Many small business owners rely on promotional items to market their companies. Small and functional gifts can foster loyalty among customers so that they stand by one enterprise for years instead of bouncing from one establishment to another.
There are a few details that entrepreneurs must emblazon on all promotional marketing products. For instance, brand exposure won’t increase if small businesses don’t include logos on the sponsored items.
However, small business owners shouldn’t stop at corporate symbols when decorating their giveaways. Slogans should also be added to the promotional presents to further brand recognition.
Of course, including slogans isn’t possible if one hasn’t been created yet. Here are five tips to help create the perfect catch phrase for a small business.
Short and sweet
The most important quality of a slogan is its length. Specifically, the phrase has to be kept short to ensure that consumers will remember it. Simply, the longer the slogan is, the faster customers will forget the words. What’s more, small business owners must keep it short so that the terms can fit on small items like promotional pens.
A good rule of thumb is to use 10 words or fewer. Remember that it’s unnecessary to tell a lengthy story or even adhere to grammar rules in a slogan.
Hire some help
Some small business owners are better equipped to handle corporate matters instead of creative initiatives. As a result, creating a company tagline can be difficult for these professionals. Tom Fauls, an associate professor of advertising at the College of Communication at Boston University, told Business News Daily that entrepreneurs should hire a freelancer or advertising professional to develop a slogan. These workers understand how to create catch phrases that appeal to massive audiences, which can help a small business grow.
Ensure the phrase isn’t taken
With the sheer volume of companies out there, many slogans end up being copied both by accident and on purpose. However, owners should always try to avoid using another business’ tagline because that strategy will wind up confusing consumers. Fauls told the news source that entrepreneurs should search to see if the phrase has already been used.
“Be sure to Google your slogan and see how many people have already had your wonderful idea. Usually someone has,” said Fauls.
Go for a test drive
There’s nothing more foolhardy than creating promotional content and using it in marketing campaigns without seeing what consumers think first. After all, customers ultimately decide what advertisements work and what ones need significant improvement.
USA Today recommends researching a slogan’s effectiveness by seeking feedback. Small business owners should send their catch phrases to loyal clients, loved ones, partners and marketing experts before deciding if the taglines should be shown the the public at large. Constructive criticism will help entrepreneurs improve their slogans so that they have the optimal versions for future marketing initiatives. Ultimately, testing will ensure that owners don’t waste their time, effort and resources on useless taglines.
Write for the audience
Some small business owners only think of themselves when writing their slogans. Entrepreneurs maintain control of almost every aspect of their companies and often fail to think of others when developing new initiatives. For catch phrase creation, this usually translates to a professional writing a tagline he or she thinks is absolutely perfect, but that doesn’t mean that consumers necessarily agree.
The public should always be kept in mind when developing a slogan for a small business. Writing for an audience will help an entrepreneur create a phrase that will appeal to customers and bolster sales.