How PowerPoint Slides are Like Friends Episodes

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the show Friends.  After the first two seasons I thought both the humor and plots of the episodes became predictable and routine.  However, it is hard to argue that Friends did not have a significant impact on American culture.  I remember people walking around in the late 1990s emulating Joey’s famous “How you doing?” phrase.  One of the aspects that I liked most about the show was the technique the writers used to name each episode.

How to Write Features & Benefit Statements for a Product Brochure

In my last post, I explained how product brochures continue to remain relevant in today’s technology marketing portfolio.  Yes, that’s right – I said product brochures.  Although these documents might seem to be an anachronism in this age of social media, I have found that during the late stages of a sales cycle customers continued to require a document that explains specifically what a product does.  Product brochures offer an opportunity to differentiate your offerings from those of your competitors.  However, a critical aspect of differentiation will be clearly and concisely providing the relevant information needed to make a decision.  Let’s start by discussing the meat of any good product brochure – the features and benefits.

Nobody Wants to Read a Product Brochure

Product-centric marketing is out-of-favor these days and for good reason.  Increasingly we have heard buyers telling vendors that they don’t want to hear about their products.  Instead, they want to hear about the benefits that vendor’s products can provide to them.   The change in approach has implications not only for messaging and positioning but also for sales tools and marketing collateral.  For example, does the shift mean that people not only don’t want to hear about products, but also don’t want to read brochures about your products?