Know-How Exchange : Taglines/Names

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A Sandwich Delivered
Lunch 2 U

Dear drichmonddonna,

Lunch services eh?

Play your cards right here and guess what? You'll never be out
of business. Great food is something that people tell other people about—which then creates word of mouth, so every dollar you spend on marketing then pulls more than its weight, which means all you have to then do is count money.

Everybody say "Kerching!"

To create word of mouth you need to offer great products that excite and delight people; you need to offer something extra, something more than has been ordered, and you need to be
hush-hush about telling people about these extras, something
that then creates an increased aura of expectation and
excitement.

Cool, huh? There's even a word for this effect, this—little extra.
Bet you didn't know that, did you?

Lagniappe (pronounced lan-yap) is a Creole, French Cajun word that basically means "a little bit extra that wasn't asked for!"

Personally, I love the concept of lagniappe. It smokes! But here's the sad part: too few businesses take advantage of it. Can you believe that? I can't. But it's true.

But, when it comes to business, here's the sadder, bigger problem.

You can come up with all the hip, happening, hot names for your service (indeed, for any service) that you want to—any business can. You can–should you so choose—spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on marketing and branding and naming.

Or y'all can hear it from me—FOR FREE!—in just six words.

And these are six words that will, if you pay attention to them
and do what you are best at, will make you rich. Ready?

Catchy is not a selling strategy. Read that again.

If I'm sitting in my office in Richmond (or wherever you are), and
it's nearly lunchtime and I'm ravenously hungry and new in town
and need food delivered to my office, I'm going to be looking for services that deliver sandwiches, or wraps, or whatever appeals, as would, I suspect, most people.

As much as many hundreds of thousands of business owners like them to, people don't hunt for goods and services by name, they hunt by category. So, my best advice to you is to place your offer in front of your starving crowd in a way that appeals to them, not in a way that appeals to you as the service provider.

It doesn't matter whether there are 1,000 points on offer or 25, my answer to questions on this forum from anyone that thinks they need a catchy name is the same: catchy is not a selling strategy.

Nor is glitzy. Nor is hip, or edgy, or urban, or fresh, or even, where it's at daddy-o. I'm not trying to be a wise ass here, I'm telling you what I think will be most effective for your business,
not what you want to hear.

So, just tell people what you offer; be the best you can be; offer great service, with a happy, engaging smile. Just use your name and the words "delicious lunches delivered by hand".

Give away free cookies. Or free sodas. Or free coffee and chips.
Or whatever, and make this your offer of lagniappe. Then, you'll make yourself worthy of being remarked on by your customers to other people. People who will then, in turn also become your customers.

And so on.

Do all this, frequently and consistently, do it with love and affection and make your customers fall in love with your service because you are the best at what you do.

Do all this (and do it well) and your phone will never stop ringing.

Good luck to you.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA