How to Use Features and Benefits to Pen Converting Product Descriptions
July 7, 2025
Every Word is Powerful in My World
In my world, every word is powerful, whereas the placement and delivery of those words is crucial to the effect the statement will have on the customer.
There is no other place that this is more obvious in copywriting than in the delivery of product descriptions. Unfortunately, a lot of new companies fail to see the value in these converting nuggets of gold and so many scattered around the web leave the customer cold.
Product descriptions are essential for a good organic ranking on search engines, but more than that, they can change a person’s whole perspective, they can gently manipulate the buyer into buying. They can turn a cold lead into a hot lead, into a conversion, and they shouldn’t be underestimated. They can also boost your brand’s reputation (if written correctly).
The most important parts of any product description are, of course, the features and benefits. These are the facts that will sell the product, these are the words that will change a person’s mind set. These will entice your visitor to buy.
Although they sound similar, they aren’t the same. Here’s a quick lowdown.
The features of a product are the facts, the specifications, the abilities, the reason for production such as the colour, functionality, button, USPs, the added extras, the smart technology, the aesthetics.
The benefits of the product are what it can do for the customer. How it can change their life for the better, how it can improve their day, their week, their year.
To separate the two, remember this: The features never change (unless the product is updated) but the benefits can, and should, change depending on who you’re selling to.
Appeal to Basic Human Instinct
I earned a HND in psychology many moons ago but it’s my longevity in business that has shown me that, as humans, we are all pretty selfish. Admit it! We all want to know what a product can do for us and when parting with our hard earned cash, we all silently ask ourselves certain questions, such as:
· Do I Need It?
· If I Don’t Need It, Why Do I Want It? (This is your chance to answer the question the customer believes is rhetorical).
· How Will It Make Me Feel? (Why, amazing of course!)
· How Will It Improve My Life? (It will improve your life by doing A, B, C AND D!)
· Will I Feel Buyer’s Guilt? (Of course not, it’s great value for money)
· Will It Be Seen As a Selfish Purchase? (No, you deserve it!)
We all want to know that we’re buying something that will improve our life, whether it aids relaxation, saves time, pampers us or simply makes us feel closer to the lifestyle we wish we enjoyed. The benefits should always create a visual image in the customer’s mind of them enjoying a better life while physically using the product.
Visualise This
As soon as they picture themselves with the product, either wearing a dress at a ball, serving ice cream at a dinner party, applying makeup for glossy, kissable lips, the product is as good as sold. It really is that simple, you just need to identify the benefits. The benefits will not be the same for everyone, so it’s important to gain some feedback from customers in order to see how your product is used in real life.
Personalisation Should Not be Underestimated
It’s important to adapt the benefits to suit your target audience. To highlight what I mean, I’ll show you an example.
I currently have a client who owns a garage comparison website. The website compares the prices of the local garages and books the MOT or car service for you.
Initially, you’d think that the benefit here would be the money saving element, or even the time saving element of being able to book online. Of course, for many people it is, but for busy working mums, the biggest benefit of the service is the ability to choose a garage that will pick up and drop off the car. It’s the convenience.
Therefor, through advertising, when targeting busy working mums, the convenience benefit becomes the focus of the ads. When targeting students we focus on price, and when targeting the older generation we focus on trust. We still list all the benefits but we highlight the one most important to the customer we’re selling to, it’s simple a case of personalisation, and the right message at the right time.
This is the same for a product. A new iPhone offers different benefits for different audiences. Once you know your target audience, you can sell the most attractive benefit. The other benefits then look like bonuses, great extras, and further confirmation of the suitability of the product.
How to Combine the Features and Benefits for Maximum Conversions
Many product descriptions list the features as product specifications. No one actually reads these unless they need specific information. By combining the features and benefits you can authorise your sales patter with true facts while encouraging the customer to visualise life enjoying the product.
For example, let’s consider the features and benefits of a very boring everyday product, a kitchen knife. How can we do all of the above while still enticing a sale?
This is how I would do it:
This extra sharp kitchen knife will shave minutes of your food preparation while making you look like a pro in the kitchen. Slice gateaux and cheesecake expertly when serving dessert to dinner guests and show fondant potatoes who’s best. The easy grip handle ensures the ultimate comfort no matter how many herbs you cut from the kitchen garden, while the protective guard keeps hands smooth and nick free.
Whether you’re opening presents, cutting ribbon or pitting an avocado, the sleek, unfussy design of this efficient kitchen knife will look stylish in your hand. It’s not a conversation starter but it will ensure you are part of the dinner conversation for longer as it cuts your time in the kitchen considerably.
Buy now to have your new kitchen friend delivered for the weekend, just in time for a party with friends.
With this description, from the top of my head, I’ve created a lifestyle image. It doesn’t matter if the person lives in a tent or a mansion, they will buy into the lifestyle you’ve pictured for them. Even if the customer has never hosted a dinner party, they’ll feel as though it could be a possibility with this purchase, and they’ll also feel as though they’re closer to being that person when buying an object designed for such an occasion.
This is why 80% of fitness wear customers never visit a gym. Why washboard stomachs and yachts sell aftershave to overweight, dormant men. Why teenage girls flock to buy Kylie Jenner’s lipstick, it’s the lifestyle and the benefits. The features are an added bonus!
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