If you’ve been in the field of copywriting for a long time, you’ve heard the phrase “features vs. benefits.” It’s a fundamental principle of copywriting and the driving force behind much of what we as copywriters create. But there is also another aspect to this equation.

What happens after customers buy your product or service? Once they have used what you have to offer, what will be different in their lives? What will be the end results of your buying decision? Getting your customers to see the end results of their actions can be an extremely powerful persuasion tool that you’ll want to incorporate into your copy.

Let’s break down the features, benefits, and bottom line and see how all three work individually and collectively to create targeted momentum at the point of purchase.

Features – The basic outline of your product or service

The characteristics, in wording, are a starting point. They provide a basic outline of what your customer needs to know. Characteristics describe (most of the time) the attributes of a product or service. If we are using the example of a wireless telephone answering system, some features could be:

• 5.8GHz FHSS

• Talking caller ID

• Expandable to 4 phones

• Selectable ringtones

• Speakers

To a person who knows nothing about cordless phones with answering machines, this list might not mean much. It’s a basic blueprint of the phone and nothing more.

Benefits: make the product or service more personal

Benefits bring features to life. Benefits make the features and the product or service more personal. They explain how the features will improve the customer’s life in some way. Using the feature list above, see what the benefits could be. (The list below is taken from Panasonic™ marketing materials and relates directly to your phone model KX-TG5230M.)

5.8 GHz digital system: The 5.8 GHz frequency allows you to go anywhere in your home and still get clear reception without interfering with your home network. Digital frequency hopping technology keeps calls from outside sources secure.

· Talking Caller ID: No need to be within visual distance of your phone. You can hear who’s on the line before you pick up the phone. No more running to find the handset or base!

Expandable – Keep a phone in any room – additional phones cost less than other phones and don’t need a phone jack. This base unit supports a total of four handsets. Add up to three phones for a complete set.

Selectable Ringtones: Personalize your phone’s sound by choosing from three ringtones.

· Dual Speakerphones: Speak directly into the base with the base speakerphone, while the handset speakerphone provides convenient hands-free calling wherever you take the headset.

Benefits make features personal. They explain how the features will be useful in the customer’s life.

Final results: a look into the future

However, we can take this process a step further. After customers buy the phone and use it, what end results will they experience? As asked before, how will their lives be improved? What will be the effects of your purchase decision? Let’s go back to our list and add the final results as the last prize in the list of benefits.

5.8 GHz Digital System: The 5.8 GHz frequency allows you to go anywhere in your home and still have clear reception without interrupting your home network. Digital frequency hopping technology keeps calls from outside sources secure. You will have complete freedom to talk without interference on one of the most advanced systems available.

· Talking Caller ID: No need to be within visual distance of your phone. You can hear who’s on the line before you pick up the phone. You will enjoy the ultimate in convenience with this feature. No more running to see the phone or the base!

Expandable – Keep a phone in any room – additional phones cost less than other phones and don’t need a phone jack. This base unit supports a total of four handsets. Add up to three phones for a complete set. Expandable phone systems are smart investments that save time and money.

Selectable Ringtones: Personalize your phone’s sound by choosing from three ringtones. Make your phone an extension of yourself.

· Dual Speakerphones: Speak directly into the base with the base speakerphone, while the handset speakerphone provides convenient hands-free calling wherever you take the headset. You’ll have the flexibility of speakerphones wherever and whenever you talk.

See what the final results have done? They have given the client a vision of the future. The feature states that the phone offers 5.8 GHz technology. The benefit goes on to explain that 5.8 GHz technology is important because it provides clear and secure reception. The final result concludes by stating that the client will have a life full of freedom and without interference from his highly advanced system.

Other final results point out how the phone system will make each user’s life more convenient, how this smart investment will save time and money, how it will adapt to each person’s personality, and how the phone will bring flexibility to the customer’s life.

When you create your writing plan, be sure to list the features and build out their benefits as usual. But, for added power, don’t forget to include end results that will help customers visualize how your product or service will improve their lives.

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