The Daily Carnage

You know the golden rule, right? Always sell benefits, not features.

But what if that advice is too simple?

In crowded categories, every brand promises the same benefits: “grow revenue,” “save time,” “transform your business.”

These claims become so generic they’re almost invisible, and buyers skim past them because they’ve heard them hundreds of times before.

Specific features might actually be your strongest selling point. Those details are proof behind your broader promise. In competitive markets, features often create the differentiation that vague benefits can’t.

But that doesn’t mean benefits are dead. They’re still effective when they’re unique, memorable, and tied to a specific outcome your competitors can’t credibly claim.

Here’s a good rule of thumb:

• Lead with benefits when introducing an entirely new product category or innovation.
• Lead with features when competing in a crowded market where everyone promises the same outcomes.
• Pair features with benefits by explaining why a feature matters to the customer.
• Use specifics over buzzwords. Concrete claims are easier to trust and remember than abstract promises like “drive growth” or “transform your business.”
• And know your audience. Technical buyers often want specifications first, while broader audiences may respond better to outcomes.

As usual, it’s not as black and white as the old adage suggests. Head to Reads to Leads for more.

Don’t use AI for emotional communication.

New research finds that people react significantly more negatively when they learn an emotional message was written by AI rather than a human.

Across six experiments involving more 2,200+ participants, AI-authored emotional messages consistently triggered feelings of inauthenticity and even moral disgust. The result?

That means less trust, less advocacy, and fewer positive brand interactions.

Check it out:

• People were 24.6% less likely to recommend a brand after receiving an AI-written emotional message.
• AI-authored messages generated 58.4% more moral disgust in certain customer communication scenarios.
• Sympathy messages written by AI led to 23.6% less word-of-mouth sharing.
• When a message was written by AI but signed by a person, participants reported 140.9% more moral disgust than when both the writing and signature came from a human.
• Emotional messages were penalized far more heavily than factual ones.

So… write that apology, tribute, or heartfelt customer note yourself.