Tag Lines

[Bookie1]

Hey All,

What is your opinion on having a tag lines for your company/brand? Do you think they are a necessity or just something that you don't need but is nice to have?

Any opinions would be welcomed!

Cheers,

Bookie

 

[Moneyman]

OOOOH a feel a rant coming on.
NO dont do it. someone will just use it to take the p$%s
The local police are "working to keep me safer"
the bloody bin men are "working to help the local environment"
That's their Fing job
How come sainsbrys in Birmingham claimed to be My local supermarket when i live 300 miles away? Well thanks for nothing you muppets
Crass and dumb.

 

[Multi-store]

I think most business but not all should have one. If you choose one and stick with it you hope to be known for that tag line - IE tesco's "every little helps" its simple and you remember it. The key is to stick with it forever, therefore making it your own.

 

[Bookie1]

Haha Thank you MoneyMan...

I think your right in some ways.. If you do start using a tag line and get it wrong it can be used against you and people may take the mick!

However, My initial feelings where much like yours MultiStore... If you have a tag line, get it right and stick with it, it can become what your are 'known' for! I think tag lines are important for some companies purely to explain what it is they actually do and how they can benefit your customers in a short and snappy way.

Its just creating a worthwhile tag line is the hard part... I'm currently trying to create a tag line for my company but Its not progressing as I'd like! I'm going to stick at it though, because I think my company needs one, mainly to explain what we can do for the customers.

 

[Multi-store]

Whats your industry bookie? or are you a bookie?

 

[Bookie1]

No no no... We're in the book industry.. mainly wholesaling and consultancy (consultancy being we advise our clients on book ranges that will fit into their shop and compliment their other products, retail best practices, what books sell the best etc.) we are also starting to publish our own books.

I guess that's a lot to put into one tag line ha ha

Also my name is misleading so apologies for that!

What industry are you in Multi-store?

 

[Multi-store]

All sorts!

F/T I work for a print / graphic design & photography firm.
I run Multi-store website which sells key fobs .
have a word press site on football news & betting.

I used to do quite a bit of buying and selling of Ink & toner, I would get them from office closures and similar situations but my supplier closed their business in the UK so that stopped

I'm always looking for new avenues though, I love business but don't have the funds to ever give up work to go for it.

 

[Multi-store]

How about

Wholesale
Consult
Publish

That's our front cover!

 

[mhall]

LIke them or not, I cannot think of many businesses that are making money that don't have one. Putting aside the ones that just spout nonsense (which seem to be almost always public services like police, NHS, fire etc) they can be a very useful tool.

If you can explain to your customers what you do in a few words, it sows the seed, so to speak. Some people will take the pee, that is true, but they will still be talking about you - and most of those who are taking the mickey will be your competitors, so that should never worry you.

They are especially useful if the name of your company does not make it abundently clear what it is you do.

Just stick to facts, don't be cheesy and keep it simple. Avoid using phrases like "the leading provider of..." (which actually means nothing) and words like "solutions" (well over used)

 

[Bookie1]

Seems like you've had a busy career so far Multi!

Yeah I did think of something along those lines, thought it might be a wee bit simplistic though? Then again simple is sometimes the best way I guess?

And thanks mhall that's good advice! I'll make sure and cut out the cheese. My companies name doesn't make it totally clear what we do so a good tag line is much needed.

 

[Multi-store]

Whats your business called bookie? do you have a website?

 

[Bookie1]

Yep.. business is called Bookspeed and website is bookspeed.com

 

[3Mason]

How about

Wholesale
Consult
Publish

That’s our front cover!

just so you know the link you have put for your homepage doesn't work,

What kind of additional business opportunities are you looking for?

What is your background?


to the OP, i believe taglines can be beneficial in more ways than one, my company name gives a small indication to what we do, but the communications market is populated with products and services and so we use the tagline

"Securing charity rates for business"

this immediately highlights our USP, and tells you what you'll get when you deal with us

 

[Multi-store]

which home page?

 

[DomainsRegistrar]

I would have one like "what the book?"

 

[3Mason]

which home page?

when i click your name and then click on visit multi-stores homepage i get an error sir, just thought id give heads up

 

[Bookie1]

Hi guys...

Thanks for the tip 3Mason, makes a lot of sense.. we're kind of in the same boat, our name doesn't say too much about us. Obviously customers can deduct that we have something to do with books from our name but not much else. So we will have to keep working on a line that does and is also catchy in the process. It's tough

Thanks for the suggestion DomainsRegistrar, I like it... although it doesn't explain what we do haha, good effort though! I had an idea of something like 'We take care of the books so they take care of you' but i don't think it is clear enough or quite right!

We'll get there eventually (I hope)

 

[DomainsRegistrar]

How about then, "we know what the book we're talking about"

 

[Spearmint]

What about the following:-

Book Sellers - Helping you with your pick chores!

For all your little pick chores!

Pick chores! - Our knowledge can help

Making every book count

Keeping the books sweet

 

[s168]

Having consulted with many businesses in the past, I have to say that tag lines are a grey area. People think way too much about this that they forget more important things.

Tag lines we remember are the memorable for a good reason: the companies promoting them spend millions to get that tag line into our minds. When you're a smaller outfit, you don't need tag lines. It's mostly a gimmick and diverts attention away from what you need to be focusing on, which is superior products and/or services that make you stand out way above the competition. When you do that, people love doing business with you and the recommendations flow from there. After that, you can ask your customers what they think of you, why they first tried you out and then continue to use you, and then you can probably add a tag line that connects those answers with what you do in such a way that is unique, not full of BS, and most importantly, is believable and stands out.

The more trite and repetitive the tag line, using words like "quality service", "best", "working for you", or the more recent "your...." nonsense. It looks like BS, it smells like BS and the chances are it isn't fooling anyone other than the poor owner who believes in it.

I keep telling business owners that their opinions don't count, but their customers' does.

 

[MargaretEvans]

For me its not really a necessity, but it could help your business to attract visitors or clients. Taglines should be good but not something that is overwhelming, people might not but that one.

 

[ludwig]

Some good suggestions above but I tend to hate them really. Even the ones that we know so well like "never knowingly undersold" or "every little helps" . I think these work in the way of a written logo rather than actually informing the customer of anything in particular and iriitating though they are they probably work on that level. Like a jingle I guess. That old chesnut "big enough to cope, small enough to care" makes me retch and I tend immediately to think that the business in question is neither of these (which was the case with one that I worked for and used it)

 

[Bookie1]

Thanks for all the great responses, some good advice here!

A tag line is not a priority for us right now, like you say S168, for SME's there are more important things to focus on. However, from time to time I'll work on a tag line and if I have one that I think could be worthwhile, I'll put it up here and ask for some constructive criticism

But thanks again for all the responses, big help!

Bookie