Know-How Exchange : Taglines/Names

We are just finishing up a marketing project for a divorce mediator, so we're very aware of the issues you're facing. Do you have a business or marketing plan? Since you don't already have a name, you might want to consider putting things in proper order, starting with the business and marketing plans.

If you're open to using outside expertise on this, we could probably do it more easily and quickly than most, since we've been immersed in this space for a few months now.

If you want to talk, let me know via email (in my profile). Where are you located?

Who is your target market? Where are they located? Why specifically would they hire YOU (and not a competitor of yours')? Are you looking for individuals or companies to hire you?

These questions (and more) are the basis of creating a business/marketing plan. And these are the questions that would be helpful to know before coming up with names that might work for your prospective clients.

You still haven't answered Jay's question about why someone might hire you instead of another divorce mediator.

It's really important to have a compelling positioning platform -- the thing that makes you different from, and better than, your competition for satisfying the unique needs of your target audience.

If you try to do it with puffery, you'll come across as not having a legitimate/real point of difference. You need to find the market niche where you have a compelling advantage and use that.

And once we have that unique positioning statement, the name will probably suggest itself. Or you can call yourself [Cityname] Divorce Mediation, and then include your positioning benefit in the tagline.

Those are all features, medii-8. What's the unique benefit for your prospective clients?

Instead of telling us about YOU, tell us about the pressing need your target audience has that you are uniquely able to satisfy.

I'm not trying to be difficult. I'm trying to lead you to a meaningful positioning platform that will help us come up with a name that will work for you.

Re: “Fairway” as brand name, or its extended “Fairway Mediation Group”.

I do agree that for small businesses it is generally better to use a name that is either descriptive or at minimum has a tone that will convey a brand’s benefits. The word “fair” reflects a primary benefit of mediation services. Therefore, it’s better than “American” or “Empire” or any such name that could be used by most anyone in most any market segment.

Descriptive names provide instant clarity and some benefits in online search (however, a good slogan and tagging content with “key word phrases” can also produce great results online) And descriptive brand names run the risk of just blending into the competitive landscape, or being difficult to defend as trademarks.

On balance though, it is probably best to be on the safe side, choose a name (and a slogan) that says who you are. For every Nike, Google, Yahoo successful case study, there are hundreds of creative original brand names that never really took off.

Best of luck.

Steve

Not familiar enough with the concept. Mediation & Divorce in the same sentence seems odd to me. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one in that position so for me you'd need a great tagline to convince me to pay attention.

Olive Branch Mediation?

Michael

The problem with "olive branch" is that it suggests peace and harmony, which isn't exactly what your target audience is seeking. In some many cases they're hostile and have little interest in peace and harmony. What they want is an affordable way to divorce. For those folks, "olive branch" is not the right symbol.

I would think that scales of justice would be a better symbol, if it's symbols we're after.

I'm not pushing scales of justice. I'm simply offering a perspective that says "olive branch" isn't exactly what you want as a metaphor for what you do, or for the most important benefit your target audience seeks.

Have you interviewed a few of your clients to see what words they use when explaining why they chose mediation (instead of litigation), and why they selected you as their mediator (instead of another mediator)? That might be a good place to start.

Your explanation helps. In an earlier post your first point was that you "... work with clients who are looking for a low-cost alternative to using an attorney/litigation for their divorce process." That's why I picked up on it.

As a secondary point, you said, "Another reason clients utilize mediation is to maintain full control of the decisions they need to make ..."

Now I hear you saying it's the other way around, and that puts a different perspective on the main benefit you offer.

I think it's really, really important that you be clear (in your own thinking and with us, if we're going to help you sort this out). Articulating your unique positioning benefit is at the core of marketing, and that's what should be driving the naming process.


P.S. Cool idea or not, "olive branch" has no relation whatsoever to maintaining control of the divorce process or outcome. Let's get the strategy right before we trip over ourselves with metaphors. (Oops! I did it!)

If those are really equal motivators, then you should go with the one that does NOT refer to price. The price will speak for itself.

But if price IS the main driver, even if it's just 52/48, then that should be the primary positioning benefit -- especially in this case, where the cost of a divorce is so much greater when you have two lawyers and lots of litigation, rather than a single mediator and high motivation to reach a compromise agreement.

For your business, you are better served having a single positioning benefit than trying to communicate two different benefits. Multiple benefits will just confuse your target audience and they'll miss both of them.

That's why it is so important to be sure you have the right one and why smart marketers conduct market research among the target audience to tease these kinds of things out.

Saying they're equal is a kind of cop-out. It means YOU see them both as equally important, but that you [probably] don't know exactly how your target audience sees them. It's very rare for two different benefits to split 50/50 in importance in legitimate quantitative research.

And if they really ARE equally important to your target audience, pick the one that doesn't refer to price, because the price will be there and speak for itself in the end.

Very interesting discussion thread and great advice from mgoodman.

It's not quite mediation, but I've done some work recently for solicitors specializing in family law. Positioning work for tag lines revealed that key motivators/benefits for clients included protection (to make sure I get a fair deal, and also from the hurt/anxiety I am feeling), maintaining positive relations with children (and family friends), and being represented by someone tough enough to give you an 'unfair' advantage and ensure you 'win' what is important to you (an element of good-cop/bad-cop - we may want to project 'fair' and 'equality', but deep down we all look out for #1).

One firm I know uses a bulldog as their mascot (very successfully) representing a love-able family pet that is loyal and tough enough to protect you (target male skew).

Some ad taglines I've used include things like "Family Matters", "Big on Family", and "protect those you love the most" (with images of happy adult, interacting with kid/s in front of nice home). They may not be business names, but the underlying positionings/motivators/benefits may help get your creative juices flowing.

Do you feel people look for the same things from mediation?
I imagine they want the same underlying benefits.

A unique and memorable benefits related name will provide you the ability to use different taglines depending on the situation and life-cycle. To begin with, you could use a functional service driven tag highlighting 'mediation'.

Finally, the biggest problem with name generation is subjectivity. You can go round and round and never be completely happy with any names. One technique I use when generating names for clients is to create a scoring grid outlining what you want the name to achieve. One of these can be how much you like the name, the rest will be more objective.

Wow... seems I had more to say than I first thought ;) Hope it helps the process.

I don't get it. What is "headway" supposed to communicate?

Let's start with what you're trying to communicate and THEN find words, phrases and metaphors that accomplish that communication objective.

Otherwise we'll be force-fitting every word in the dictionary into an ill-defined set of criteria, and we'll never know if we're on the right track.

What words do your target audience use when they describe/explain the benefit they're seeking?

I think if your business name is mostly for the benefit of prospective clients, you probably need to focus primarily on the fact that mediation is so much less expensive than a traditional litigated divorce.

That was the first benefit your clients mentioned, and it was the first thing you mentioned right up-front. That's probably a telling point.

I'm not suggesting you don't have other benefits that ultimately prove more important, only that they are not as likely to be most meaningful to a new client, or to a prospect who sees your name for the first time and decides to follow-up with you (or not).

So keep in mind the REASON you are selecting a name and what the criteria are for picking the name you'll use as your primary business identity.

Now I think you're getting close.

One of the things we thought about in our other project is that if a couple uses mediation instead of lawyers and litigation, they can save enough to buy each party a new car!

That's a lot of motivation, I would think.

So how about a name like [CityName] Mediation & Transition Center? Then add your tagline, or one close to it.

[CityName] Mediation & Transition Center
An affordable alternative for couples facing divorce

or

[CityName] Divorce Mediation Center
An affordable alternative ... with improved communication, control and closure
a little long, but the right direction

Where are you in California? You can use a county name, or a general reference/landmark (e.g., Pacific Coast, Big Sur, Half Moon Bay, Valley, Canyon, Yosemite, Wilshire, etc.).

My inclination would be to pick the best name for now and worry about whether/how to change it if/when you move to Alaska (or wherever). It's unlikely that this kind of hands-on service will ever go virtual in a big way, and personal service businesses like yours don't usually expand using the same name. (What makes your business work is YOU, not some software or system/product. How many hours can you work in a week?)

That's my reaction anyway.