Marketing Benefits, Not Features: Why Clients Don’t Want Drill Bits

“People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill bit. They want a quarter-inch hole.” - Theodore Levitt, Harvard Marketing Professor

A drill bit is a feature. A feature is simply a tool — a means to an end. But customers don’t truly want the hole either. What they really want is:

• The shelf that goes on the wall.
• The peace of mind that comes from decluttering.
• The approval of a spouse or family member.
• The ego boost when guests admire their home.

In other words, people don’t buy products for features. They buy them for the emotional and practical benefits those features enable.

This is the question you want to answer as a marketer. The answer to the question, “Why do people seek to be pleased with stuff they put on a shelf,” is the target at which to aim marketing tasks. In other words, you must realize no one wants to buy a quarter-inch drill bit. They want whatever the answer to my question is. And not everyone answers that question the same. Some may be pleased with the stuff on their shelf because it unclutters their home and makes them feel at peace. Others may seek approval from their spouse. Still others may seek an ego boost when guests visit and praise the beauty of their home.

To sell more drill bits, you have to understand that your customers want peace, approval, an ego boost, or something else. Therefore, emphasizing the qualities of the drill bit, such as its materials or craftsmanship, will not convince anyone. You must sell what the drill bit does and what part it plays in accomplishing what the customer “really” wants.

Why This Matters for Consulting Engineers
​As engineers and marketers in the AEC industry, we must ask: What do our clients really want?

• Reliability for their customers
• Happy, safe citizens
• Peace of mind that infrastructure will last
• Pride in community growth and resilience

Clients don’t care about technical specs alone. They care about the outcomes those specs deliver.

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Practice marketing benefits, not features. Think about what your client really wants and craft your messages around what you do that benefits them.

EXAMPLE
Engineering Features:

• Multi-beam structure
• Reinforced concrete abutments
• Steel piles
• Two lanes with 6-foot shoulders

Engineering Benefits:

• Safe passage for vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians
• Support for barge traffic carrying essential resources
• Historic preservation that connects communities to their past
• Economic growth through improved transportation

The story of a bridge isn’t its dimensions. It’s the impact it has on people’s lives.

​Learn to message your projects to communicate the benefits first, features second. Tell the important story of why the project is a benefit and who it benefits. Then explain the details of how it happened, how it was engineered!