Step 3. Define your product’s features and benefits, and establish how they meet your customers’ needs.
It is important to understand the differences between these terms. A need is an unfulfilled desire for something wanted or required. For example, the desire to lower cholesterol without taking medication.
A feature is a distinctive attribute or aspect. For example, a product that contains aged garlic extract.
A benefit is an advantage gained from something. For example, aged garlic extract may help you lower your cholesterol without using prescription drugs.
The trick to good marketing is not to speak from your company’s perspective (features and benefits), but to speak from your customers’ perspective: their needs.
Step 4. Develop your positioning strategy.
In a perfect world, what key points would customers remember after hearing or reading your message? Where would you have them place your brand relative to competing brands with respect to your features and benefits? Price? Quality?
Sample positioning strategies for three Proctor & Gamble products:
Tide: tough, powerful cleaning Era: stain treatment and stain removal Ivory: fabric and skin safety on baby clothes and fine washables
