How to Create a Business Tagline or Slogan That Sells

A tagline or business slogan may seem like a just a few words next to a logo, but it can really help define and differentiate your core value proposition in the 50-milliseconds you have to capture your visitors’ attention.

A compelling business slogan can be the difference between keeping your visitors on your site or them bouncing back to where they came from and eventually finding their way to your competition.

In fact, visitors will view the tagline under your logo almost as much as your main headline. Because of this, you need to make sure it clearly expresses distinct “positioning”; that is, it should describe what you do and how you fit into the marketplace.

Legendary copywriter, Drayton Bird says: the purpose of the business slogan is to leave the key brand message in the mind of the target.

It is the sign-off that accompanies the logo. It says “If you get nothing else from this ad, get this…!”

So what makes a good business slogan?

Well, it makes sense to start off with what a business slogan isn’t…

Firstly, it should never be too clever or cryptic, don’t expect your audience to finish the thought for you or force them to try and connect the dots, it will backfire on you, big time.

Never use a tired cliche or try too hard to be funny, very few people are genuinely funny enough to pull it off. You should also side-step anything pretentious, or meaningless.

And finally, steer well clear of corporate waffle and buzzwords like “out of the box or game-changing” and the ilk. You’ll leave your audience groaning.

UK car part supplier, Euro Car Parts says it all with their business slogan, the prospect instantly understands what’s in it for them and that they needn’t look any further.

Euro Car Parts’ competitor, Unipart who recently went bust, epically failed with their clever/cryptic approach.

business slogan comparison

Euro Car Parts’ business slogan tells you exactly what you’ll get, their competitor’s cryptic business slogan leaves you baffled.

Creating a winning business tagline

Avoiding all the pitfalls of a bad tagline that I mentioned earlier should leave you with a few core elements to work with…

A winning tagline should always be 100% original.  For example, never say you’re going to give people “more” or you’re “cheaper” – everyone else says the same thing. For this reason, don’t use a business slogan generator and use it verbatim.

It should differentiate you from your competition and convey an immediate benefit to your prospects.

Your business slogan should always derive from the truth, a big mistake a lot of e-commerce stores make is that they create a business slogan of how they aspire their store to be perceived, not what they actually deliver.

In short, don’t boast and don’t lie.

business slogan example saddleback

Saddleback Leather Co. conveys its products’ desirability and durability in their tagline

Charles L. Whittier, the author of Creative Advertising, says a tagline “should be a statement of such merit about a product or service that it is worthy of continuous repetition in advertising, is worthwhile for the public to remember, and is phrased in such a way that the public is likely to remember it.”

Here are some impactful examples:

1) Always low prices. Always. (Wal-Mart)
2) When it absolutely has to be there overnight. (FedEx)
3) Hand tools so tough, they’re guaranteed forever. (Craftsman tools)
4) Earth’s biggest bookstore. (Amazon)
5) Fresh pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less—or it’s free. (Domino’s Pizza)

To come up with your tagline, you must think deeply about your value proposition — what you really offer that makes you better; and if the answer is “nothing” it may have the side-effect of making you improve what you offer until you do have something you can use.

Too many taglines reflect what makes the people who create them – the creative team and the client – feel smug rather than what will sell.

The bottom line is, a bad tagline can hurt your Shopify store’s sales rather than help them.  But don’t be afraid to keep testing until you find one that works.

Want to increase your store’s conversion rate? The Shoptimized™ Theme converts better than any other of the premium Shopify themes.

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Bradley Long

Bradley Long

Bradley is a Conversion Rate Expert and store owner since 2005. He’s helped some of the world’s most sophisticated brands to double and sometimes triple their conversion rates. He architected the #1 unofficial Shopify theme, Shoptimized™ and is also CEO of Funnel Buildr, the perfect tool for massively growing your store’s Average Order Value.

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