When you’re out shopping for jeans, are you looking for features or benefits? Features are what make the jeans a good fit for you. You can call features something that adds value to your product, but if you’re not choosing features or benefits based on how they make you feel, then you are not using features or benefits to determine which jeans to buy. Here are the basics of features and what they mean to you.

The difference between features and advantages: A benefit is just the positive effect it has on your buyer, while a feature is simply a part of the product or service. Those are features. However when asked what you like most about your favorite jeans, you probably aren’t going to say, the stretchable waistband, the comfortable metal buttons and the soft cotton fabric are sewn into the knees. The thing that is most likely to come up in your mind when thinking about features versus advantages is the convenience of use.

Features and advantages are often referred to as features or benefits. Features refer to something that adds value to your product. This value may be tangible or intangible, but that doesn’t matter because the idea is that it adds something of real benefit to your life or business. Features or benefits are what attract buyers to your products or services.

Now that we’ve defined features, let’s discuss characteristics. These are the unique qualities that distinguish one product from another. There are two main differences when it comes to characteristics. One main difference is how features or benefits are included in a product compared to how they are offered with another. Another main difference is how characteristics or features are presented or explained to the customer.

Features vs. benefits When it comes to features vs. benefits, there is a clear winner. That winner is how a product or service adds value or makes life easier. Products that offer the most benefits will be more successful, because customers want that which makes their lives easier. Features on the other hand are designed to do one of three things.

A feature that adds value is how well it solves a problem. A feature that solves a problem and offers no new problems is called a cost-based benefit. A benefit that is not cost-based is a non-cost-based benefit. Examples of non-cost-based benefits include how easy a product is to use, how quickly it heats up, how powerful it is, etc. On the other hand, features on the market that are not in place to solve problems or make life easier are called compelling features.