I was recently driving behind a van belonging to a business and underneath the business name was the tagline “When Quality Matters”.
It is a great tagline, however, I was somewhat unconvinced they would live up to it, as the lettering was faded and peeling off the van.
It gave the impression that despite their promise, they weren’t really committed to ‘quality’. They quite possibly do provide a high quality service – but unfortunately my first impression of them defied that promise.
I am sure you can think of many businesses, large and small, who promise one thing and deliver another. A tagline or motto, is in theory supposed to be a summary of a company’s mission or purpose, and should deliver on the promise it advertises.
Whether or not you have a tagline, somewhere in your promotional content, you will be telling people what it is you intend to do for them. And if you want to stand out from the crowd, it is good to find a niche or a specific offer that you can provide, which you might develop into a tagline. But it is very important to consider carefully what your business promises.
You have probably heard the phrase ‘under promise, over deliver’? While I am not suggesting that you aim low, it is important to ensure that you do not promise something that is impossible for you to provide. Your customers are going to be much more impressed if something is completed or delivered earlier than expected – or if they receive something extra that they weren’t expecting – than if they keep hearing excuses from you as to why you haven’t met an expectation.
Some businesses have grand promises that they fully expect will sometimes be broken (for example, “we will deliver in under 30 minutes”). However, in addition, they have in place a policy and practice for compensating the customer if they cannot keep their promise. So for their customers, it is a ‘win/win’ situation.
For most small businesses though, it is far more prudent and cost-effective to develop promises that can be kept and that continue to hold your business in high esteem.
