No! Not the mainly British abbreviation, although the ‘FAB’ we’re talking about is pretty amazing.
It’s a copywriting formula that’s used for sales or product pages.
It can make a marketer’s life just a little bit easier and give customers a more inspiring vision of your products.
‘FAB’. Features. Advantages, Benefits.
Let’s get to it.
" I ran right outside, I hopped inside a cab,
I went out the other door, this englishman said 'fab'."
- Lyrics - Bob Dylan's 115th dream
‘FAB’ – What is it?
You may sell a product, but what is it that your customers are really buying?
They’re not actually buying your product.
They’re buying what it can do for them. They’re buying a solution to the problem they have. They’re buying the results they’re going to achieve.
Your product will either give them something they want, or get them away from something annoys them. These are pain and pleasure points we previously talked about.
The ‘FAB’ process is probably one of the easiest ways of explaining all this to your customers. First you explain the features of your product, then you outline what advantages these features bring, and finally you show how this will benefit the customer.
Simple, right? Let’s delve a little deeper.
Features
These are characteristics of a product or facts about it.
Unless you have a very knowledgeable customer base who knows exactly what they want, then features presented by themselves are going to be perceived as bland and boring (and also quickly forgotten).
When Jesus said ‘man can’t live by bread alone’, he meant that simply having food was not enough, as a man’s spiritual needs also need to be met to have a fulfilling life.
In the same way, your customers probably aren’t going to be convinced by features alone.
You’re going to have to provide a bit more information and be a bit more compelling in order to convince them your product is the one for them and their problem.
Thats where the advantages and benefits come in.
Advantages
Advantages are what features do. They explain why the feature is helpful, why its unique, why its better than the competition, why its better than what the customer has now.
Remember, an advantage is about the feature itself. What is does for the client is the benefit, and that comes next.
Benefits
What everything means in terms of value is provided for the customer.
How will it make them better or happier.
Don’t be generic, speak to your customers and their needs, solve their problems.
Even if your product isn’t exactly unique, you can still make it unique or compelling by the way in which you explain what it can do and how exactly it will help your customers.
FAB examples
A family car.
Feature – Advanced breaking system
Advantage – Allows the car to stop in a controlled manner in a very short distance.
Benefit – You and your family get a safer, worry free journey and more stress free life!
A hotel.
Feature – Secluded location
Advantage – Quiet environment and you’re unlikely to run into other guests.
Benefit -You can unwind and relax and you’ll come back from your holiday refreshed and renewed.
Summing up…
The FAB process is very straightforward – what your product has, what it does, and why that matters to the customer.
A final (and hopefully true) example:
This blog.
Features – Uncluttered design, many different articles.
Advantages – Information can be found quickly and easily on many different aspects of writing.
Benefits – You become a better writer and get to indulge in your passion!😉
