by Bruce Baker

Convince Customers To Buy Without the Hard Sell
Understanding features and benefits … and how to use them to increase sales

In the business world — in any area, from insurance to banking — there are two main selling points for any product: the features and the benefits. Features and benefits are what make a customer choose one brand or product over another. Most of the craft artists I meet don’t know the difference between a feature and a benefit, or the value these two words have. If you’re a craft artist trying to sell your work, understanding features and benefits, and learning how to use them to make the sale, can have a significant impact on your level of sales.

Illustration by Brian Rea

Drive your sales up

First, let’s explore the differences between a feature and a benefit. The easiest way to explain features and benefits is to use an example such as a wristwatch, a device we all know.

What are the main features of the wristwatch? It is an accurate timepiece; it has a titanium case; it is powered by a lithium battery; and it is water resistant to 100 meters.

These are all features of the watch. They tell the potential customer about the watch, but do little to entice the customer to buy it. Many watches have these features.

What will make the customer choose this watch over another brand? This is where the benefits come in. Benefits are the zingers — the part of the story that enables the potential customer to identify with the product and want to own it. In short, benefits illustrate how this product will enhance the customer’s life. The benefits of what you make, and how you project this information to the customer, will positively affect your sales.

It is important that these benefits are presented in a way that meets the needs of the largest group of consumers. To explain this, let’s go back to the watch and review the benefits of each of the watch’s features.

The benefit of the titanium case is that it is almost twice as strong as steel, but weighs 35 percent less. This makes the watch durable and comfortable to wear, and also corrosion resistant. This last sentence is the kind of benefit people want to hear.

To say that a lithium battery has a long life is not as compelling to the customer as saying the battery will not need to be replaced for five or six years.

The same is true with the water resistance features. When I’m giving a workshop and ask the artists in the audience, “What are the benefits of a watch that is water resistant to 100 meters?,” usually, the response is, “You can scuba dive in it!” Yes, that is a benefit of this level of water resistance, but only about one in 100 individuals scuba dives. So the benefit of being able to scuba dive with this watch is not enticing to most customers. The benefit of the water resistance that addresses the needs of the largest number of customers is the fact that they never have to take it off. They can shower, swim, wash the dishes, wash the car, etc., without having to worry about drowning the watch. Never having to take off your watch is a benefit that everyone can relate to from a standpoint of convenience and worry-free wear. So the message here is to choose your benefits wisely and make sure they clearly state how the object will improve or enhance the customer’s life.

Listing the features of the watch is analogous to the way most craft artists sell their crafts. They will tell you that their bowl is made of stoneware, it has a cobalt glaze and is fired to cone 10. Then, they tell you the price. There is little information here to inspire a purchase. Customers must make up their own benefits to which they can relate. This scenario makes it too easy for them to talk themselves out of the purchase because they don’t have enough of the right kind of information.

Unless you tell them otherwise, they will think the bowl will chip, or that they can’t put it in the oven or dishwasher. Chances are, they’ll tell you they’d like to think about the purchase and promise to come back later. This is a clear indication that you have not told the customer about the benefits of your piece.

Lifestyle is the biggest benefit for nonfunctional work

You may think it’s difficult to articulate benefits for nonfunctional work, but this isn’t necessarily the case. If the item for sale is nonfunctional, the features and benefits may just not be as apparent.

This does not mean features and benefits have no place when it comes to selling nonfunctional art. It is just a different slant on the benefits package. If the benefits of what you make are not obvious, then you must sell the benefits of the craft lifestyle.

The lifestyle of the artist, his or her creative inspirations, motivations and interests — these all factor into the benefits. Remember, however, all this information needs to be presented in a way that indicates how owning the object will change or enhance the customer’s life. Essentially, how owning a piece of you will add meaning and inspiration to their lives. Tell a potential customer, “Take this vase home, live with it the rest of the day. When you wake up in the morning, it is going to make you so happy! If you are still not sure tomorrow, bring it back in the morning so I can sell it to someone else.” That is a benefit, and it comes from the lifestyle of craft. This offer not only tells them something about you, the artist, but it says, “I trust you.”

The next time you sell your crafts, use the tools that big business has used for decades. Observe the next 10 advertisements you see, or the next savvy sales presentation you witness. Notice how they tout the features and benefits — a tried and true method to increase sales.