Selling to schools by stressing the benefits of your product or service is the most powerful approach to advertising you have when selling to teachers. And rather interestingly, it is an approach that 90% of advertisers who sell to schools tend to ignore – which immediately gives your advertising a head start over the competition.
The simple fact is that teachers want to know about benefits, but despite this most companies selling to schools emphasise features rather than benefits.
Part of the benefit of emphasising benefits (if you see what I mean) is that it makes teachers feel at ease with your advertisement. They tend to believe benefit claims much more readily than talk about features, which they tend to dismiss as advertising froth.
Stressing the benefits of the product or service also brings what you sell much closer to the teacher’s work in the classroom and makes your advert feel much more as if it was written by a kindred spirit.
In this approach one lays off the price and technical points, size, colour, number of pages, number of photos until later on. Indeed many of the most successful adverts sent to schools leave such details until the web page that the email links to.
Of course, I often have people tell me that selling on features such as price is justified because, “Teachers all feel they don’t have much money, so they will all want a bargain.” But for myself I don’t find in my research that this follows.
I think they see themselves as professionals who make professional judgements about what is good for the pupils and students they teach. Yes they will be pleased if they can get a product that they think is good, and get it a reduced price, but all my experience suggests to me that this is about choosing the benefit first, and then going for the price second.
Thus price takes a back foot – we are talking about the benefits of the product – the answer to “Why buy this?” Later you might well ask “why buy this from me?” and that of course needs to be answered. But “Why buy this?” always comes first.
Selling on benefits is the most powerful tool you have, and it is the one that 90% of advertisements sent to schools ignore. Which is again why those who sell on benefits generally get the bigger sales.
If you are not sure how this might apply to your products or services, please email over a copy of the advertisement that you have recently sent out or have just prepared and we’ll send you back a written review of that advert looking at benefits and features and suggesting any changes we think you might make.
Just put “Benefit or feature” in the subject line and add a note that you’d like a review and send the advert to Stephen@schools.co.uk There’s no charge for this service. Or if you prefer call 01604 880 927.
