If you do any kind of marketing without asking yourself this 1 question…you’re working against yourself and your customers.
Implementing the Second Order Benefits Framework will dramatically improve how effective your marketing efforts are because it gets to the deep, human roots of why customers are even considering your product or service.
✳️ If you want marketing that deeply resonates with your ideal client and obliterates their objections before they even spit them out…bookmark this article now.
The Second Order Benefits Framework
Also known as the “benefit of the benefit” framework, the Second Order Benefits Framework is very straightforward.
You only need to ask yourself this question repeatedly:
What is the benefit of the benefit?
Alternatively, you can also ask:
Why would my customer want this benefit?
Continually asking yourself this question as it relates to your Godfather Offer will organically lead you down the path of second order thinking.
This inevitably gives you more ideas and resources for designing your marketing and messaging efforts for your offer.
Ask the question enough times and you’re likely to go even deeper than just the second order benefits, potentially reaching third and fourth orders.
How will you know when you’ve dug deep enough into the benefits of the benefits?
You’ll know once you’ve arrived at one of the core human needs.
Hierarchy of Needs
According to Maslow's famous model, human’s fulfillment of needs are arranged in a hierarchy:
Physiological
Our most urgent needs to be satisfied are physiological requirements for survival.
- Food + Water
- Warmth
- Shelter
- Sleep
- Sex
Safety & Security
Our second most pressing need is that of safety & security.
- Order
- Control
- Predictability
- Infrastructure
Love & Belonging
The third level of human needs consists of a sense of community and belonging.
- Interpersonal relationships
- Connectedness
- Acceptance
- Friendship
- Intimacy
- Love
Esteem
Once needs on the previous three levels are addressed, people tend to move to the need for Esteem.
- Self esteem & confidence
- Independence
- Reputation
- Respect
- Status
Self-Actualization
Finally, and most challenging to achieve, is realizing one’s potential and self-fulfillment.
- Self development
- Peak experiences
- High achievement
- Maximizing potential
Once your benefits start tapping into these core human needs, you’ll know you’ve gone far enough.
Author's note: I’d like to add an essential element I believe is missing from Maslow’s Hierarchy: time.
I would propose that time is the most fundamental of all human needs, because it is only through time that we can attain any of the others.
Additionally, it’s worth considering not just what second order benefits can your offer provide, but also what consequences or sacrifice your offer can help customers AVOID.
Implement
With your Godfather Offer in mind:
- Write out each feature of your product or service.
- Under each feature, write out the most immediate benefit that feature provides
- Digging deeper, write out the underlying benefit of THAT benefit
- Continue until you boil it down to one of the core human desires.
Let’s apply this framework to an example.
🟢 Feature 1 - Plug and play frameworks for business growth.
Benefit - Ease of implementation (no guesswork)
Second Order Benefit - Order + infrastructure (Safety & Security need)
Third Order Benefit - Spending less time on strategy -> more time for other needs
🟢 Feature 2 - Designed to work even with a small following.
Benefit - Clients can start NOW instead of waiting for more growth
Second Order Benefit - Saves them time and effort
Third Order Benefit - Enhance sense of belonging and community with their existing audience
🟢 Feature 3 - Customized Strategy to Generate 6-Figures from Online Presence
Benefit - Earn more money / replace 9-5 job
Second Order Benefit - Control over their life (Safety & Security Needs)
Third Order Benefit - Time & location freedom. Autonomy
Automate this Framework with AI
To help you implement this faster in your business, I’ve developed a custom GPT (ChatGPT) I’ve aptly named the Second Order Benefit Generator.
With this GPT, you can upload your sales page or tell it all about your offer and it will analyze its features, benefits, and second order benefits for you in seconds.
You can can get access to that here -> https://chat.openai.com/g/g-MB8cFTWRW-second-order-benefits-generator
This shouldn't be used to completely handle your marketing strategy of course.
Use it as a brainstorming partner to dig deeper into the second order benefits your offer provides.
Here's a prompt to get you started:
*Note: You do need a ChatGPT plus subscription in order to be able to access custom GPTs like mine.
👏 The End
I appreciate you reading this!
My hope is that you implement this into your marketing efforts and reap the benefits (of the benefits?) of this framework for yourself.
These frameworks take me days to research, articulate, design graphics for, write, and edit.
But it only takes 2 minutes to share this framework with the world.
Send this article to the 1 or 2 people in your life who would find this valuable!
