by David Lim
Ads are essential to practically any business. You might have the best product in the world, but if the ads selling your product are not effective, then your business will be seriously under performing its true potential.
One of the areas that separate an effective ad from a less effective one is an ad the focuses on the features of the product rather than on how it will benefit the customer. In other words, en effective ad will focus on the benefits of a product rather than on its features.
As an example, consider the list of features of some hypothetical products:
The advanced microprocessor system has a resolution down to 1.2 microseconds and will ensure that the engine runs smoothly even when the car is going at 200 km/h.
Our company’s patented surface microfiber technology increases the flow rate of the water to 10 cubic m/sec.
Our glue is protected by a patent.
If the features were rewritten to emphasize the benefits, they might read something like this:
The engine’s advanced microprocessor system will give you a smoother ride and save you money by cutting down on fuel consumption at the same time.
You will be able to increase the flow rate using existing pipes and without any additional equipment.
Our patented glue guarantees that you can stick two surfaces together, and have them stay together, without the need for messy cleanup and without having to re-glue - ever.
Consider that in the latter examples, while the product features are still mentioned, the focus has shifted more to how the product will make life simpler and better for the customer.
When emphasizing the benefits of a product, it is also good to take into account the special needs of the particular demographics that your product targets.
For example, if you are selling an expensive watch to a baby boomer, you might want to highlight the extra large face that your watch has, so that he would not have to squint to read the time. Baby boomers will typically be starting to suffer from degrading vision, and by not having to squint to read the time, he will appear that much more dashing and debonair to the ladies.
At the end of the day, whether you make the sale or not is not about how great your product is, but about how your customer can make use of your product and about how the product can benefit your customer.
This article is adapted from the brandable ebook titled: "Learn To Write More Effective Ads". It is about techniques you can use to make your ads more effective and can be downloaded for free and without the need to enter your email address.
Download here: http://quittingyourjob.com/brandable_directory/brandable_effective_ads.php