How To Make Your Tagline Stand Out From The Crowd

Coming up with a great company name when you’re starting a new business can be challenging and time-consuming.

In fact, it can be paralyzing. Some young entrepreneurs have a tough time writing their business plan if they don’t yet have a name for their business.

Coming up with a memorable business tagline can present an even greater challenge.

A tagline is supposed to communicate to your customers and potential customers what sets you apart from your competition and also your brand’s focus. It’s an important part of your company’s brand identity and also helps you leverage marketing psychology to help people fall in love with your unique brand.

You’ve probably seen and heard some of the most influential taglines of the past 50 years:

Got milk? (California Milk Processor Board) – 1993

Just do it (Nike) – 1988

Think different (Apple) – 1998

The ultimate driving machine (BMW) – 1975

Why did those taglines capture the attention of a wide audience and how did each become so memorable?

Money provides a partial answer.

Each of the companies/organizations that promoted one of the above taglines spent huge sums of money establishing their brand – and the tagline.

Here are 10 tips to help you get a great tagline or slogan for your business:

1. Make your slogan or tagline unique.

Unsuccessful taglines often are too generic.

If your competitor can use your tagline and it would still work well for them – you should keep working on the tagline until you find something that only you can uniquely use.

2. Make your slogan or tagline simple.

You wouldn’t want to have a complicated company name, so why would you create a complicated tagline?

A good way to test for simplicity is to ask your friends, family, and strangers whether they understand what your company does after they see or hear your tagline.

3. Make your slogan or tagline concise.

The best taglines explain what your company does and are short.

Worry less initially about how the tagline sounds and focus first on a rough statement – you can always tweak until you get it just right. Aim for no more than five words.

Five words are easier to remember than 20 words.

Some good examples: “Email marketing software for designers and their clients” (CampaignMonitor), “A Better Way To Work.” (37signals) and “The World’s Largest Junk Removal Service” (1-800-Got-Junk?)

4. Make your slogan or tagline timeless.

As tempting as hip taglines are, they will quickly become dated. There’s a reason each of the above taglines from Nike, Apple, and BMW has survived the test of time – they’re simple and timeless.

5. Keep your slogan or tagline consistent.

One mistake companies make is to regularly change their taglines because they become tired of their current taglines and think that their customers and potential customers also have become tired of that tagline.

This is a mistake and can lead to confusion. If your tagline works – even if you think it’s boring – stick with it if it’s working well for you.

6. Keep the focus on your audience, not on your company.

The most memorable taglines are about your customers, not about your company. If you focus your tagline on your company, your customers will wonder how it relates to them.

On the other hand, by placing the focus on your customers – you’ll create a stronger brand association.

Nike’s “Just do it” and Apple’s “Think Different” are great examples of placing the focus on the customers and potential customers.

One common mistake companies make is to make promises in their taglines (which put the focus on the company). Don’t make promises – communicate benefits instead.

7. Keep your slogan or tagline relevant to your company’s audience.

The memorable taglines above are sexy but not very descriptive. They’re memorable in part because each company/organization spent huge sums of money marketing and used those taglines in their marketing.

Since you probably don’t have access to the same marketing budgets, your goal should be different.  You should use your tagline to identify what you do and to identify the benefit to your customers.

8. Make sure your slogan or tagline matches your other branding.

Many entrepreneurs and small businesses think that a logo IS the company’s brand. It’s not.

A logo is a part of what defines a brand.

A tagline, like a logo, helps to define your brand. Make sure that the style, voice, and other elements of your tagline match the style, voice, and other elements of your logo design.

Because your tagline will be part of your overall branding, you’ll want the tagline to reflect your company’s personality.

9. Keep your slogan or tagline positive.

There’s a huge body of research showing that negative statements generally don’t sell very well.

Keep your tagline positive and focus on benefits.

10. Inject appropriate personality into your slogan or tagline.

Insurance companies speak with a different voice than Internet companies.

Keep in mind your company’s voice and personality, and make sure that the tagline reflects that voice and personality.