How to Name Your Life Sciences Company: Consider Using a Tagline

This is part 10 in our series on naming your life sciences company or product. For the previous posts in this series, click here.

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I’m lovin’ it™
Is it™
Just Do It™
Get it right. Get it now. Get the door.™
Think Different
The Miracles of Science™
The World’s Local Bank™
Natural Mineral Water
Always Low Prices.

You may recognize these taglines without the company names. (If you don’t, that’s OK; in order, they are McDonald’s, Coke, Nike, Domino’s Pizza, Apple Computer, Monsanto, HSBC, Evian and Wal-Mart.)

You’ll also notice that these are existing and very successful companies that use a tagline with their name.

When an existing (and successful) company uses a tagline, it seems inspired. Often, it’s impossible to think about the company without their tagline.

When you first launch your company or product, most people will not know you. For that reason, a tagline can help your potential customers and partners understand what it is you do. When you’re starting out, the tagline might refer to your product or service.

You can use your tagline to make a promise or to outline your unique selling proposition (USP). The USP that Domino’s and FedEx used helped those small businesses become billion dollar corporations in a short period of time.

The Federal Express USP, “When it absolutely and positively has to be there overnight,” told potential customers that if they want to be certain their mail will be there the next day, they MUST use Federal Express.

Domino’s USP was “Fresh hot pizza delivered within 30 minutes― guaranteed― or it’s free!” That USP has become the stuff of legend. Many attribute the rapid rise and dominance of Domino’s to that simple sentence. It generated enough wealth for Tom Monaghan, Domino’s founder, to buy the Detroit Tigers, collect classic cars, give generously to his favorite charities, and be financially independent and secure at a relatively young age.

Now that we’ve inspired you to use a tagline, how do you come up with a great one? Here are some ideas:

• Define and articulate what you can deliver, what you aspire to be. Use the tagline to make an honest connection with your customer.
• Ask your customers what they want. Use your tagline to tell your customers you are giving them what they want.
• Again, brainstorm as many ideas as possible. Don’t edit yourself initially, you’ll do that later.
• Finally, make sure your tagline can work everywhere. Once you’ve reduced your choices to your top three to five, run some tests. Will the tagline fit on your business card? How does it work with your advertising? Test the tagline.

If you’re trying to determine which of your taglines is the best, ask yourself:

• Does the tagline tell the customer more about our product or service? Does it convey benefits to the customer? Does it help make the brand name more tangible?
• Is the tagline emotional? Really good taglines go straight for the jugular and grab us emotionally.
• Does the tagline have energy? Does it make you feel like something is happening or will happen? Does it include a call to action?

By the way, coming up with a tagline is hard. It’s as hard as coming up with a great name. A great tagline (like a name) occasionally falls out of the sky and lands right in your lap. You wake up one morning and there it is. Most of us aren’t that lucky.

Companies succeed and fail with and without taglines. And while having a tagline isn’t necessary to growing your business, a good one can positively contribute to the identity and success of a company.

Finally, don’t make the mistake that some companies do. Don’t use your mission statement as your tagline! Your mission statement is how your company sees itself. Your tagline is how you want your company to be seen by others.

Resource:
Ad Slogans, the world’s most comprehensive advertising slogans database, has a “sloganalysis” tool that asks 10 questions to score your tagline.