How to Turn Features into Benefits: The Strange Case of Ace

Have you heard the "Get Your Weekend Back" radio ads for Ace Hardware?

They're an outstanding primer in the fine art of turning features into benefits.

Remember the old advertising saw (pun intended): Nobody goes to a hardware store to buy a drill bit. They go to buy the hole the drill bit makes.

In other words, nobody give a rat's behind if you have a huge selection or great service. Those are features.

Your job, as a business owner or marketer, is to tell buyers how what you do will improve their lives. In other words, you must translate features into benefits. Or you will starve.

The following examples, taken straight from the Ace Hardware radio ads, show exactly how it's done:

• "Rockstar Parking — Our storefront parking helps you get in and out faster."

This is a nice benefit for anyone who dreads those huge parking lots at big box stores.

• "In-store Wingman — From the second you walk in, you'll get help from people who really know their stuff."

The faster I can get my questions answered and find what I need, the happier I'll be in almost any store.

• "Primo brands — Only we have the best brand names without having to leave the neighborhood."

The benefit here is that I can find the top brands without driving too far to get them.

• "Speedy-sized stores — Our shopper-friendly stores allow you to zip in, find what you need and zip out."

Lots of good selling here. Any store that I can zip in and out of, I like!

• "Local know-how — We live where you live, so we know exactly what you need"

It's almost like you're stepping back in time, when the local hardware store was a center for conversation and news. If the people at Ace stores really do know what's going on in their neighborhood, I'm even more likely to shop there.

All in all, this radio ad is a near-perfect example of how to turn dull features into saleable benefits. Study it.

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