I get this question a lot.  It’s sort of like the tagline is a mysterious thing that no one quite understands.

Let me help unravel the mystery.

So the easy answer is that some businesses need a tagline and others don’t. How do you like that for an answer? LOL!!  

The point of a tagline is to help people understand what your business does. It should provide clarity. 

For example…if your business is “Children’s Hospital of Columbus” or “One Day Garage Doors” you really don’t need a tagline because it’s very obvious what you do, just from the name of your business. 

On the other hand, if your company is “Flaherty, McDonald and Casey” then it’s not clear what you do and you could benefit from a tagline. In this case a tagline that says “Compassionately Helping People Through Divorce” would clarify that you’re divorce lawyers.

A very general company name like “White Enterprises” could be anything.  This name could apply to lots of different businesses, so it really needs a tagline to explain what you do.

I think where people get tripped up in creating taglines is that they want them to be memorable, so they feel pressured to come up with something cute or clever. They want to develop something like Nike did with “Just Do It.”  Let’s face it. Even Nike couldn’t do that again! The chances of hitting on a tagline like that are really slim. In fact, it’s so slim that it’s not worth the time, effort and resources that you would put into it. 

Stay away from cute and clever and focus on clarity. A tagline that provides clarity will lead to business and make you money. That’s what you want.

About the Author: Meg Huwar is a small business marketing expert and Principal of Brand Accelerator. She and her team work with companies who want to market their business but don’t have the time, experience or staff to do it themselves. Meg can be reached at mhuwar@thebrandaccelerator.com or 412-848-8822.