As with the seven questions for the strategy summary, there are seven basic sections or elements of a marketing plan:
 The Benefit to the consumer
 Your positioning in the marketplace: Just what business are you in?
 Your target market
 Your advertising strategy and positioning
 Your marketing budget
 The tool and techniques (weapons) you will use to reach your audience
 A month-by-month implementation schedule

In this article we will look at Benefits to the consumer.

Benefits
Every product or service has Features, Advantages and Benefits(FAB). Mixing them up or misunderstanding the difference between them will cripple your marketing efforts.

Features – are those components that deliver or yield a benefit (or an advantage) or to put it differently; it’s what it does or what it is.

Advantages – the feature must have an advantage (at least a perceived advantage) and are those components that can assist in the solving of problems or fulfilling of needs – as in it’s what it does better (than others).

Benefits – is what the consumer can expect or receive – what it means to the consumer, the results they receive, what they want. Not what you want to give them but what they want to receive. In other words what they want is gospel, everything else is hearsay.

Wants and needs are broken down in to the following (very general) areas:
Profit                                                                    Economy                                                   Security
Health                                                                 Family (Welfare)                                       Beauty
Comfort                                                              Convenience                                             Prestige
Self-expression                                                Social

In some way or another your product or service has to satisfy one or more of these wants or needs. The only products or services that succeed are those whose benefits exceed their cost.

Does your’s?

What benefits does your product or service deliver (what desire does your’s satisfy).

An example of FAB is my own consulting practice:
One of my features is Process Improvement…
The advantages I have are that I can deliver it faster, cheaper and less traumatically that others due to my experience and expertise…
The Benefit to the consumer is whatever they see it being, but usually it is
Comfort / Health (less stress, more peace of mind due to a more smooth and efficient operation)
Profit (more money due to a more smooth and efficient operation)
Security (long term survivability of the business)

You will not have a successful marketing effort if you can’t master these concepts.
What are my features?
What advantages do I have?
What Benefit does it deliver?

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