Should You Use Your Slogan or Brand Name in Your Marketing?

By: Stephanie Tuesday November 1, 2016 comments Tags: Marketing, Copywriting, Lead attraction, Client attraction, Email marketing, Content marketing, Public relations

 
Your brand name or slogan is amazing. It's catchy, it's clever, it captures the essence of your business, and maybe it even has added alliterative appeal to boot.
 
So now that you've got such a great catchphrase, why wouldn't you use it as a selling point in your marketing?
 
I've seen several entrepreneurs do that, and if you're planning to follow that trend and use your slogan as a selling point, then I'll have to call on the gamer nerd side of me and give you an important piece of advice, as explained by Sans the Skeleton: ​
 


 
Before you type your slogan into your sales page, I want you to stop and ask yourself: "Do I know something my clients don't?"
  
Chances are, the answer is "Yes, yes I do."
  
More specifically, the answer is, "I know what my slogan means, but my clients don't."
 
You know that your slogan means your client will gain a deeper understanding of themself, and will know exactly how to maintain their energy through the day, work at peak efficiency, and have a more loving and less judgmental outlook on themself and others.
 
Or you know your slogan means that instead of having to start their marketing efforts anew every time they need a new client, they'll have a steady stream of clients coming in, so they'll never have to start over again.
 
But will your clients know that, even if they've never heard of your business before? Or will your slogan simply make them wonder what you're talking about?
 
If the answer is the latter, then Houston, we have a problem.
 
Does this mean you can't use your slogan in your marketing materials?
 
Let's test it and find out.
 
Look at your slogan again. Now back to this blog post. Now back to the slogan. Now back to this pop-culture-reference-laden blog post.
 
Sadly, your slogan isn't this blog post, but it could be a good selling point... IF, and only if, a person who's never heard of your business before can take one look at it and know exactly what you mean.
 
Does your slogan tell your potential clients EXACTLY what benefit they'll receive by working with you, or explain precisely what problem you'll solve?
 
While you're answering this question, bear in mind that I'm not talking about the process, or about the root causes of your clients' problem.
 
Your clients may not know that they even HAVE the root cause you address, so they aren't motivated to pay for a solution to that problem. And they absolutely do not care how your product or program works, until they know what it will do for them.
 
So when you're evaluating whether or not to use your slogan as a selling point in your marketing, ask yourself: "Is this slogan self-explanatory, and does it address a problem or desire that my clients KNOW they have?"
 
Here's an example of a good slogan.
 
As a client, one slogan that immediately caught my eye was "date men, not boys". You're welcome for that insight into my early dating life.
 
The phrase was only four words long, but it was clear and self-explanatory, and it perfectly encapsulated the problems and desires of women whose bad relationship patterns attracted immature potential partners.
 
Important note: you may notice that that slogan does NOT talk about detecting the problems in your internal relationship patterns, or about the exercises the clients will need to do in order to get results. It talks about the surface problems, the symptoms that they KNOW they have, and the RESULT they want to create.
 
That is the difference between a slogan, brand name or catchphrase that you can use as a selling point in your marketing materials, and one that will probably cost you clients and tempt me to imitate a V-8 commercial if I catch you using it.
 


 
Do you use your slogan, brand name or catchphrase in your marketing?
​ 
Did this post make you wonder if you SHOULD be using it?
 
Get some feedback in the comments!

 

About the Author: Stephanie

Stephanie is a writer and coaching program design specialist. She helps coaches to design lucrative and life-changing group programs, so they can help more people, make more money, and have more time freedom.