Your
company has features. Your customers are looking for benefits. How do you get
the two to line up? Start by creating a
two-column list. Title the first column “Features”
and the second column “Benefits.” List every feature that you can think of.
Hours, location, years of business, affiliations, awards, products and
services, pricing. When you’re done, start filling in the second column – but
from the customer’s perspective. What solution do you provide that will make
their lives easier, better, more productive or fun?
Spend some time on this. Do some research. Ask questions. Once you’ve identified one or more customer benefits, you’re ready to start writing your first draft. For each benefit you’ve come up with, list the services that underline or support that benefit. A physician who does house calls, for example, would have several obvious benefits, but they could start with this one: When you’re sick, the last thing you want to do is get out of bed.
I'm in the process of planning an interactive online workshop for business owners, so if you're interested in participating, send me an email. Include Workshop in the subject line of the email.