Product Features: An Easy Guide

Introduction

‘Product Features’ is a terminology often used vaguely in the business world. However, it has specific meaning and relevance in the field of marketing. The term is often associated with the description of products and set of details strategically to sell a product. The studies related to marketing have an in-depth explanation of the term and what position it essentially possesses when defining a product.

What are Product Features?

Product features are the traits, descriptions, factors, components, added values, and product capabilities. They are the characteristics that define a product. They can turn into a selling point for a potential customer. Often product features are mistaken with product benefits. There is a link between the two, but they are not the same. To understand the product features better, it is essential to understand what both terms mean.

Difference between Product features and Product benefits?

Product features, as already discussed, are the values of the product, and as opposed to that, product benefits are what these values will deliver to the customer.
Product features are more concerned from the standpoint of the entity and the product managers, while on the other hand, product benefits are more relevant from the customers’ standpoint.

During product design or product manufacturing, the management and the team consider what they need to offer. It can be either a new one or the upgraded one. They entirely focus on what are their product features are. For example, the camera’s megapixels on the mobile phone or the percentage of natural ingredients available in a particular hair oil. When these product features are put forward in a rudimentary manner while marketing the product to customers, the marketing fails; for any product to sell, the product must provide a solution to their problems from a buyer’s perspective. When entities fail to outline these problems around which their features should function, the entire marketing strategy can take a toll.

Features of Marketing Management

Marketing Management entails that user study is of utmost importance when it comes to marketing a product. Understanding the customer needs through a customer-centric approach, and setting goals for marketing continuously are required. Product Management, a part of marketing management, is a huge field where product management certification courses are also available.

Present product features in a way that they highlight the product benefits to the customers. All that a buyer intends to know is what the product has in for him? It is this that can turn a potential customer into a loyal consumer. So, the correct method of marketing won’t highlight the product features as above. Instead, it will highlight how the mobile camera can best capture the intricacies of the moment of the person and how the ingredients will help improve the hair conditioning of the customer in our above examples.

How do Product Features, User stories, epics, and requirements differ?

User stories are the shortly described experience of the user considering the product and the specific feature.
Epics are stories divided into short objectives to be shared throughout the business.
Requirements are the set of tools, equipment, and techniques required to get the desired features for the product.

In short, Epics are broken down to extract user stories, and these user stories, backed by the requirements, are further structured into ‘product features’.

How to prioritise product features?

Multiple factors are considered while prioritising the product features, like the user needs, resources available, efforts required, costs involved, feasibility, reliability, durability, competitive product features, etc.

Initially, clearly define features to minute specifics.
Understand the above factors and discuss the same with the team.
Prepare a matrix based on the efforts to be invested and the resultant impact of the same.

While prioritising the product features, the needs of customers are considered in two parts. The ‘needs to haves’ and ‘nice to haves’. These are based on how the customer perceives the product. Is it the necessity or the luxury? This will help product development.

How to define product features?

While defining the product features, the following are the essentials as listed below:

Understand the problems of the customers and the solutions they seek. Align the features of the product with these solutions.
Elaborate the features and corresponding benefits with a simplified solution-based approach.
Define the desired user experience with that specific feature.
Define the customer base that the product targets.

Mapping user stories to the product features can well help define them. This process requires the management to think from the perspective of end-users.

Conclusion

Defining product features is crucial for both business homes as well as customers. Features are what the entities perceive throughout the product processing, and the benefits are what the customer perceives while deciding whether to spend on a particular product or not. Hence, while presenting the product to the end-user, it has to be presented as a need, a benefit that the customer can derive. The very introduction of the product should lay these foundations. Further, the intricate features can be listed in detail, but these should not be considered the selling point when introducing the product. Present product features in a solution-oriented way for the user’s problems, which must be evident through marketing. Defining features lay down the base for the organisation to build or upgrade their product to best suit the user needs. Hence, it requires a meticulous study of the product function and product benefits to the user.

So, what are you waiting for? Engage in a product management certification from Jigsaw Academy to know all about product features.

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