Question

Topic: Taglines/Names

Need Slogan For Plumbing Company

Posted by 1929chrysler on 2/20/2013 at 7:25 PM ET 375 Points
The name of my company is 1st Choice Plumbing and Drain. I would like a short memorable slogan that coincides with what we stand for. And that is we like to give our customers options to choose from. We also would like to be their 1st choice among our competitors! Any suggestions are much appreciated.
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/20/2013 at 7:34 PM Member
    A few more details would be appreciated:
    - where are you located?
    - who are your clients (residential, commercial, apartment, etc.)?
    - why is choice important? When I call a plumber, I generally have a problem that needs fixing. What types of options would you provide, when, and why?
    - why would you be first choice amongst your competition?
    - what's your specialty?
  • Posted by 1929chrysler on 2/20/2013 at 8:03 PM Author
    Located in Cleveland Ohio.
    Clients are mostly residential.
    When a customer has a problem with let's say a hot water heater. I'll give three choices. A six year warranty, a nine year warranty and a 12 year warranty. The same can be said of a toilet repair. Does the customer want a minor toilet rebuild a major toilet rebuild or a new toilet all together. What makes us different is that we don't force just one solution down a customers throat like most companies do. It's their money on how they want to fix a problem and that is usually a good, better and best choice. Not in every situation but in most.

    We are different than our competition in that we will only send a licensed plumber to a customer. People would be shocked to know that most technicians are not licensed.

    I came to this site to seek expert advise. Do you not think giving customers choices is not a good idea in trying to market our brand?
  • Posted by mgoodman on 2/20/2013 at 8:25 PM Moderator
    My gut reaction is that the "choices" thing is a feature of what you offer, not a benefit. It's not clear to me, as a prospective customer, why a choice is good for me. You're supposed to be the expert. If I have a problem and I've called you in to fix it, can't you just fix it? Do you offer your opinion of the best choice? Is it always the most expensive option?

    Of course if there are legitimate options, I'd like to have a vote -- especially if I'm paying for it. But to me the "choices" thing isn't really a selling point or a benefit. A benefit would be "fast, professional service with a guaranteed result" -- assurance that you'll solve my problem the best way.

    And do I really care if a plumber is licensed? I didn't realize that was an issue. Are unlicensed plumbers common? Are they any less competent than licensed plumbers? Is this something required by law, or is it some kind of professional association or union thing?

    I think you need to re-think your positioning benefit before we go off on a tagline development project.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/20/2013 at 8:30 PM Member
    A choice may or may not be a significant benefit to your audience. If someone's looking for an inexpensive solution, they'd likely hire an inexpensive plumber, and not simply hire you and ask you for the cheapest option. Conversely, if someone's looking for top-notch results, they'd hire a top-notch plumber (and not simply pay more). From my experience, it'll be hard to say, "We offer various price points based on your budget". However, if your experience is that this is a strong benefit that people sit up and take notice of, then definitely focus on this point. In general, price options isn't a strong benefit. A specialty is. Availability is. Wide range of materials on-hand is.

    If you only send licensed plumbers, how does this equate with results that your customer can notice? What's the downside to not using a licensed plumber in your region?
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 2/20/2013 at 8:36 PM Member
    I do see problems with a multi-tier pricing system. It implies cheap work unless the customer selects the top price. You never want to provide a "inferior" solution or service. So maybe something like ...

    1st Choice Plumbing and Drain
    Only Licensed Plumbers - Only Fair Prices
  • Posted by 1929chrysler on 2/20/2013 at 8:55 PM Author
    Very good points. I appreciate your expertise. I guess that's why I'm a plumbing expert and you are the branding experts. Perhaps I shouldn't focus on the choices idea in the slogan. It does make people feel comfortable in making decisions though. I've had many people tell me "You are the only plumber who ever gave us these kinds of choices."

    By law an Ohio plumbing company has to have a master plumbers license but its employees are not required to be licensed. Unlicensed technicians are not as competent as licensed plumbers. To be licensed you need to have years of experience and go through vigorous testing before being allowed to have the title Master Plumber.(licensed). At the present time we only have licensed plumbers we send out. Now, once we grow we may have to hire unlicensed people to serve the needs of our customers.

    Perhaps we should focus on being the experts in our field? It is difficult to have a specialty in our field so we can't really claim to have one. I'm open to any and all ideas.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 2/20/2013 at 9:06 PM Moderator
    You may need to hire an [unlicensed] Master Marketer for this one. :)

    One thing you might consider is looking to see what successful plumbers say/promise in their advertising and taglines in other markets. It may give you some good ideas that can be applied in Cleveland.

    I'd also urge that you try to articulate an important benefit that's either unique to you or that nobody else in your market is claiming. We've successfully branded and differentiated products that seemed to defy differentiation, so I have high confidence it can be done. It just takes some focused attention -- and perhaps experienced outside marketing help. (How about branded polyester fiber, titanium dioxide, silver halide film for x-rays, insurance, etc.?)

  • Posted by J. Weiss on 2/21/2013 at 5:33 PM Accepted
    I completely agree with the posts above and think you probably shouldn't give the customer a "choice of quality" when fixing their problems. I think it's a good idea initially but the results could be disasterous. Who draws the line at good, better, best? Each problem is going to be unique and there is a fine line between the customer being right and you losing their business because of it.

    Years ago I had a plumbing business as a client and we did a survey to determine his customer base. (most were women!) We also asked clients what they wanted in a tech who came to fix their plumbing issues. My client was dead set on saying that his employees were regularly drug-tested and drug free, would wear booties in the house, keep their mess to a minimum, would not smoke or curse at any time and if they did the customer was not charged at all. His trucks were also completely stocked so as not to waste the customer's time having to drive for most parts or tools...plus he didn't charge by the hour. I personally liked this one because I have had techs come to my house and mill around and go get parts or tools etc. and my bill was outrageous.

    Another thing he wanted to make sure we noted was that as the owner he would always call the customer and check to make sure everything was done correctly and timely. He was also very proud that his employees were all certified and licensed plumbers.

    Now, after writing this novella, I don't have an answer for you about the tagline or name. ha! sorry.

    It's something you will have to do after you have decided what your specialty is going to be. then make sure you do a marketing plan. I have been in the marketing and PR biz for 25 years and truly believe you should spend the money and hire a marketing firm or freelancer even if it's part time. Too many small business owners think they can do their own marketing and it's not wise. There isn't enough time for you to run a successful business and do the marketing you really need to do to launch your shop the right way and keep the marketing going. It's worth the money and if you can't afford to farm it out then you may need to rethink and refigure some things. GOOD LUCK :)
  • Posted by 1929chrysler on 2/22/2013 at 10:24 PM Author
    Ok.. All points well taken on the option/choices focus. Mgoodman... I took your advice and searched all the major players here. Surprisingly none of them have tag lines except for one. Benjamin Franklin Plumbers tag line is "The Punctual Plumber". The others have none. How important is a tagline?

    For mine I was thinking "Let Our Experts Fix it Right the 1st Time" Hence, 1st Choice Plumbing.

    J Weiss... Where does one find a freelance marketing expert?
  • Posted by Moriarty on 2/23/2013 at 2:18 AM Member
    Now for the following you will need a carefully worded contract.

    We fix it first time, every time. Or your money back.

    Or you could do a Domino's?

    We're with you in half an hour or your money back.

  • Posted by J. Weiss on 2/27/2013 at 3:20 PM Member
    Get online and search for freelance marketers in your area or call your chamber of commerce and i bet they can offer some quality choices for freelance marketers. I'm in St. Louis and there are professional marketing groups here and they usually have members who are qualified and have a good reputation. I have also called some of our major universities and smaller colleges to speak with the professors to see if they know of any grad students or any other people in the field. You just need to do some research on it.
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Taglines/Names)