Often when we help industrial and manufacturing companies, they want to talk about what their product or service does.
Then it is time for some hard truths.
Frankly, customers don’t care about what your product or service does. I mean, not really. What they care about is what problem your product solves.
Despite talking about this for years, it is still a concern. Nothing derails literature or the content of your industrial website faster.
Why? Because it makes it harder for people to see why they should choose your product or service.
A feature is “Product X moves 6x faster than our competitors.”
Your customer says, “Ok, great, so what?”
Look at it if you were appraising us to build a new website for you.
Here is our “feature” message. “We create websites for industrial companies.”
Ok great, right? But that is just the service we provide. That doesn’t resonate with you necessarily.
So we need to dig deeper.
Why do companies want a new industrial website? It is usually not because they don’t like the look of their current website. No, it’s because their current site is not fulfilling some need.
They want the benefit that a new industrial website gives them. Maybe they want more or better leads, and really they want more sales.
And that is what we are selling. More leads, more sales.
Now you as an industrial company you don’t sell equipment. You sell the solution to a problem. The way you got to market more efficiently is to focus on the problem that you solve and how you help.
Let’s say you sell automated material handling equipment.
What is the real benefit to your customers? Well, it probably focuses on SALT.
You save in decrease labor, space, labor spends and increase throughput.
Good, now we are getting closer to those benefits.
Let’s take our feature from above: “Our product moves widgets 6x more efficiently than our competitor.”
Ok, we are getting closer still. However our customer doesn’t want to move product faster, they want to make their customers happier.
How can distribution make customers happier? Will quicker turn time work?
We then translate, “Our product moves products 6x more efficiently than our competitor.” Into
with product X, you can “cut 3.72 hours off your order to ship time.” Great, that is your benefit, your headline, your message.
Remember people don’t buy what your product can do, but what it can do for them.
Want to learn more about industrial marketing? Download our guide to Industrial Marketing here.