I see this mistake a lot. When medical marketing copy, many communication pros will go into detail about their product’s features without saying much about what the real human benefits of those features are. This is a mistake.

Here is a simple way of looking at this. A feature is a descriptive fact about a medical product or service. A benefit is the “yeah-so-what’s-in-it-for-me,” aspect of that feature, and it’s what your target audience cares about the most. Here are a few very simple examples that illustrate my point.

An eraser is a feature on most pencils. The benefit of this feature is that if you make a mistake, you can erase what you wrote and write something different.

Brakes are a feature on every car. The benefit of this feature is that you can safely slow down and stop at red lights and Stop signs.

A fur lining is a feature on many stylish jackets. The benefit of this feature is that you can stay warm while you’re looking hip and cool.

Again, when you’re writing medical marketing copy, don’t dwell on product features. Instead, put more emphasis on the benefits your prospects will derive from those features.

To take it one step further, make sure you describe product benefits in terms of the human value they provide, not just the technical value. This is essential when writing about healthcare.

In other words, how do your product benefits make work tasks or everyday life easier and more rewarding for physicians, caregivers or patients?

If your sales copy doesn’t answer this question, keep writing until it does.