Seven Steps to Create a Great Tagline

Your financial advisory firm in one phrase:

“The happiest place on Earth.”

“Save money. Live better.”

“You’re in good hands.”

“It’s everywhere you want to be.”

“A diamond is forever.”

Great taglines stick in your mind and will forever be associated with the company it represents. A tagline tells potential clients something about you, your advisory firm and how you help people. It needs to be memorable and set the tone for your business. It may help some clients choose between you and another advisor and establish brand awareness.

How do you create the perfect tagline? Here are seven steps and guidelines that will get you heading in the right direction.

1. Brainstorm

This step is just what it says. Take some time to write out what your business does, what benefits you provide, what makes you different, and what is your focus or target. Don’t leave anything out at this step and don’t edit. The goal here is to get it all out on paper and get a few different ideas. Some advisors may have an idea of what they want their tagline to be and others may be starting from scratch. By having a brainstorming session, you can at least see if there is a reoccurring theme that keeps coming up.

2. Be clear and concise

You don’t have to be overly creative when developing your tagline. There is no rule that says it must be cute or catchy. It helps for it to show a little personality, but you also don’t want to confuse people with strange or complicated wording. It is a good idea to consider working in an action word into your tagline: investing, helping, creating. This action word will help show people what you do.

3. Stay relevant

Try to keep any current trends or fads out of your company’s tagline. What is relevant today may not work in the years to come. You want your brand to have staying power and not seem dated or old-fashioned when the next year comes. This guideline is especially true in the financial industry. As markets change and investors’ feelings change, you do not want to have to change your brand identity with it.

4. Revise and edit

Keep working with it. Change things around and don’t hesitate to put it down and come back to it in a few days. A tagline will become part of your company’s brand and what you represent. Make sure you are happy with what you have.

5. Ask for feedback

Get those around you involved in the process. Be sure to have associates in the firm involved. You can also ask friends, family and your spouse. Having outside people take a look and give you feedback may provide another perspective that you have not thought of. You can also ask your top clients for their preferred options or if they have any input. They are your target audience after all, and may be able to provide valuable insight as to what they think represents your business.

6. Follow a few guidelines

Keep it short. Less than ten words. It can be a sentence or two short statements, but not a paragraph.

Remember it isn’t about you. It is about what you provide and the benefits that clients receive.

Avoid clichés or commonly used catch phrases.

Be sure to ask yourself, “So what?” If you can’t answer this one question, then keep working and go back a revise.

7. Use an example

I worked through this process with a client of mine, Oatley & Diak, LLC. They are a family run registered investment advisory, and family values are their focus. After listing out several options, we narrowed it down to their top three and then they asked for feedback from key people. Those key people chose “Investing in Family Values.” They took the new tagline to their board and it was approved. This particular tagline is perfect for them. They knew that having a family-centered focus was important, and, being a financial firm, the term “investing” also worked nicely in more than one way. It is short, it tells the benefit that they provide, and it rings true to their firm.

If you don’t have a tagline go ahead and challenge yourself to get started and create one. This process can take a few weeks or a few months. Set aside the proper time to create this powerful statement that can help define your brand.