5 tools for the StreetSavvy Business Executive to Grow a Business.

I just read an article in CBInsights regarding a post mortem of more than 200 companies that failed.  It made me think if there is a way to prevent failure or provide insight into potential failures and errors that could be prevented and corrected a priori. 

To that end, we have developed a series of 20 tools that can be used by the StreetSavvy Business Executive that can help diagnose problems and provide data upon which better decisions can be made.   Over the next several weeks, I will share 5 tools per week for our readers’ use. 

Let me reiterate the definition of a StreetSavvy Business Executive.  It is a person in charge, normally in the executive suite, that has responsibility for a program or function or department, and who doesn’t follow the crowd.  Their goal is to find opportunities- call them blue ocean or impulse events- which prevent their business entity from regressing to the mean of mediocrity.  Following the crowd is not in their DNA.  They want to create their own path to success and by so doing, distance themselves from the crowd.

There are many tools, constructs, and paradigms we, at C-Level Partners, use to find solutions to complex problems.  We are glad to share those with our readers in our blogs, seminars and other media.  To that end, we put together this collection of tools and a brief description that we use to help companies.  Here are the first five tools. Feel free to provide comments and “like” them and share with whomever you believe can use them.  And feel free to contact me at dfriedman@clevelpartners.net or call at 949 439-4503.

PRASE℠     

This is C-Level Partners basic way we analyze problems. It is like a super gap and it is a very disciplined approach to solving complex problems. This methodology is applicable in any situation where value creation is inhibited.

Problem definition (description of) the current state and why it is insufficient

Root cause identification (what is causing the problem or constraint to achieving the goal)

Analysis of the desired future state (what it will look like when a problem is fixed or constraint lifted)

Steps needed to develop specific prescriptions and priorities to get from “here” to “there” (people, process, technology and governance)

Engage in an action plan based on priorities, organization, delegation, and follow up to achieve your goal state)  

Side-by-Side Matrix. 

Market research comes in many forms, shapes and sizes.  There is one tool that can be utilized more in market research and that is the side by side matrix.  This enables the business executive to collect data on two or more dimensions to get a broader view of attributes important to a constituent.  Not all survey vehicles offer this type of system yet Survey Monkey to a degree and QuestionPro offer very good templates and tools for use in conducting this research.   When coupled with the Quad Maps (because they visually depict answers in two dimensions, the results can be very powerful.  From Question Pro (www.questionpro.com ) here’s the construct of the side-by-side matrix.

While these questions may be easy to frame, think about categorizing questions.  For example, we categorized questions as customer service and support, retail experience, web experience, product breadth, sales reps, and other categories.  Within each category we subdivided the questions to get some more granularity.  

Using this tool and plotting it on a “quad map” is ideal to visual what you can leverage and what strategic initiatives need to be put into place.

For one wireless company using this research, the company was able to realign its strategy and marketing budget.  The results showed the company what was important and for those activities that they performed well, the marketing plan was able to leverage those positive attributes.  For other activities that the customer deemed not important, the company reduced expenditures.  And for those activities that the customers said were important but where the company fell short, initiatives and corrective actions were put in place.   The system worked well and the implementation of the results helped put the company on a new path to growth and propel the company to market leader position. 

Quad Mapping

A quad map is a simple tool to determine what to leverage, where to focus, what to watch and what to ignore or spend fewer dollars on.  We normally couple the Quad Maps with information attained through the side-by-side market research.

Business executives can break down questions into functional areas such as customer service, product breadth, store design, pricing and other categories.  Customers, suppliers and even company employees can answer the questions of importance and performance using the side-by-side matrix mentioned above.  

Those areas that are important and for which performance is poor can be thought of as potential strategic imperatives that the company or entity needs to undertake to correct.  Those attributes that are important and for which the entity performs well should be leveraged and emphasized.  Those items that are not important for which companies perform well.

Spider Diagram

Another simple yet powerful tool for use in positioning and competitive analysis is called the Spider diagram, because when you look at the graphical plot it looks like a spider web.

Attributes are indicated on the spokes and the length of the spoke reflects the scale e.g. from 0-10 (highest)  

A critical assessment of your brand, in this case, vs. the competitive brands can provide information on where to focus because your brand is better and where you might need improvement.

It was interesting to see this system used in the 2016 NFL draft as positional players were compared by using spider diagrams.   

SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. A SWOT analysis is a tool that can be used to help the business person make better strategic decisions and develop plans that will be effective against the competition.  It can be used as a complement to Spider Diagrams.

Normally Strengths and Weaknesses focus on internal attributes of the company e.g. competencies, resources, reputation, brand, customer service and similar items.  Opportunities and Threats normally focus on the external world although many companies can conceivably find both threats and opportunities internally.  Threats include competition, regulation, and social changes, changing workforces, governmental policies and similar items.  Opportunities are noted where the company can make inroads e.g. a new market, or where new competencies, alliances and technologies can be obtained to provide an advantage in the current markets, expand product lines or increase sales. 

Most SWOT analyses are broken down into a two-by-two matrix, with one box for each of the four components but can be extended to include a SWOT comparison for multiple competitors. 

Here are two templates that can be used.  This first one is for the company itself and the second one is for a company relative to its competition. 

Note that competition should be considered as existing competition i.e. direct competitors as well as indirect competitors and potential competitors.  

We hope these five tools are good additions to your toolkit and will help you get data upon which to make decisions and to make the complex problems a little easier to dissect and address.

The Lazy Man's Guide to 8 Essential Qualities of a Great Logo

Image Source: Flickr

Your company’s visual identity is a key component of your brand’s platform. Unfortunately many CEOs and their marketing teams often equate rebranding to only envisioning a new company logo or catchy new tagline. That is actually backwards! I believe the development of a company’s logo and graphic design is the last step in building a strong brand. I will cover those steps in detail in a future blog post.

You probably know not all logos are created equal and while many are pretty to look at, only a handful actually accomplish the goal of supporting the brand and providing a visual cue to the “promise” of the brand. Make sure yours does by understanding what makes a great logo and implementing these 8 elements in your design:

1. Simple – fight the urge to over-complicate. That can lead to a logo that is too heavy, distracting, unremarkable, confusing and difficult to reproduce in all media . Think about the logo for Twitter, for Uber, for Snapchat, or for Sprouts.

2. Versatile – consider that your logo might be in print ads, business cards, letterheads, websites, banners, videos, black and white low quality newspapers, etc. It needs to be reproducible, not only in color but in black and white. In addition, will it be distinctive and still look high quality and appealing in all media formats?

3. Distinctive – it doesn't look like your competitors. Be unique and stand out.

4. Targeted – your logo needs to fit your industry and appeal to your audience. You don't always have to be direct and blunt in the image or name, as long as your logo’s colors and overall style communicate what you do and are consistent with what you want to convey.

5. Memorable – leave a mark, an impression, on your audience. You want a logo that is so unique and powerful that it can be remembered and recognized after just one look.  Which logos do you believe are memorable. I happen to like Coca-Cola and Ford as examples of a memorable visual identity design system.

Image Source: McDonald's

6. Appropriate – make your logo match your industry, but it doesn't have to be obvious. If you're a plumber, you don't necessarily need to have a toilet or plunger on your logo in order to get your message and point across. It needs to be consistent with the brand image you wishto convey. A relationship between the company name and image you use would be helpful in establishing your brand identity. Move beyond the basic Caduceus that many doctors use on their calling card. A logo doesn’t need to outright say what the company does. Restaurant logos don’t need to show food, dentist logos don’t need to show teeth, furniture store logos don’t need to show furniture. Just because it’s relevant, doesn’t mean you can’t do better.

7. Timeless – will your logo stand the test of time and still be relevant, interesting and effective in 1, 5 or even 15 years with modifications? Always go for longevity, not trendy. Having said that, if your business withstands the test of time, your logo will need to evolve over time as well. My recommendation is to review your visual identity system, including the logo, every three to five years. Witness how Microsoft or the Starbucks logo and iconography (all the elements of the logo, product designs, and affiliations) have changed over time.

Image Source: http://cyberjunkeez.org/2012/08/microsoft-unveiled-new-logo.html

Image Source: http://www.elevatordesign.co.uk/#blog

8. Effective — it must have an impact on the intended audience and be geared towards getting a congruent and desired “buy” response emotionally or physically.

An effective logo design starts with a solid business and marketing strategy. This strategy, vision, and how the company wants to communicate its competencies, functionality, customer focus, technology or other fundamental area of its business becomes the basis for a great design. Graphic designers, on the other hand are driven by other design elements. Therefore, in the real world, both business requirements and design requirements must come together to deliver a logo or graphic identity that can withstand the test of time.

Does your brand need to be refreshed? Email me at vferraro@clevelpartners.net for a complimentary 30 minute call (and my free book) on how our team can help yours build a breakthrough branding and marketing strategy.

These concepts and other steps in building a strong business or personal brand are detailed in my recent book Brand to Sell Masterplan, available on Amazon.

The Real Story of Trump's Brand Success – 5 Important Lessons

I have watched the campaign and investigated the career of Donald Trump for insights into his marketing and branding strategy. While some would call him a demagogue, bombastic, embarrassing and rude, there is no doubt he has built a successful business brand and media career and has attracted millions of people, across all demographics, to his campaign for president. He shows energy, confidence and enthusiasm, essential elements in any world-class brand. As I watched him speak and tracked his growing popularity and presidential campaign, I was left with the notion that Donald Trump understands and uses many successful brand marketing rules and techniques that should be in the playbook of any aspiring brand. Here is my list of lessons in no particular order.

BTW, this is neither an endorsement nor a negative on the brand of Trump, but merely a timely example of personal and corporate branding.

Signature Look

Whether it is a company or personal brand, all successful brands visually evoke immediate recognition of that brand's products and services. The visual identity serves as a touchstone for a brand's essence, personality and identity. Strong visual identity is meant to evoke an emotional response. While business brands typically use a logo, brands based on people are often built on a particular look that comes to represent that person. Think of Bono's sunglasses, Fidel Castro's beard, Michael Jackson's glove or Queen Elizabeth's hats. Almost any element of your clothing or appearance can be part of your unique trademarked look. This includes hairstyles. Think of Albert Einstein's crazy hair or Donald Trump's mysterious auburn hair comb over with his trademark Trump branded suit and tie. Love it or hate it, it has become a visual identity symbol uniquely attached to Trump's brand.

Source: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/photos/2015/09/an-illustrated-history-of-donald-trumps-hair#15

You can find a link to the entire history (yes ... really) of Donald Trump's hair styles in this Vanity Fair article.

Earned Media/PR

According to some reports Donald Trump has received up to $2B in free or earned media. This is in contrast to owned media (content you own or produced that gets readership) or paid media (advertising for eyeballs). Earned media is media that comes organically through websites, TV interviews and social media. The idea is the more earned media you get the less paid media you have to buy. How does he do it? By making himself totally available to be interviewed, through his raucous rallies and by continuing to provide new, weekly content that gets media to cover and report on the latest thing he said or did.

The chart below, by the New York Times and ASG Media, shows how the Donald is killing it:

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/upshot/measuring-donald-trumps-mammoth-advantage-in-free-media.html?_r=1

Licensing

Donald Trump has also been successful because he licenses his brand. Trump hotels, Trump golf courses, Trump TV shows, Trump ties and many others. The Trump name is licensed for a fee and/or a cut of the revenue. Trump's licensing strategy is extremely important to his overall success and wealth. According to the Washington Post, "a one-page financial summary he issued when he launched his campaign last month valued his “real estate licensing deal, brand and branded developments” at more than $3.3 billion, which would make it the largest single source of Trump’s claimed $8.7 billion total net worth as of 2014." What does the Trump brand mean? The same article said, "full meaning of the brand: He is a world famous real estate developer. Famous for his endeavors not just in real estate but in sports, gambling, entertainment and recreation.” His name, they argued, had “developed significant goodwill and trademark significance.”

This doesn't mean that all brand licensing agreements are successful. The legal issues he is facing with Trump University and the questionable licensing and failure of the brand to create Trump Steaks, shows what can happen to brands that are in legal disputes or are overly extended. To make things even more complicated, not all of Trump's buildings are Trump owned as failed licensed name developments in Panama (Trump Ocean Club) and Baja (Trump Ocean Resort) illustrate.

Source: https://creativemarket.com/blog/2016/03/23/donald-trump-and-the-rebrand-of-the-century

Source: http://postonpolitics.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2016/03/11/trump-steaks-our-food-writer-gave-them-an-a-rating-in-2007-taste-test/

Storytelling

Compelling brands tell stories. Stories evoke imagery and meaning that help us learn about who we are and the concept they teach us. “It has been said that next to hunger and thirst, our most basic human need is for storytelling.” -Khalil Gibran.

There is real neuroscience behind storytelling as well. Science says that our brains are more activated when we listen to stories vs. being told facts.

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/TechniqueJunkie/writers-resources/

Storytelling makes facts come alive. They make conceptual ideas real and tangible. Stories help us understand why a person is unique. Trump's stories are about how he took a "modest" $1M loan from his father and turned it into a multibillion-dollar enterprise and how he raised a great family. Stories are also told in the campaign promises he makes.

Who could forget “I will build a great wall—and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me.” Stories are also told when he creates labels for his competitors. This is called “de-positioning.” Jeb Bush was "low energy" and Ted Cruz became "Lyin' Ted". Trump keeps his stories simple and "black and white" to appeal to the masses who are tired of political rhetoric. There are no ambiguities or complex narratives in his storytelling.

Archetype

All successful brands have built strong archetypes and have woven them into the personality, identity and storytelling of their brands. Archetypes have their basis in Jungian psychology and represent a stereotype of a universal character that frequently showed up in literature and dreams. In other words, an archetype is a pattern of a character – the images, symbols and behaviors that create a character in literature. The idea links people's passion and needs in the form of a character they identify with. For example, Dracula and Frankenstein represent archetypes of horror movie characters. A strong archetype combined with a great brand story, identity and personality is the stuff that makes brands great. World class brands do this well and Donald Trump is no different. Common archetypes are depicted in the graphic below.

Source: https://first-the-trousers.com/2014/11/25/positioning-roulette-brand-archetypes/

In addition, you can break down these archetypes into specific behaviors, motivations and attitudes. Scholarly research has linked these archetypes to specific brands.

Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=l6qXGiTld1sC pg. 13

So what is Donald Trump's archetype? There have been many examples of what it could be. For example, he has been characterized as a Political Authoritarian (North Korea's Kim Jong-un) or a peaceful Revolutionary (like Martin Luther King or Gandhi). And I believe there are some elements of each; however, I think Donald Trump's primary archetype falls in the Hero category (like Nike) and looks something like this.

Source: http://kayeputnam.com/brandality-archetype-hero/

This leads me to my final point that brands can fit in more than one archetype. There can be primary and secondary dynamics occurring. Great brands that have survived over time have a signature look,  garner strong earned media, presence through public relations, expand through licensing of their brands (where applicable), tell stories and ensure their brand essence and identity is firmly rooted in a strong archetype. There are many other elements of a brand to consider, but this list is a good start.

What do you think? Let me know your thoughts at vferraro@clevelpartners.net. And we, at C-Level Partners, are here to help you identify, solidify and create your company's unique brand strategy. Feel free to contact me directly for a checklist of branding activities, a copy of my newly minted “Brand to Sell” book, and also set up a one-hour, complimentary discussion.

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How Successful Leaders Prioritize - When Less is More

An old Russian Proverb says:  If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one. Think about

that in the context of priorities at work and the resources companies need to employ to chase those priorities. How many of you have worked for a company where the boss indiscriminately piled on projects that sounded just too good to pass up? CEO said that the company is not doing enough and her desire was to see how many more projects can be handled? 

One of my colleagues, Dennis Drent, was a new CEO of a specialty insurance company. It was an operational turnaround situation and much needed to be done to correct course. With the best of intentions, Dennis tried to fix all the problems in his first year! Needless to say, nothing got done in that first 12 months. In year two, Dennis directed the management team to choose the three top priorities after rigorous debate. All three initiatives were completed and the results began to improve immediately.

When I worked for US Cellular, a new CEO came on board and while I did not subscribe to everything he said, I did like his approach to strategic initiatives. He told us that we will focus on doing one thing well and when that is complete we will move on to the next priority.

I personally believe that there is a middle ground whereby the resources and competencies of a company determine how many projects can be handled simultaneously. Yet even with multiple projects, when a critical need arises, resources are refocused on the top priority.  So how do you know what is really a priority?  How do you set priorities?  How do you manage priorities?  And how do you incorporate their prioritization results into a "business battle rhythm?” 

Here are 6 steps to setting and managing priorities.  If you want copies of these tools, please write to me at dfriedman@clevelpartners.net and I will send them to you.

 Clearly define the project or initiative. Make sure there is clarity of the end results and the metrics for success. One tool we use is the Opportunity Template, a picture of which is located here. 

Note that each project has a clear owner, i.e. the person defined as “A” on the top line and has the basic tasks and metrics laid out.    

      Develop and use a process to rate and score the various, and perhaps disparate projects. One tool we use is called the Analytical Hierarchical Process. It ensures that the evaluators and decision makers agree on the way the projects are evaluated. 

In this case, I show a one level system and the key areas of evaluation are strategic, financial, competencies, and operational. Each area is weighted and a score can be given on how well the project meets that criteria.  A total score is then developed and an ordinal ranking of the projects can be determined.  If there is a legal or regulatory requirement that must be completed in the planning cycle, that automatically goes to the top of the list.

While many executives don’t like a mechanical process, the exercise enables all projects to be evaluated in a consistent manner based on what the organization or company wants to achieve.  If there are lots of projects, the executives can see what is on top and what is on the bottom and can debate which project is to be staffed with the right resources. The goal is to help the decision making, not to let a mechanical process determine the answer.

Resource the project with the right people.  Develop a strong team. This sounds so simple yet sometimes is hard to do. At C-Level Partners, one of the tools we use is called RACI. This enables projects to be resourced correctly. Eventually, depending on the number of projects, companies will run out of the right resources as those resources will become a limiting constraint. RACI stands for:

• Responsible:  who will be assigned to work on the project
• Accountable:  who has the authority to make a decision and whose head will roll if something goes bump in the night?
• Consulted:   who are the stakeholders that will be consulted before a decision is made
• Informed:  who has to be kept updated on the project e.g. those whose work depends on the project?             

      Track progress through a dashboard and make the project part of the organization or businesses “battle rhythm.”A business battle rhythm is a way the organization manages its business activities, processes, decisions and control points.  If these projects are priorities, in my opinion, they should be part of the executive dashboard where the results are measured, tracked, and adjustments made to the plan. We use a stop light tool on the overall project as well as on the subordinate tasks.  Each task or project is given a Green light (things are on target and going well, a Yellow light (the project is in for some turbulence and this is an early warning of potential issues), or a Red light (we are missing milestones and metrics and need to put more resources on the project, change course, or abandon the activity). 

       Note on abandoning projects. Abandoning projects is something that is difficult. Many companies never kill a project because there is too much politics in admitting failure. At one company we worked, executives were brutal. If a project was off course and in retrospect they made a mistake the executives killed the project.  When I was a VP at Ameritech I publicly made a special award to people who made the right business decision and one award was to a director for killing a favorite project.  The person who received the award did not want it because he perceived it would kill his career.  It did not! People were in shock at first. But abandoning projects for the right reason yielded some discipline to the company as people knew if a project they were on didn’t perform there would be accountability.

      Proactively manage risks.  We believe in managing risk and the impact of those risks on any project especially those that are strategic, revenue oriented, or operationally critical. One way to do this is through a tool called the Risk Impact Matrix which lays out the risks to a strategic objective, a project, a product or other priority.  Once the risks and potential impact is specified, the person in charge of the opportunity or project will work with the team to determine ways to develop contingency plans.  These contingency plans will be put into place if the overall project or even some of the tactics veer off course. See Brian Newton’s blog on ways to measure and manage at http://clevelpartners.blogspot.com/2016/02/defining-ways-to-measure-and-manage-risk.html.

      Conduct post mortems. Every organization is a learning organization. What this means is that we learn from our successes but sometimes we learn more from our failures. After a project is completed or terminated, the team lead, the person accountable, should provide a post mortem debriefing to determine what went well, what did not go well, and share the learnings of the project with other executives and team leads.

An Example

Let’s see how one fictionalized company handled priority setting.  Let’s look at a fictionalized company called HyperCorp.  The executives developed a list of projects prior to an executive off site that each thought would be important to the company and their functional area.  The initial list of 25 projects was winnowed down to 7 based on their determination that these projects met their financial, operational, strategic goals and they had the competencies and skills to resource these projects.  Some projects would have high priorities for the executive team itself, others for HR, others for IT and still others for Marketing and Sales.

This executive team concluded that of these 7 projects, two – integrating a newly acquired company and updating operating systems to conform to a new regulatory compliance requirement had to be accomplished.   These two initiatives consumed a substantial amount of IT resources; yet the good news was that integrating two companies used operational IT resources whereas updating the operating system required application development. 

The Marketing and Sales team had to make a choice as it did not have the resources to perform more than one initiative and because IT resources were consumed on the two higher priorities, Marketing and Sales had to forgo launching a new product at this time. 

The team decided to focus on only four projects:

1.       Updating the operating system for compliance

2.       Integrating the newly acquired company

3.       Redesigning and updating the website to remain competitive and to improve customer acquisition

4.       Designing a new sales compensation plan to retain and engage the sales team

One executive was given primary responsibility (the “A”) for each respective initiative, was required to develop a detailed project plan using the RACI system, and was obligated to report the status in monthly operations reviews.    The initiatives were announced to the entire company with the CEO stating that if anyone is ever in doubt about priorities, these initiatives get “fed first” in the order listed.  Case closed.

If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority!!!  Accordingly, this blog provides some structure and tools to be used by corporate executives to manage their priorities.  The number of priorities may vary in different organizations. Yet, in my estimation, at the top level of each company or organization, there should be a clear focus on no more than 2-4 priorities which are properly resourced. As one priority is finished, then the company can move on to the next one. We, at C-Level Partners are here to help you and your company with determining your priorities and advising on managing these projects.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at dfriedman@clevelpartners.net.  Also please like this blog and feel free to share it or forward it to your colleagues and friends who might have an interest. 

How to Create an Awesome Tagline for Your Brand

How do you create a memorable tagline? Once you have determined your brand identity and secured your name, you'll want to set your focus on creating a compelling and memorable tagline. What is a tagline, you ask? Sometimes it is called a slogan, motto, catch phrase, trademark line or even strapline and basically it's a shortened (usually) benefit-driven version of your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that's 100% focused on what your brand/product/service promises it will deliver  for your customer (what's in it for them). Through repetition in media and online, it will eventually be identified and associated with the brand.

A properly written tagline embodies your brand, mission and promise all in one succinct and unforgettable statement. It's short because it's meant to communicate your most important benefit, advantage or unique selling point in just a few words. But these few words have great power when done right. The best taglines can be measured against 7 criteria - clarity, simplicity, uniqueness, ownership by your brand or adoptability by the competition, benefit-driven, clever wordplay and brand-driven. A well-written tagline should allow you to immediately conjure up the name of the company that is associated with that slogan.

Now before you start racking your brain and trying to come up with something short and snappy, you need to know that there are two kinds of taglines and unless you're a big multi-million dollar company, only one is the right kind for you:

1.       Cost You Money: Making something out of nothing.

These are the cute and snappy but utterly useless taglines that do nothing for the brand they are attached to and the only way they catch on is through massively expensive and exhaustive marketing campaigns over time. You can judge for yourself which mean something today and who it relates to vs. the others that you have to question the marketing wisdom.

                Examples:

                 “We bring good things to life”

                “Have it your way”

                 “Just Do It”

                 “Eat Jimmy Dean”

                 “Drive One”

                 “We're Exxon”

                “We make it better”

                “Choose Freedom”

                "Pork - the other white meat"

                 “The only way to fly”

                 “I'm lovin’ it”

                “The King of Beers”

                 “Life's Good”

2.    Makes You Money: Relevant and Benefit-Driven

These are the ones that make you stop and think. When you hear them, they stick in your mind and conjure up the specific images, emotions and benefits the brand wants you to experience.

Examples:

 “Because so much is riding on your tires”

“When it absolutely positively has to get there overnight”

 “American by birth, Rebel by choice”

“15 minutes can save you 15% or more on your car insurance”

“The customer is always and completely right”

“The most exciting two minutes in sports”

 “Save Money, Live Better”

 “Connecting people”

“Good to the last drop”

 “Pizza delivered in under 30 minutes or it's free”

 “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands”

 “Finger lickin' good”

Can you see the difference? One is catchy, initially meaningless and would cost a substantial amount to embody in the buyers’ minds at the least.   Some of them have meaning today but after huge expenditures of money e.g. Nike's "Just Do It".  Others still languish and many have been abandoned because they are pointless and hold no true brand value, meaning or benefit to the customer.  The other set, however, swears an oath, creates a powerful brand promise and tells you exactly what you'll get, become, or experience when you buy into that brand.

When in doubt, ask yourself – if I were my customer, would I be compelled and inspired to buy this product based on the tagline alone? If your answer isn't a resounding yes, then go back to the drawing board and keep thinking! Remember, a good tagline is a promise you must keep. It should be short, to the point and memorable. It must capture your brand's essence, match your image and promise a strong benefit to your audience. And most of all, it should emotionally connect with your audience and evoke a specific emotion or action that you want them to have or do. Now that you have read this, audit and assess your own tagline. Does it stand up to this standard? Please let me know.  Share your favorite brands and tag lines and slogans with me and I will post them in a subsequent blog.

Here is a list of 360 taglines from famous companies. You can get that list here. There is another one with 400+ taglines that you will find here.  Step out on your own to develop the right tag line or slogan.  Or feel free to call me at C-Level Partners which can help companies in the tech, service, and manufacturing markets with their branding and marketing.  You can reach out to me at vferraro@clevelpartners.net or (949) 445-1080 x-501. I look forward to helping you achieve your success.

Excerpt from my book "Brand to Sell" available on Amazon.com.

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