How to Create the Best Business Slogan

With all that a new business owner has on his plate, developing a good slogan or tagline may not be a top priority. But if there’s a lot of competition in your market, a good slogan could be the thing that separates you from the competition.

“Your slogan is shorthand for what you do,” explained Tom Fauls, Associate Professor of Advertising at Boston University’s College of Communication.

Fauls, who was an advertising executive before joining BU, said that when creating a slogan, it’s important to err on side of relevance rather than cleverness.

“Your slogan should express to people why they should care about your business,” he told BusinessNewsDaily. “While memorable and clever slogans are good, they are not effective if they are not relevant to what you do.”

And, while you might think that your slogan needs to be short, Fauls counters that many of the most memorable slogans have been quite lengthy, actually. “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking,” isn’t necessarily brief, but it certainly has been effective, he said.

Here are some memorable and effective slogans, both long and short, that you've probably heard:

• Breakfast of champions
• When you care enough to send the very best
• When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight
• It takes a licking and keeps on ticking
• Melts in your mouth, not in your hands
• Let your fingers do the walking
• Plop, plop, fizz. fizz
• Have it your way

Were you able to recall the company names ? That's what defines these slogans as effective.

Fauls said the trick to creating a good slogan is pinpointing what makes your business special.

“It takes a lot of work to come up with something truly special,” he said.

Even when you do come up with something you think is great, you have to make sure no one else is using it. A quick check in an Internet search engine should give you an idea.

“Be sure to Google your slogan and see how many people have already had your wonderful idea. Usually someone has,” Fauls said. Once you do come up with something you like that isn’t already being used, you should copyright your idea in your state and on federal level.

Fauls said that small businesses may find that a freelance marketing or advertising person could be of assistance in coming up with a good slogan. He recommends that business owners pay for that kind of service on a project basis (rather than hourly) to put a cap on the cost of developing a slogan or tagline up front.

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