Art on the Marketing Professionals Know How Exchange needs a slogan for a hardware store. The client wants to promise affordable prices and quality products, but, as Art said, that’s pretty “cliche”. Anybody (and everybody) promises quality, more for less, or affordability – it’s not remarkable in any way. He’s struggling because the client insists that quality and price must be included. He’s got slogans such as “price and quality – always the best” and “top quality – within your budget.”
The trouble is that this approach is “broken marketing.” The slogans are all generic. They don’t tell a story, or set the company apart in any way that’s noteworthy or memorable. They’ll never compete on price or quality. The big stores can beat them on price, and they probably all sell the same stuff.
Don’t Be Generic: Specialize
What if, instead, the company decided to specialize. Offer special services, hard to find tools, or organized the store by tasks: Here’s everything you need to fix a leaky sink.
Or, what if they offered help with your projects? Or classes for do-it-yourselfers who need lots of help doing it themselves.
What about delivery?
Maybe a rent-a-hardware expert for people who can’t (or don’t want to) do it themselves.
Have a Hardware Help Desk/Genius Bar
A real-life example, I have a drying rack (for hand-washing) that’s broken. I have no idea how to fix it, but it would be simple if I knew how. How about someone to help me out? I’d happily pay for it.
How About a Hardware Hotline?
A slogan (and strategy) like that would get people talking. “Hey, that’s the store with the hotline!” “I’d been struggling with my new bookshelves for hours, but the Mr. Fixit guy showed me what to do in ten minutes.”
How can you stand out?