Customer Benefits: A Brief Introduction to Why Customers Buy Your Products

Customer benefits are essential for understanding competition and what customers want. When defining a market, marketers often focus on features and attributes of a product or service, but they should focus on the benefits they provide. Theodore Levitt said that customers want the benefits of the product, not the product itself. Benefits can be classified into 3 types: functional, experiential, and symbolic.

Benefits help marketers avoid being blindsided by competition and substitute products. Benefits are particularly important in B2B markets, which are often composed of functional benefits. Examples of functional benefits are reliability, ease of use, performance, customer support, compatibility, and security.

Marketing myopia happens when companies focus on a product, industry, or demographic instead of benefits that customers want. This can be seen in the taxi industry with the rise of Uber and Lyft. Companies need to identify customer benefits to avoid becoming blindsided. This can be done through observation, listening to customers, and using available tools. If you need help, contact us and see how we can help you.