Five reasons to rethink your plumbing slogan

"What is the best slogan for my plumbing business?" It is something we are asked a lot.  But you need to be careful when using slogans to promote your plumbing business.  Here are five reasons why:

 

 

A slogan (tagline or strapline) is something that appears at the bottom or the end of an advertisement.  Often you will see it next to the business logo.  However some plumbing businesses use their 'slogan' as the only message in outdoor advertisements, or on work vehicles, or even in print.  This can be a huge mistake.  If the first thing you think about when considering an advertising campaign is what slogan to use, you would be better asking what headline you should use.  Headlines are much more important for selling your plumbing services - and a whole new topic.  Think about the first thing you say, more people will see it.

 

 

When you see slogans being used effectively, it is normally because they tie a much larger and on-going campaign together.  Often this involves TV and radio advertising.  However most plumbing businesses don't use campaigns on this scale, nor do they advertise extensively on television.  This can mean that in a print advertisement, such as the Yellow Pages, they are basically wasting some of the space they have paid for.  Concentrate on the rest of the ad instead.

 

 

This doesn't apply just to plumbers, it's a problem for many businesses.  They choose slogans that are meaningless, interchangeable, and basically hopeless.  If one of the supposed benefits of a slogan is to help people remember the name of your business, then how can it help if dozens of businesses share the same slogan?  And the problem is, they do:

 

 

Some offenders don't even mention what they do:

 

 

These are all hopeless.  They won't sell your plumbing services.  Instead any slogan you use should offer a benefit for your customers in a distinctive way.

 

 

Trying to be clever or funny is the fastest route anyone can take to a dreadful slogan.  And a bad slogan can actually cost you money.  Here are several reasons why 'clever' or funny slogans are usually terrible:

 

(a)  The slogan doesn't actually end up clever or funny.  And nothing is worse than appearing stupid or actively unfunny.

 

(b)  Your prospective customers are interested in plumbing - they are going to choose a trustworthy, competent plumber over a clown any day.

 

(c)   You only have a few words to make your impact.  When you are using the same words to try to be clever or funny this can often take precedence over the actual sales message.

 

 

If you have an existing slogan or are thinking of using one, then you should think very hard about how the slogan will make you money.  If you are in any doubt about it, it is probably a safer bet not to use a slogan at all.

 

A great slogan should help differentiate you from your competition, offer some kind of benefit to your customers, and help make your plumbing business more memorable.  These are obvious ways in which it can help customers to choose you - anything else might just be a waste of valuable advertising space.

 

 

 

 

(a)  You already have a recognizable slogan, and have used it for more five years.  If a large number of existing customers and potential customers already recognise your slogan (ask them) then obviously don't ditch it.  But do think about its prominence in your advertising - there may be more effective ways of selling your plumbing services with the same media space;

 

 

(b)  You are a dominant business in your market of choice.  If you have already established yourself as a dominant position then you may be better able to engage in 'brand marketing' with an effective slogan.

 

 

(c)  You are running a large cross-media advertising campaign with a view to achieving market dominance.  If such a market position is anticipated, and expect to run similar campaigns over a long period of time then it would be understandable that you think ahead about how you tie them together.

 

 

(d)  You are marketing in media where there are few contraints on space and time.  Provided that it is a decent slogan then it will do no harm if you are using it in media like a mailout and on your website, where additional space is a much cheaper commodity.