Taglines position your brand. They are a few descriptive words that set your business apart from the competition and arouse interest in your product or service.

Exceptional taglines can remind potential customers about your brand without mentioning your product, service, or company name. Among the first ones that come to my mind are these: 'When you care enough to send the very best," "The quicker picker-upper," "We try harder," and "Just do it!" (Hallmark, Bounty, Avis, and Nike, respectively).

Simply hearing the tagline makes me think of the product it describes. In fact, for Bounty, I don't think of the manufacturer, but simply the product.

Basically, a tagline should communicate your company's positioning. What is the unique benefit that your product or service offers your target audience? Remember the 7-Up tagline "The Uncola"? These two words clearly identified the positioning of 7-Up as different from cola drinks. It was memorable because at the time the words could not have been used to describe another soft drink.

That characteristic is vital to a good tagline: It is clear which product it defines. In fact, the test of a good tagline is that it would not make sense if it were used to describe a competitor's product. Avis's tagline is an excellent example of using something particular about a product—in this case, being the No. 2 rental car company—and using it to define itself to its potential customers.

Michael Goodman, president of Dialogue Marketing Group, put it this way in a recent interview:

Typically, a tagline is used to communicate or explain the main positioning benefit the company or brand provides—especially when the company/brand name doesn't do a particularly good job of communicating that message. In that case, it's important to go back to the positioning statement and make sure the target audience is clearly and narrowly defined, and the benefit is really one that's important to that target audience….

Simply looking for a "catchy tagline" that customers and potential customers will remember is like looking for a joke to open a show. It's quickly forgotten unless the subject matter and substance are important to the target audience. Better to start with Marketing 101. Develop an overall marketing strategy and a solid positioning statement, and use those as the basis for communicating what's important for the business/brand.

What makes one tagline better than another? They are short, pithy, and easy to remember. As a general rule, taglines should be short and sweet, yet descriptive enough to get your message across. In many ways, they function as a three-second billboard.

The goal of a tagline is to have your company's name or product be the first that potential customers think of when making a purchasing decision. Can you name a company other than DeBeers that makes diamond jewelry? Probably not. Why? Its tagline, "Diamonds are forever," is in magazines and TV and radio advertisements.

In 500 words, anyone could craft a compelling statement about a product. But the best taglines have fewer than 10:

• They clearly state why your product or company is superior. A good tagline immediately tells potential customers why your company is better than competitors. It allows you to distinguish your company from the competition. Polaroid achieved this with the tagline, "We don't have negatives." In the days before digital cameras, this four-word phrase clearly differentiated Polaroid from other camera manufacturers.
  
  
• They provide a call to action. If your tagline can suggest an example to the customer, it will resonate with potential customers. American Express's tagline, "Don't Leave Home Without it," has made the card an essential part of many people's wallet. Their message is that sensible people carry the American Express card. This creates the image of card members who are suave and sophisticated, something most people desire to be. In the days before Skype, cell phones, and email... AT&T's tagline, "Reach Out and Touch Someone," reminded people that although family and friends might be far away, there was no reason not to stay in touch.
  
  
• They promote a positive feeling about your product or company. Your tagline is your promise. Good taglines define the emotion that accompanies or is triggered by using your product. Consider Nike's "Just Do It!" tagline. This famous line boosts confidence in Nike products by simply communicating that using Nike products can improve your performance and enhance the self-confidence. Who wouldn't want to use such a product? Remember the old M&M tagline, "Melts in your mouth, not in your hands"? Who could quarrel with such a statement? It makes you suspend your belief and forget that although the chocolate doesn't melt in your hand, the hard candy shell does.
  
  
• They create a sense that the product is greater than goods and services. Apple does this quite effectively with its "Think Different" tagline. It makes a statement about the type of person who buys an Apple computer, defining that person as someone who thinks outside the box. Another company that successfully did this was IBM with the tagline for its Thinkpad, "I think, therefore, IBM." IBM's tagline intimates that those who have the capacity to think, purchase an IBM ThinkPad laptop.

Sometimes, it's good to get some outside feedback on a proposed tagline in development, and blogs and marketing forums are an ideal way of receiving input from marketing peers. For example, "the MarketingProfs Know-How Exchange Forum has dozens of experienced marketing experts who have addressed these issues for hundreds—maybe even thousands—of products, services, and companies, and they're ready to do it for you," says Goodman.

Here are some tips for facilitating the process of coming up with a good tagline:

• Define your positioning
  • What differentiates your product or services from your competitors?
  • Why would customers purchase from your company rather than another one?
    
    
• Define your target customers in detail
  • Who is your prime audience?
  • What is their most important unmet need that your product or service can satisfy?
    
    
• Define what you want your brand to represent
  • In the future, when someone hears your company or product name, what image should come to mind?
  • Talk to your current customers to find out why they bought (or buy) from you. What is it about (your product or service) that appeals to them?

Engaging satisfied customers in the process of generating a tagline will help ensure that your tagline is unique and speaks to what differentiates your product in the eyes of your customers.