Jeremy Kaplan
Imagine having a friend who talks the way people in commercials do. Most probably, you wouldn’t stand to be around that person for too long. It would be annoying and exhausting.
So, why do so many businesses continue to fill their ads, emails, and promotional content with meaningless jargons and marketing blabbering?
The problem is that most marketers want to deliver their messages in a creative and unique way. They want to stand out and make their brands noticed and remembered. However, most of them spend too much time on trying to be clever instead of ensuring that their message is clear and easy to understand.
Sure, no one says that writing compelling business taglines is simple. So, it can feel tempting to reach out to your library of cliches and use one when you’re out of ideas. But, please, don’t! You are doing more harm than good to your business.
Here are ten of the worst marketing clichés that you should stop using.
- “Built from the Ground up.”
This phrase is usually used to convey a strength or benefit of a product or company. While it’s nice that you’re proud of what you’ve accomplished, this isn’t necessarily a strong differentiator. Your competitors have built their business from the ground up too.
Try to be more specific about the benefits of your products. Your prospects should understand what’s in it for them from the first glance.
- “Do More with Less.”
You couldn’t be vaguer than this.
Express more clearly what people can accomplish if they choose your business over the competition.
- “Efficient and Effective.”
That’s a nice alliteration that prospects will probably remember. But, they won’t associate it with your business because it’s too hazy. It doesn’t say what or how you can help them.
Highlight what your customers will gain after using your product or service. By doing so, you will also suggest the idea of improved efficiency and effectiveness.
- “Best-of-Breed” or “World-Class.”
Are you familiar with the customer-centric approach? Well, this copy is definitely not about them, but about you, and how you are the best of your kind in your niche. It can be a recipe for disaster. That’s why it would be best to leave your clients to do the praise for you.
Turn this copy around and make it about your buyers.
- “We Do XYZ, so You Don’t Have to.”
Obviously, people purchase your product/service because they can’t or don’t want to do something. You don’t need to tell them that.
Instead, you should experiment with different positioning statements and see to which one your prospects relate the most. Then, build your tagline around those.
- “For X, by X.”
At first glance, this kind of message tells people that you’re just like them; you understand their needs, struggles, desires, etc. You’re the perfect solution, and they should pick you over your competitors. However, this business tagline says absolutely nothing about what you do or how are you going to help them.
Ask yourself, does the fact that my products are made by X do matter my audience? If yes, then why?
- “One-Stop Shop.”
According to this cliché, people can find almost everything they need in one place. While you may offer an all-in-one product or service, you still need to be more specific than that.
Tell customers exactly what they can expect to find when they’re choosing your business.
- “The Most Cutting-edge and Innovative Solution of the Future.”
By default, any offering has some novelty in it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be on the market. You don’t need to flaunt this, especially not by using jargons. Sure, these words held some meaning when they were first mentioned, but now they are attached to almost anything and have become just empty words.
Choose words that are familiar and easy to understand by your audience and that you would use if you were to speak face-to-face.
- “We Go the Extra Mile.”
Indeed, customers want high-quality products and for you to do your best to deliver them.
Point out how you go out of your way to serve them, and be precise about what makes you different.
- “X People Can’t Be Wrong.”
People fancy facts and statistics. So, making your customers proof of how good your products are is an excellent way to capture their attention. On the other hand, simply throwing numbers is not enough. You also have to say how you’ve helped them. Be clear about what your customers achieved by using your products/services.
Final Word
In the end, building a good tagline isn’t just about how skilled you are with words, but how well you understand your audience. Smart marketers take their time to find the perfect combination. Lazy marketers choose the easy way out by picking a cliché phrase. Which one do you think will be more memorable?
