using brand laddering to determine true consumer benefits

“It’s important to understand the attributes and features of what you are selling, but identifying true customer benefits is very important to positioning your brand for growth.”

In marketing, attributes and features tell, but benefits sell.

the four “rungs’ of brand laddering

In marketing there are four major rungs in brand laddering: attributes, features, benefits and emotional benefits.

Each part of the brand ladder builds on the previous one, building brand equity and customer adoption of the product or service.

attribute

Usually defined as a characteristic of a product or service that will appeal to your customers.

For instance, an attribute of applesauce is that comes in a wide-mouth jar.

feature

A feature is something that sets your product or service apart from the competition. While important, a feature is developed by the business and not something a customer requests.

In our applesauce example, a feature would be that because it comes in a wide-mouth jar it can be easily spooned out into a bowl.

benefit

A benefit is a perceived value that a customer sees by using your product or service. It is one of the key parts of marketing that causes them to make a buying decision.

One of the key benefits of applesauce is that it allows you to save time and provide good nutrition to your children.

emotional benefit

If you can develop an emotional benefit of your product or service, it makes the buying decision a no-brainer!

The emotional benefit of applesauce is that I feel like a good mom when I serve applesauce.

Take time to understand the attributes, features and benefits of your product or service – and set up a brand ladder to determine what you need to emphasize to fuel your company’s growth.