Use the “so what?” test to make sure your website content hits on the points your customers care about most.
Does Your Website Pass the "So What?" Test?
Scott Yoder
Focus on features instead of benefits
One of the fundamentals of sales is to focus on benefits instead of features. The classic analogy is that of the drill:
People don’t buy drills to own a drill. They buy them to make holes.
The drill , it's fast motor, comfortable handle and sharp bits are all product features. In and of themselves, they don’t really have any value.
The benefit is that the drill gives you the ability to make holes in things.
But imagine a person who doesn’t really get why they need to drill holes. If you say to this guy, “Buy this drill because it makes it easy to drill holes”, he’s going to say “so what?”
You need to take it a step further.
He needs to picture himself quickly getting that shelf up – which makes his wife happy and frees up their time. Now, owning a drill results in the benefit of an enjoyable weekend.
Getting at the benefits your customers truly care about involves an extra step most businesses don’t take
Let's say, for example, that you run a lawn care business.
You might want to start with this value statement:
We care for your yard with top-of-the-line mowers and effective, all-natural lawn care products.
Hard to do much with the “so what?” response on this. These features don’t mean much to most people.
Okay, so let’s get to the benefits:
Your lawn will be healthy and green with minimal impact on the environment.
That sounds like a benefit most people will understand. But it doesn’t mean it gets around the “so what?” objection. Depending on your audience, they may not have a feeling for how these benefits will improve their lives or – most importantly – be worth it for them to pay for.
Take it a step further:
Work with us and your lawn will be so green your neighbors will be green with envy.
Now, the person who wants to have the greenest lawn on the block will feel the benefit.
Or:
Rest easy, your green lawn is also helping the environment stay green.
Now you’re connecting with the person who’s concerned about how lawn care impacts the environment.
What’s the emotional trigger?
In the examples above, what you notice is that the benefits statement goes beyond just what the product does. Instead, they tie into the emotional reaction of the lead because the product does something for them personally.
Don’t just talk about your product’s benefits. Talk about how those benefits solve a problem your customers care about.
When you can do this, it’s a powerful way to make a connection and derail the “so what?” response.
For example, say you run a wedding planning service. You might start with:
Every wedding has its own unique message and set of goals. A professional wedding planner organizes the important aspects of this special day.
So what? This statement barely communicates value at all.
Refine your message:
Your wedding is the most special day of your life. We’ll help you plan so you have memories you’ll cherish for a lifetime.
So what? Nothing you wouldn’t expect any wedding planner to do.
Try again:
At ABC wedding planners, we expect you to enjoy your wedding day. We handle all the stress so all you remember is the joy you experience with your betrothed.
This is better. A lot of people stress out so much about their wedding they don’t even enjoy the day.
This example demonstrates a key element of overcoming the “so what?” objection — the emotional trigger.
When most businesses craft their value proposition, they focus on the benefits the product delivers. This is an excellent step, but it can fall short because often it continues to focus on what the product does.
You’ll really overcome "so what?" when you tap into the emotions created by what the product does
- So, that’s not the hole in the wall…it’s the happy wife and weekend enjoyed by efficiently completing the project
- It’s not the green grass…it’s the pride the owner feels because his yard is the best on the block
- It’s not delivering a beautiful wedding design and venue…it’s taking the stress off the hands of the bride so she enjoys her own wedding
Notice how each of the benefits is emotional in nature, and how each one could be turned into a story people relate to.
When people ask "so what?" what they want to know – specifically – is what’s in it for them.
To answer this question, you need to know what your customer base really wants to gain from the benefits you deliver and focus your content on that.
It’s an old adage in advertising that the best ads don’t look like ads. What that means is that the content is more about the person using the product than the product itself.
When you tap into an emotional issue your audience really cares about – and persuade them you’re the solution – "so what?" will never come up.
Originally published on 11/21/19