Positive reinforcement can be very powerful, which is why I wrote Ten Great Small Business Marketing Taglines. But we often remember negative examples more clearly. Here are five examples of bad small business marketing taglines, along with some tips for every small business.
Apollo – Quality Since 1910
What kind of small business do you think Apollo is? Based on the name and tagline alone, we have no idea. For small business marketing to be effective, the business name and tagline need to describe what the business does. (By the way, Apollo is an HVAC and plumbing company).
Tom Gill Chevrolet – A Business of Character
When Richard Nixon told Americans, “I am not a crook,” that didn’t work out for him very well. Americans expected their President to have that basic level of character. Everyone also expects small businesses to have character, and customers become suspicious when a business feels the need to tout its virtue. Make sure your small business marketing tagline goes beyond claiming to be honest and trustworthy.
Isaacs & Isaacs – One Call, That’s All!
Besides being unclear about what business this law firm is in, the tagline is misleading. Does anyone actually believe you can get a satisfactory settlement with only one phone call? Small business marketing taglines shouldn’t over-promise, or customers will be disappointed.
Gold Star Chili – Celebrating 50*Years
Here is a sad fact of life many small businesses don’t want to hear: No customer cares how long you have been in business. And they certainly don’t care about celebrating the fact with you. Don’t waste valuable marketing space telling customers how long you have been around. I’m sure Gold Star Chili has much more compelling reasons for people to eat their chili.
University of Indianapolis – Inspiring Excellence
This tagline is less terrible than boring. It makes my list because the sentiment is mundane. Don’t all universities aspire to inspire excellence? The tagline doesn’t give customers a clue towards what makes University of Indianapolis different from its competitors.
Take these examples and compare them to your own tagline. If you find any parallels, try tweaking your tagline right away. And then do some customer research to craft a great one.
And if you want to see some really bad, punny small business marketing taglines, follow this link for a laugh.