Features, Benefits and Storytelling
The software feature has had a rough couple of years. Folks such as Steve Blank, Andrew Chen and the whole Lean Startup Posse have taken numerous potshots at the lowly feature. This is reasonable since a lot of software had come out over the years that was so feature laden to be rendered almost incomprensible to even users of moderate experience.
But what exactly do they mean when they attack the feature? It is instructive to start with a definition:
“A distinguishing characteristic of a software item (e.g., performance, portability, or functionality).”
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE 829
I would wager that having something that distinguishes your software to be a good thing, particularly in the midst of skeptical customers and cutthroat competitors. But this is all besides the point. What we really need to understand is what is important when you are building a product that stands out in the marketplace.
The first principal is to build useful software. Useful software should actually do something (i.e. performs work)*. In this way, it can be said to be functional. When the software fulfills its functional objective, users in turn are happy because the software provides tangible benefit.
So how does one build useful software? You talk to potential users, get an idea of current problems they are facing and build software that offers a solution that improves the situation. Of course, whatever solution is conjured should improve upon the problem by a measurable margin, lest the users revert back to the old ways of doing things.
To map out the solution, you probably need some blueprints. All the things that the software should do as part of the solution are rolled up into a functional design document, which lists out all the things that the product does, which we can simply call functions. Those functions that are particularly notable we can refer to as features. For example, a button that saves stuff is a function and not all that distinguishable from any other application, whereas a save function that merges and sync data across various data sources in real-time could probably be considered a feature.
Now that we have a firm grasp of what a feature is, we can move onto why it is important. The prevailing wisdom is that one does not compete on features, particularly startups. The problem is that customers do expect features, because they need to know that the product performs to an acceptable level of performance and adequately addresses their needs, whether an explicitly stated need or one that is latent. The features allow customers to understand the value of the solution and evaluate its usefulness as it applies to their particular situation.
Features alone do not sell product however. It is the story you tell that creates the emotional trigger to buy in the mind of customers. This is where the connection is made between product and buyer, and few have shown that as demonstrably as Apple. In the course of a decade, they have redefined the playing field of consumer tech, not by packing in more features, but by elevating the conversation in the mind of buyers about what is important. While the consumer tech and PC industries still talk about features and battle on cost, Apple prices higher than anyone else while providing LESS features. Users did not want infinite features and customization; they wanted a package that was elegantly simple and just worked as expected.
People think they can build a better breadbox up upping the ante on features. The problem is that unless your features are far and away better than the competition, this strategy never works and is short lived at best. That is the path of mutually assured self-destruction of low margins and cutthroat competition that the PC industry plays. Therefore, you need to get out of feature-think and become a storyteller. You tell the story by getting back to the core problem; why do people care, what is the value of solving the problem and how does the solution fit the problem?
In short, customers need to know what your product does and why it is better than other options. Features allow you to get into that conversation. Whether anyone buys depends on the story. The features however allow you to begin crafting a story that turns features into benefits that relate back to what your customers need. Therefore do not discount features as they are important points in the story you tell.
* The same principle holds for games as well, though the measure for usefulness is entertainment value.
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