Welcome to our new series, the Bar Stool Q&A. Join us as we tap into Mid-West Family’s decades of marketing experience and share top shelf tips, suggestions, and fun marketing stories! .
Meet Heather Wantoch.
She has 10+ years of experience working with business owners and creating effective marketing strategies. She is a Certified Digital Marketing Master and a Certified Social Media Strategist.
Why is a tagline important?
When a customer thinks about your business, there needs to be ONE thing that immediately comes to their mind. If you are a car dealership, your main goal is to sell cars. But, so does every other car dealership.
What is the one thing people think about when they think about you?
A tagline helps secure top of mind awareness. You want your customers to think about that one thing, and a tagline gives you the opportunity to say it.
When I say “State Farm” you sing, “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” You might also think about Peyton Manning and Brad Paisley because of their stellar branding campaign.
At any rate, you get the message that State Farm is trustworthy. That’s what they’re saying with the tagline “like a good neighbor” because you can count on your good neighbors to lend you a a couple eggs when you’re making cookies.
Your tagline is your opportunity to let people know what you want to be known for.
Why is top-of-mind awareness important?
When potential customers think about your product or service, you need to be one of the first couple of businesses they think of. If you’re not in the top three on their mental list, they aren’t even going to consider your business an option.
What would you do to help someone develop a tagline?
I would ask them questions about their mission, their core values, and what makes them different. Anybody can sell a product but what makes them special?
Is it that you’re trustworthy or is it that you’re fast and efficient?
What is at the core of your business that makes you superior?
After we work together to uncover all the details, we assemble something short and sweet to set them apart from their competitors. Plus, we can pair music and create a jingle to enhance the taglines ability to cement their brand in their customers mind.
How are good taglines different from the ones no one remembers?
Two things. First, from an audio perspective Jingles or musical images with the tagline helps our brains remember it. We were taught the ABC’s to a tune for a reason! When you think about McDonald’s, “I’m lovin it da da da daaa,” a musical image always helps.
Second, and perhaps most important, any tagline needs a solid campaign over a long period of time with the right amount of frequency to gain traction towards becoming a memorable brand.
Can you explain a musical image?
Commonly known as a jingle, it is music that is directly associated with your business.
You won’t hear the music from State Farm on Allstate commercials; it is an identifier for your business much like a logo.
Why do some businesses choose not to have a logo or tagline?
They don’t understand the value of it.
I don’t think they understand how much it can brand their business. It can be very difficult for a business owner to step outside of their business to see how their best customers view it.
That’s one of the reasons I love my job. I can work with business owners and help them develop a tagline quicker than they can themselves because they are too close to their business and can get overwhelmed. It’s hard to read the label when you’re in the bottle!
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- Bar Stool Q & A: Discussing Taglines With Heather Wantoch – Master Marketing Mixologist