05 July 2006
"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:
1. DON'T CONFUSE SLOGANS WITH HEADLINES
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.
2. SLOGANS ARE FOR CAMPAIGNS
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.
3. BE SPECIFIC WITH ANY SLOGAN
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:
"The best in plumbing!" "Number 1 in plumbing!" etc., etc.
Some offenders don't even mention what they do:
"Helping you" "We help"
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.
4. DON'T BE 'CLEVER' OR FUNNY WITH ANY SLOGAN
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.
5. THINK ABOUT HOW THE SLOGAN WILL ACTUALLY MAKE YOU MONEY
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.
Situations where you could reasonably consider using a great slogan include:
(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;
and / or
(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.
and / or
(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.
and / or
(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.
Plumbermarketing.com can help your plumbing business sell your services, from contractors, to industrial enterprises, to trade products and supplies. You can email us here, or you can call us in the US, UK, Australia, Canada or New Zealand. Call us any time of day: our phone numbers are here.
PLUMBING SLOGANS | SLOGAN FOR PLUMBING COMPANY
Did you know that you can make substantial savings on your truck fleet wraps and plumbing advertising? It's not something we always talk much about - preferring to focus on the benefits in terms of increased revenues and profits for your business, but there are also substantial savings to be had in some of the costs too. You may not appreciate that we often get substantial savings on advertising and printing costs which we are able to pass on to our clients. Truck and van fleet wraps are already amongst the best bang for your buck when it comes to advertising your business - the number of potential customers that will see your vehicles is staggering. But it can be even more tempting when you discover that we can get wholesale printing rates and pass on the savings to you - savings of $1400 a vehicle have been achieved for trucks.
It has been a hugely successful year, and of course we have already given our festive greetings to our clients - but we would also like to wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to the hundreds of visitors we get to our website.
That is a strong claim! You are thinking, "this had better live up to the hype." And rightly so.
] 
