Double your business? Just thinking what that would take is scary, isn’t it? Almost regardless of whom you are or what you do, you have competitors that have good to great business slogans.
The market leaders. And if you have no competitive advantages, you really will have a difficult time competing.
Check out our thoughts on creative marketing.
Lots of our clients confuse a unique selling proposition with a business tagline. But they are not the same.
Marketing is often confused with promotion, but it’s more than that. As Peter Drucker put it, “the aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” In truth, marketing is about insights more than anything else.
Here is a short video showing 55 best business slogan examples.
A tagline is a simple representation of the brand. One whose objective is to draw attention.
A unique selling proposition, on the other hand is a business differentiation that is designed to be the reason a customer will want to buy your product or service.
It’s objective is to market in a way that makes the product or service stand out, pure and simple.
The art of tagline development is to distill the meaning of a big idea into a cogent message that’s easy to say, easy to understand, and easy to remember.
Ensure your brand expression is impossible to forget. Use the following checklist to avoid the most common mistakes that plague aspiring taglines.
Tagline, strapline, slogan. Whatever you choose to call it, it’s all the same. It’s the key phrase that identifies your business by capturing the essence of three elements:
Your mission
Your promise
Your brand
Coming up with a great tagline is a struggle many people face. More often than not, they get it wrong by focusing on what their product or service is. They often neglect what it offers.
Taglines can help or hamper your marketing efforts. They must be clear and relevant. Some taglines make you scratch your head. Some don’t make you think at all. And some, the ones that work, make you think.
Here is a 3-minute video that will refresh you on value propositions:
Value Proposition Canvas Explained
You know what’s insanely difficult? Being succinct. Seriously. Being succinct is ridiculously hard. But do you know what’s even more difficult?
Expressing a complex emotional concept in just a couple of words. In other words, coming up with a tagline. Yeah, it can be a head-scratcher.
But that’s why we have a lot of respect for these brands that did it right. So if you’re looking to get a little tagline inspiration of your own, take a look at some of our favorite company taglines. Taglines from past and present!
To ensure your brand expression is impossible to forget, use the following checklist. It will help you avoid the most common mistakes that plague aspiring taglines.
By your value promise
The most useful definition of a good tagline is the why people should notice you and take the action you’re seeking. Be clear, not clever.
This way, it guides your decisions much more clearly. When done right, it can be used as the basis for marketing messages.
For example, if your online bookstore has average selection, decent prices, delivery, a guarantee, good customer service, and a website, why would anyone buy from you?
There’s surely a competitor who beats you in at least some of those aspects.
You don’t have to be the best in every way. Sure, it’s great if you are. But realistically, it’s difficult enough to be the best couple of ways.
However, if you’re the best in at least several ways, you’re the best option for the people who value those promises.
You must have some promise that you can make that is unique. Something has to make you the best option for your target customers.
Otherwise, they have no good reason to buy from you. And that is NOT where you want to be.
Heart of the proposition.
Business slogans … heart of the proposition
The heart of a winning tag line is the end result value a business intends to deliver to its target customers. The end result experience. Ask yourself this question: “So what?”
The answers you’ll come up with are the benefits a visitor (or potential customer) receives from staying on your site
How to make a slogan … articulate for customers
A unique tag line needs to be articulated for customers They are not for your products, services or business processes. Products, services, processes are the vehicles for your tag line delivery.
Ways to double sales … Become your customers
“Become” your customers instead of just asking them what they want from your business. Listen, observe and study to creatively infer from what customers DO.
Their actions to help derive your unique promise.
Utilize a tag line properly
People won’t ever buy from you if they don’t even understand why they should pay attention to you. And they notice you only if you have a unique tag line.
The usual definition of a unique tag line is incomplete. It is a promise of something the competition cannot or does not offer. It must be strong enough to move the masses, i.e., attract new customers.
A unique tag line becomes is the internal tool that guides your decisions to the best direction to maximize your customer utility.
Business slogans … demonstrate the proof
If your tag line states you have the best pizza in the state; will people flood your restaurant? No. They won’t believe the tag line.
Without proof, you can’t say much before it starts to sound like marketing talk. No one pays attention. Or remembers. They just don’t believe. No believing, no trust. It is all downhill after that.
For example, I recently saw a digital marketing competitor site where there tag line claimed to be the secret weapon of digital marketing for the most successful companies in the world. Needless to say, we doubt anyone can take that seriously when nothing supports the claim.
As long as you don’t prove your claims, people are unlikely to really believe them. And your tag line becomes just another short sentence.
Use studies, testimonials, and common sense, among other methods, to prove your claims. Impressive numbers can be the right choice, but they not always effective.
Instead, a few expert testimonials make the idea credible. They can even take away the need for you to make any claims’. Why?
Because the testimonials can make the claims for you. Similarly, you can use testimonials to build your products’ overall perceived value.
Figure out how to take away the last doubt people might feel about your promises.
Many businesses don’t help people see what sets the company apart from its competitors. This always amazes us.
They are better than others, and they could prove it. They just don’t do it.
Instead, they try to persuade people with general promises, corporate babble, and feature lists.
If your website doesn’t clearly tell visitors what makes you worth their attention, they won’t spend the time to figure it out on their own.
Be clever in communicating your claims
It’s your job to hit people in the head with what makes you different and worth attention. Clever ways to communicate your claims. In believable ways.
When people understand why they should buy your product instead of any other, they’ll do it.
So, if you were wondering where to put your marketing time and energy to optimize how to win customers from your competitors, focus on defining and delivering winning tag lines.
We have a lot of respect for these brands that did it right. So if you’re looking to get a little tagline inspiration of your own, take a look at some of our favorite company taglines.
See Food Differently
I see food differently. The tagline for this campaign is Sea Food Differently. I think this is tagline writing at its best: clever, play on words, and RELEVANT.
They are saying that Red Lobster does seafood differently (presumably better) than other restaurants. Perfect.
The uncola.
Tagline design … The uncola
A brave and somewhat bold way 7-Up’s tag line distinguishes its product from the cola competition. Taste wise it’s not cola, and that is 7-Ups promise.
Snap, Crackle, Pop
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies’ fantastic tagline that doubles up as a jingle. It is also descriptive – they actual do Snap! Crackle! and Pop!
This is more of a slogan, a classic slogan example really. It’s very advertising orientated and very product specific / descriptive! And the promise is freshness as the sound says.
Where dreams come true
This is just one of many from the dream makers at Disney. They have so many elements and areas of operations, from Disney World to a range of other media and wonderful creations.
Disney is a dream company, whilst the word dream strikes similarity with DreamWorks. It works best for the Disney promise.
We make IT happen
IBM’s clever use of playing on IT (Information Technology) doubling up as IT (as in that’s it). Makes you think, doesn’t it.
Just do it
Instantly, Nike’s tag line’s message began to resonate. It is no longer about just a shoe or a pair of shorts; it is about a state of mind.
You don’t have to be an athlete to be in shape or tackle an obstacle. If you want to do it, just do it. That’s all it takes.
The ultimate driving machine
For BMW, the fact they call their vehicles “machines” shows a real truth. When it is coupled with the word ultimate, the tagline is a well-oiled machine that works!
We try harder
This is a really strong tagline for Avis. It differentiates the brand as “going the extra mile” (this would be a relevant but more obvious tagline). It evokes that it genuinely does try harder
The bottom line
Marketing always has been and always will be about telling stories… stories that influence behavior and convince people to act. Make sure your social media content tells a story and that your story is compelling and relevant–especially your headlines.
So, if you were wondering where to put your marketing time and energy to optimize how to win customers. Winning away from your competitors, focus on delivering dramatic tagline design.
