Creating effective names and taglines that will attract new clients
| Category: Copy Writing | Date: 2001-06-11 |
Im frustrated," an accounting guru told me as he sat down in my office. "I do great things for my clients, but I just cant talk or write about my services in a way that gets any attention -- let alone any response."
Sound familiar? As a guru, you want to get more clients. But to do that, you need to create interest in your services. Standing out in the crowd involves more than just telling people about what you do. You also need to communicate your unique talents and abilities in terms that are meaningful and compelling. Because word-of-mouth is a gurus lifeblood, you want to describe your business in ways that are easy to remember and pass along. Youve probably been told that its a good idea to develop a business name, tagline, elevator speech and headlines. But even after having worked on these things for hours, you may find that theyre not bringing you much new business. Read on to learn about techniques you can use to create marketing messages that hit home and expand your reach.
What You Need to Know
Powerful marketing messages convey ideas that are deeper than just the words you use to spell out your message. Thats why its important to consider how you structure your message -- a fact that is often overlooked.
What Do You Meme?
In 1976, Oxford University biologist Richard Dawkins wrote a book called "The Intelligent Gene" in which he introduced a new concept to the history of culture: memes (rhymes with "seems"). A meme, Dawkins said, is much like its biological cousin, the gene. Like a gene, a meme is self-replicating. However, memes dont replicate biologically; instead, they are passed along in the form of ideas. Dawkins argued that memes are the "basic unit of cultural transmission." He wrote:
Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes, fashions, ways of making pots, or of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperm or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation.
Jump ahead twenty years and to another book called "Rapid Response Advertising" by Geoff Ayling, an Australian advertising expert. Ayling builds a strong case for the use of memes in marketing and advertising, arguing that the meme is the missing piece of the marketing and advertising puzzle. "A meme," he writes, "operates through the process of chunking complex concepts or ideas down into a simple, easily communicable unit." Likewise, marketing messages can be constructed as memes to communicate the benefits of a product or service more quickly and easily.
After reading Aylings book, I realized that I had long been using a marketing meme to introduce my service: "I help service businesses attract more clients." When I explain my work that way, I frequently get an immediate "Oh! Thats what I need!" response. Ive used this tagline for years, but I never really understood why it worked so well. The idea of marketing memes gave me the key.
The Meme in Action
A marketing meme always accomplishes four things. It actively transfers specific information. Its immediately and obviously beneficial. Its ultra-simple. And its easy to remember and pass along to someone else. When all of these elements are in place, marketing memes work like magic.
Imagine this: Im at a party and Ive just used my marketing meme to answer someones question about what I do for a living. For whatever reason, they dont need my services, but they understand immediately what Im about. Half an hour later, that same person drags a friend over to me and says, "You should talk to Sarah here -- she needs to attract more clients." Bingo! This has happened to me countless times.
This is why its smart to apply the meme idea to virtually any marketing message -- people will understand you more quickly, and as a result, youll attract more attention, interest, and response. You dont have to worry about zippy slogans or phrases. Strive for clarity, simplicity, brevity, and a description of benefits -- all wrapped up in a few words (or a combination of words and images). Great marketing memes make a direct and memorable connection.
What a Marketing Meme Is Not
It may be easier to understand a marketing meme by looking at what it is not. A meme is not a goofy slogan, nor a clever play on words. Ever see a headline on a billboard that totally confused you? Thats a dead meme -- theres no replication. Memes should never confuse. They should clarify and elucidate. When its a meme you say, "I get it!" When its not, you say, "Huh?"
Lets look at a recent example, a billboard from IBM: two automobile tires in profile, with two ThinkPad portable computers in profile inside the tires. The headline: "ThinkPad. Road Trip." Huh? Sorry, Big Blue, but thats not a meme. Whats the message? Its not immediately obvious or beneficial.
Heres an eTrade billboard thats much better: "This month, someones going to win the lottery. Just not you. eTrade." Bingo! Without having to figure anything out, you get the message: "Id better stop wishing and start investing." Like a good joke, it hits home immediately.
Headlines, taglines, and other marketing messages arent necessarily memes. Sometimes theyre just clever phrases, or theyre so general that they communicate very little useful information. "Overnight Delivery" isnt much of a meme. On the other hand, "When you positively, absolutely have to have it overnight" helped make FedEx a billion-dollar business. Your challenge is to create memes for your business that communicate the benefits of your services just as powerfully.
What You Need to Do
A meme can be used any time you need to effectively communicate what your business does. Remember, a meme communicates quickly and easily, it highlights customer benefits, and it prompts a response -- either immediately or sometime in the future -- because its so easy to recall.
Find Your Inner Meme
A recent client, a personal organizer, was struggling to position her business. I asked her to explain what was special about her talent -- what made her different from everyone else. She said that, unlike most organizers who simply help people throw out their junk, she had an eye for valuable items that could be sold for tidy sums. Together, we developed a wonderful tagline that said it all: "We find treasures in your clutter." This meme has immediate appeal for anyone who wants to get rid of clutter because it promises an added bonus -- finding a valuable treasure or two that might actually pay for her services.
There are several ways to use memes in your guru marketing. You can use them in your business name. Theyre effective in taglines, or in the audio logo (a short version of an elevator speech) that you say out loud when someone asks what you do. Theyre useful in the headlines of ads, flyers, or letters, and in the titles of presentations or articles. You might express each of these memes in a slightly different way, but they all should communicate a similar message with clarity and impact.
Cooking Up Your Meme
So how do you create a powerful meme for your business? Its a bit of an art, but here are some guidelines. First, ask the key question: "What do my clients get as a result of using my services?" Dont worry about the wording yet -- just brainstorm to develop a number of sentences that capture the gist of your key benefit. To broaden your thinking, you might consider doing this with a group of friends and former clients who are familiar with your work.
You might come up with something along the lines of: "Our clients have problems with employee conflict, and our services help reduce that conflict while building cooperation and trust." Theres a core idea in there, but the expression is pretty long. Start paring down to get at the essential ideas you want to communicate. The next cut might go: "We reduce conflict while building cooperation." This is better, but it seems a little vague. The next attempt yields: "Reducing conflict and building cooperation within organizations." This is a bit snappier, but are we now trying to say too much? The message here is about both solving a problem and offering a solution. Maybe we should go with one or the other. How about this as a tagline: "Building cooperation within organizations." Its simple, benefit-oriented, and easy to remember. Youve got a meme!
Take Your Meme for a Test Drive
Once youve developed a meme, you need to take it out for a field test to see if it effectively communicates your core message. How can you tell? You know it works when it elicits a favorable response -- when people ask the right follow-up questions, and want to know more. Heres the best way to try this out. When someone asks what you do, say something like, "I have a company called Working Diplomacy. We help build cooperation within organizations." If people say, "Thats interesting! More companies need that," or "You ought to talk to our HR director," theres a good chance you have a winner. If, on the other hand, people say, "What do you mean?" or "Why do companies need that?" youre probably off track. If that happens, then its back to the drawing board.
Roll Out Your Meme
A meme isnt just a nice thing to have. Its the core expression of your business. Thats why you want to use it everywhere you possibly can. Make it the tagline for your business cards and stationery. Put it in your email sig file. Answer the phone with it:
Prospect: "Hello, I hear you folks do conflict management."
You: "Yes, we help build cooperation within organizations. Is that what youre looking for?"
Remember: the whole idea of a meme is to help prospective clients understand how you can help them. With a little work, anyone can create a powerful meme for their business. It all starts with a core question: What are the results you produce for your clients? Next, hone it down to a memorable phrase. (Make it as simple as possible.) Finally, apply it to all your marketing messages.
About the Author
Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing works with professional service businesses to help them attract new clients. His web site is a valuable resource for anyone looking for effective marketing ideas.
:To contact see details below.
robmid@actionplan.com
http://www.actionplan.com
Sound familiar? As a guru, you want to get more clients. But to do that, you need to create interest in your services. Standing out in the crowd involves more than just telling people about what you do. You also need to communicate your unique talents and abilities in terms that are meaningful and compelling. Because word-of-mouth is a gurus lifeblood, you want to describe your business in ways that are easy to remember and pass along. Youve probably been told that its a good idea to develop a business name, tagline, elevator speech and headlines. But even after having worked on these things for hours, you may find that theyre not bringing you much new business. Read on to learn about techniques you can use to create marketing messages that hit home and expand your reach.
What You Need to Know
Powerful marketing messages convey ideas that are deeper than just the words you use to spell out your message. Thats why its important to consider how you structure your message -- a fact that is often overlooked.
What Do You Meme?
In 1976, Oxford University biologist Richard Dawkins wrote a book called "The Intelligent Gene" in which he introduced a new concept to the history of culture: memes (rhymes with "seems"). A meme, Dawkins said, is much like its biological cousin, the gene. Like a gene, a meme is self-replicating. However, memes dont replicate biologically; instead, they are passed along in the form of ideas. Dawkins argued that memes are the "basic unit of cultural transmission." He wrote:
Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes, fashions, ways of making pots, or of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperm or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation.
Jump ahead twenty years and to another book called "Rapid Response Advertising" by Geoff Ayling, an Australian advertising expert. Ayling builds a strong case for the use of memes in marketing and advertising, arguing that the meme is the missing piece of the marketing and advertising puzzle. "A meme," he writes, "operates through the process of chunking complex concepts or ideas down into a simple, easily communicable unit." Likewise, marketing messages can be constructed as memes to communicate the benefits of a product or service more quickly and easily.
After reading Aylings book, I realized that I had long been using a marketing meme to introduce my service: "I help service businesses attract more clients." When I explain my work that way, I frequently get an immediate "Oh! Thats what I need!" response. Ive used this tagline for years, but I never really understood why it worked so well. The idea of marketing memes gave me the key.
The Meme in Action
A marketing meme always accomplishes four things. It actively transfers specific information. Its immediately and obviously beneficial. Its ultra-simple. And its easy to remember and pass along to someone else. When all of these elements are in place, marketing memes work like magic.
Imagine this: Im at a party and Ive just used my marketing meme to answer someones question about what I do for a living. For whatever reason, they dont need my services, but they understand immediately what Im about. Half an hour later, that same person drags a friend over to me and says, "You should talk to Sarah here -- she needs to attract more clients." Bingo! This has happened to me countless times.
This is why its smart to apply the meme idea to virtually any marketing message -- people will understand you more quickly, and as a result, youll attract more attention, interest, and response. You dont have to worry about zippy slogans or phrases. Strive for clarity, simplicity, brevity, and a description of benefits -- all wrapped up in a few words (or a combination of words and images). Great marketing memes make a direct and memorable connection.
What a Marketing Meme Is Not
It may be easier to understand a marketing meme by looking at what it is not. A meme is not a goofy slogan, nor a clever play on words. Ever see a headline on a billboard that totally confused you? Thats a dead meme -- theres no replication. Memes should never confuse. They should clarify and elucidate. When its a meme you say, "I get it!" When its not, you say, "Huh?"
Lets look at a recent example, a billboard from IBM: two automobile tires in profile, with two ThinkPad portable computers in profile inside the tires. The headline: "ThinkPad. Road Trip." Huh? Sorry, Big Blue, but thats not a meme. Whats the message? Its not immediately obvious or beneficial.
Heres an eTrade billboard thats much better: "This month, someones going to win the lottery. Just not you. eTrade." Bingo! Without having to figure anything out, you get the message: "Id better stop wishing and start investing." Like a good joke, it hits home immediately.
Headlines, taglines, and other marketing messages arent necessarily memes. Sometimes theyre just clever phrases, or theyre so general that they communicate very little useful information. "Overnight Delivery" isnt much of a meme. On the other hand, "When you positively, absolutely have to have it overnight" helped make FedEx a billion-dollar business. Your challenge is to create memes for your business that communicate the benefits of your services just as powerfully.
What You Need to Do
A meme can be used any time you need to effectively communicate what your business does. Remember, a meme communicates quickly and easily, it highlights customer benefits, and it prompts a response -- either immediately or sometime in the future -- because its so easy to recall.
Find Your Inner Meme
A recent client, a personal organizer, was struggling to position her business. I asked her to explain what was special about her talent -- what made her different from everyone else. She said that, unlike most organizers who simply help people throw out their junk, she had an eye for valuable items that could be sold for tidy sums. Together, we developed a wonderful tagline that said it all: "We find treasures in your clutter." This meme has immediate appeal for anyone who wants to get rid of clutter because it promises an added bonus -- finding a valuable treasure or two that might actually pay for her services.
There are several ways to use memes in your guru marketing. You can use them in your business name. Theyre effective in taglines, or in the audio logo (a short version of an elevator speech) that you say out loud when someone asks what you do. Theyre useful in the headlines of ads, flyers, or letters, and in the titles of presentations or articles. You might express each of these memes in a slightly different way, but they all should communicate a similar message with clarity and impact.
Cooking Up Your Meme
So how do you create a powerful meme for your business? Its a bit of an art, but here are some guidelines. First, ask the key question: "What do my clients get as a result of using my services?" Dont worry about the wording yet -- just brainstorm to develop a number of sentences that capture the gist of your key benefit. To broaden your thinking, you might consider doing this with a group of friends and former clients who are familiar with your work.
You might come up with something along the lines of: "Our clients have problems with employee conflict, and our services help reduce that conflict while building cooperation and trust." Theres a core idea in there, but the expression is pretty long. Start paring down to get at the essential ideas you want to communicate. The next cut might go: "We reduce conflict while building cooperation." This is better, but it seems a little vague. The next attempt yields: "Reducing conflict and building cooperation within organizations." This is a bit snappier, but are we now trying to say too much? The message here is about both solving a problem and offering a solution. Maybe we should go with one or the other. How about this as a tagline: "Building cooperation within organizations." Its simple, benefit-oriented, and easy to remember. Youve got a meme!
Take Your Meme for a Test Drive
Once youve developed a meme, you need to take it out for a field test to see if it effectively communicates your core message. How can you tell? You know it works when it elicits a favorable response -- when people ask the right follow-up questions, and want to know more. Heres the best way to try this out. When someone asks what you do, say something like, "I have a company called Working Diplomacy. We help build cooperation within organizations." If people say, "Thats interesting! More companies need that," or "You ought to talk to our HR director," theres a good chance you have a winner. If, on the other hand, people say, "What do you mean?" or "Why do companies need that?" youre probably off track. If that happens, then its back to the drawing board.
Roll Out Your Meme
A meme isnt just a nice thing to have. Its the core expression of your business. Thats why you want to use it everywhere you possibly can. Make it the tagline for your business cards and stationery. Put it in your email sig file. Answer the phone with it:
Prospect: "Hello, I hear you folks do conflict management."
You: "Yes, we help build cooperation within organizations. Is that what youre looking for?"
Remember: the whole idea of a meme is to help prospective clients understand how you can help them. With a little work, anyone can create a powerful meme for their business. It all starts with a core question: What are the results you produce for your clients? Next, hone it down to a memorable phrase. (Make it as simple as possible.) Finally, apply it to all your marketing messages.
About the Author
Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing works with professional service businesses to help them attract new clients. His web site is a valuable resource for anyone looking for effective marketing ideas.
:To contact see details below.
robmid@actionplan.com
http://www.actionplan.com
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