service is, of course, And, if possible, use ones that include numbers that prove that your service or product has improved their life.
• Fees, prices and terms – If you have a set price structure, you may want to include it, in addition to any guarantees that you make. For products, you may want to also include shipping and handling costs.
• Features – Highlight features that set your product apart from your competition. And, of course, include how those features benefit your client.
• How the product works – Describe how your product works and what it can do, including why its superior to the competition.
• Information about the buyer – Sometimes its helpful to spell out who the product or service is designed for. (Even if you don’t have an entire section for this, all of the content should keep this person in mind.)
• Applications – Describe how your product or service can be used and answers the question of what problems it solves.
• Availability – If you sell a product or two or three or more, you may want to list the models, sizes, construction materials, options, accessories, etc. Again, include why these specs matter to your client. Also, you may want to include charts and graphs to help your client select the right product.
• Technical specifications – For products, you may want to include and technical requirements, such as cleaning methods, storage conditions, etc.
• FAQ – This is obviously where you include frequently asked questions (and their answers).
• About Us – Including a brief company description section can show that the service or product is backed by a reputable company. And, if it well help sell your product or service, highlight the credentials of important employees.
• Support – This section can be either who and how to contact support, or it can be information about delivery, installation, upkeep, etc.