Just do it.

Food for thought when considering taglines.

First let’s get this question out of the way:

“Should we even have a tagline?”

Though there are a lot of opinions out there, at CBD we answer that with a resounding “Yes!”

Here are 3 reasons why:

1. Your brand…and your customers’ relationship to it.

A good tagline can do some serious heavy lifting for your brand. It is an opportunity to solidify your voice, and acts as a barometer for judging whether your brand is on target with your overall strategy. And when done well, it has the power to create an emotional reaction with your customers, and be a strong differentiator between you and your competitors.

2. Your employees.

As much as it is a place for your brand to hang its positioning hat so to speak, a tagline doesn’t just work on that level. It also informs your organization internally – serving as a specific point-of-view that every employee can use to drive your brand forward in the marketplace.

3. Your marketing partners. (Yeah, we’re being a little bit selfish here.)

A strong tagline can really help your advertisers and marketers position the rest of your initiatives. It informs them with an immediate understanding of where YOU stand. It acts as a handy tool to leverage across any deliverable. And it can smartly inform the tone and manner of headlines, subheads, content and more.

Sooooo, how would you answer this question. (Be honest now.):

“Do I have a good tagline?”

Not to get all judge-y or anything, but there are some easy ways to tell if it might need a little attention. For instance, does it have any of these words in it:

“Solutions”
- You had better offer solutions! If you’re not serving a need, then why does your company (or any company for that matter) exist in the first place?

“Integrity”
- Yes, it’s important to convey trust, especially in certain industries. But as most of us inherently know, only an unintelligent person says “I’m intelligent!” Same goes for “integrity”.

“Service”
- In the B2B world especially, service is often a key point of difference. But we recommend that you prove it with your actions, not tell people with your words. Or if you must tell them…figure out a more clever way to say it.

It’s not that we have anything against these words, but they are dead words to most of your customers. What makes them dead is their complete overuse. In fact, “solution” or any variant thereof, makes nearly every Top 10 list of overused marketing words out there–every year.

But how do you arrive at a great tagline?

Well, CBD can always help. But it is definitely a smart exercise to try among a select group within your organization. We can get you started with this simple tip–take a basic phrase that you think works as a basis for your tagline–ie–“Integrity-based solutions steeped in service.” Now place a competitors name in front of it. If it makes sense with their name in front of it too, then it’s not unique enough for you. This will help you to really think about your brand–how will you boil the brand essence down to a single phrase that can only be yours? It can be a rally cry. A manifesto. But it should never be a basic description of what you sell… “Integrity-based solutions steeped in service.”

Keep in mind–if you choose to edit your tagline or create a new one, be prepared that it will take some time to get to a good one. And it doesn’t have to live on every single piece of advertising or marketing that you produce. But it does have to live in the hearts and minds of everyone who encounters it.