August 2008

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following article was first published in the Eastern Daily Press' 'The Business'  on 6 August 2008</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>What matters is them, not you</B></div> <bR> <div> One of the first things any student of sales and marketing is taught is the difference between features and benefits.  Every product or service can be defined in terms of its features:  a car with 250 brake horsepower that will accelerate from zero to sixty in 6.2 seconds; the laptop computer with a dual-core processor and a 160 gigabyte hard drive.  All very well, but merely describing the features of something is not likely to get at the centre of the human decision-making process that influences potential buyers to part with their money. To do that you have to appeal not to their rational head, but more to their heart - by selling them the benefits of your offering.  How it will help them solve a problem or make them feel better or happier - that sort of thing.  </div> <bR> <div> For example, the petrol-heads who follow `Top Gear' zealously see Jeremy Clarkson and his cohorts describing some of the super-cars they test each week in language that is often visceral in style.  They rant about the cacophony of noise made by the enormous engine or the looks they attract driving through St Tropez.  All of these messages are aimed clearly at the viewers' emotional - not rational - interest in cars    </div> <bR> <div> WIIFM - What's in it for me?  This simple catch phrase captures the essence of how people tick and why they listen to and are influenced by one message and not by another.   When considering how you might reach a particular audience with a powerful argument for choosing your product rather than your competitor's, try to see things from their perspective and base the communication on the benefits your product can offer the customer and how it will satisfy their WIIFM needs.  </div> <bR> <div> A glance through today's newspapers showed clearly that many advertisers hadn't used their imagination much when designing their adverts.  Frequently there was a fairly uninspiring description of the product's features (even to the extent of using the word itself) followed by what is obviously the common benefit that almost everyone has decided will attract the buyer in today's `credit crunch' environment - massive discounts and other sale offers.  Understandable, but hardly a good way to differentiate one business from another.</div> <bR> <div> I think that even in everyday communications within the workplace, remembering WIIFM is important.  You'll be more successful in motivating or influencing others if you tailor your communications to describe what a particular action could do for the other person, rather than simply why you want to do it.  It's really just a matter of adapting some of the language and ensuring that you're aiming your words at the right target.</div> <bR> <div> Aristotle said, “The fool tells me his reason; the wise man persuades me with my own.” </div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=180 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>