Take your sales skills to the next level by becoming an expert in customer benefit. Understanding and meeting customer needs in a unique and valuable way will help you build strong business relationships and increase your success. Discover how you as a salesperson can work with customer benefits to offer customized solutions that make a difference. In this article, we will introduce you to the concepts of customer benefits and customer value and guide you on how to best create value for the customer.
What is a customer benefit?
Customer benefits is a term used in sales, marketing, and business administration to describe the benefit or advantage that a customer gets from using or buying a product or service. Customer benefits focus on the benefits or outcomes that customers experience when they meet their needs by using a specific product or service.
To create customer benefits, it is important to understand customers’ needs and wishes – this is where a needs analysis can be of value. But also, to design your products and services in a way that satisfies these needs in the best possible way. By offering high customer benefits, companies can build strong relationships with their customers, increase customer loyalty, and differentiate themselves from competitors in the market.
Abstract or concrete customer benefit?
Customer benefits can be both concrete and abstract. Concrete customer benefits can be in the form of functional benefits, such as a product being easy to use, and reliable, or offering extra features that facilitate the customer’s work or lifestyle. Abstract customer benefits can be emotional or psychological benefits, such as a product providing status, affirmation, or a positive experience.
What is the difference between customer benefit and customer value?
Customer benefits are closely related to customer value. Customer benefits is the value the customer wants to get from a product or service. It includes both the perceived value of the offer and the perceived cost, including the price and other resources the customer must sacrifice.
Thus, the difference between these concepts is that customer benefits focus on the concrete benefits and results that the customer gets from using the product or service. Customer value, on the other hand, considers both the benefits and the resources that the customer needs to invest to achieve the benefits, and the value that the customer wants to get out of a purchase.
Example of customer benefits
We will now go through an example of customer benefits to make the description of the concept and its purpose even clearer.
Let’s say you are selling a mobile phone. Customer benefits in this case could be that the phone has an intuitive user interface that makes it easy for the customer to navigate and use different functions. It could also be that the phone has a fast and reliable performance, allowing the customer to use apps, browse the internet and perform various tasks quickly and easily.
An additional customer benefit may be that the phone has a high-quality camera, which allows for sharp and professional pictures to be taken. This can be particularly valuable for customers interested in photography and social media.
By offering a mobile phone with these features, you can deliver customer benefits by addressing customers’ needs for simplicity, performance, quality, and security. This creates a positive experience for the customer and increases the chances of the customer becoming loyal to the brand and recommending the product to others.
The importance of getting to know the customer in depth
Achieving customer benefits requires knowledge. Or rather, deeper knowledge such as how your customer makes money and what challenges they face.
By investing time and effort, and really getting to know your customers, you can create tailored solutions that are directly relevant and valuable to each individual customer. Every customer has unique needs, preferences, and challenges. By understanding their business, industry, goals, and values, you can customize your offer and communicate how the product or service can solve their specific problems. This makes it possible to deliver tailored customer benefits and increase the chances of the customer seeing the value of the product or service.
Read also our guide to good customer service.
How does a salesperson work with customer benefits?
There are important principles and strategies to know when it comes to customer benefits. Here are some ways in which you can create value for your customers:
1. Understand the customer’s needs
You need to take the time to really understand the customer’s needs and challenges. This can be achieved by asking open questions, listening actively, and being engaged in the conversation. By getting a clear picture of the customer’s needs, you can adapt your offer to meet those needs in the best possible way.
2. Offer tailored solutions
After understanding the customer’s needs, you can offer tailored solutions to meet them. By customizing your offer and communicating the specific benefits to the customer, you can clearly demonstrate how the product or service can provide customer benefits and solve problems.
3. Communicate clear benefits
You should communicate the unique benefits of your product or service and how these can contribute to customer benefits. This may include saving time, reducing costs, improving efficiency, or increasing revenue for the customer. Clear and convincing communication is essential to demonstrate the value and benefits.
4. Build long-term relationships
Creating and maintaining long-term relationships with customers is important to build trust and deepen understanding of their needs over time. The seller should strive to be a trusted advisor and partner to the customer and continue to offer value even after the deal is closed. By building strong relationships, you can increase sales and customer benefits over time.
5. Follow-up and evaluation
After a deal has been completed, it is important to follow up and evaluate the results to ensure that the customer achieves the expected benefits. By being responsive to customer feedback and proactively addressing any challenges or issues, you can demonstrate that you truly care about the customer’s success and continue to deliver customer benefits over the long term.
By working with these principles and strategies, you as a salesperson can effectively focus on creating customer benefits and building long-term and rewarding relationships with your customers.
Book sales training at Salesonomics!
Understanding customer benefit and customer value are important parts of a salesperson’s work – just like many other important sales technical tools and strategies. Salesonomics offers sales training for all sales teams who want to become better salespeople. Check out the Sales Acceleration Program where we work through the entire sales process. But also our course on how to create a business in the digital meeting. Contact us for more information or to book your team for sales training with us!
