Here in Eugene, Oregon we’re starting a green business network: GreenLane. We need a tagline, and our various members have not come up with anything yet. Can you help?

We want to attract businesses who are either already making strides towards sustainability, or would like to move this direction. They would care about our network because there is nothing like this in Eugene, even though Oregon prides itself in being “green.” They would also care because we will market ourselves accordingly, to attract more business. Because they need help knowing how to become more sustainable, and we will offer resources to that end. Because they want to network with other green businesses to pass business, collaborate, and encourage one another. Because Lane County (which is where Eugene resides), and Oregon in general, will be working towards building greentech clusters that bring more and more business into the area, encourage sustainability, etc.
There are no other such networks in this area. The goal-to bring more business to ourselves and each other and to build sustainability in our region.

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Jay’s Answer: Try these on for size:

• Better Choices For Your Home
• Not Just A Business. A Green Business.
• Excellence Assured. Naturally.
• Businesses Aligned With Your Values.
• Green Business. Not Just An Idea. Our Core Value.

Would Allsort construction be a good and sufficient construction name for a company?

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Jay’s Answer: Names for businesses fall into one of two categories: abstract or concrete names.

Abstract names (such as Nike, Coke, or Apple) don’t tell prospective clients anything about what they do, and instead need to spend time (and money) educating prospects about the name’s meaning. The advantage of abstract names is flexibility (in case the business model should change) and uniqueness.

Concrete names (Joe’s Auto Repair, South China Seas Restaurant, etc.) describe what the business does. As a result, less branding is needed to tell people about the company.

But what is the right name (once you’ve decided on the category)? The answer is the one that appeals to your prospective clients.

Allsort Construction does tell me that you’re in the construction business. But it doesn’t tell me if you specialize in anything. Perhaps “Allsort” means that you’ll do all sorts of construction, and don’t really have a specialty. If so, then Allsort does say that clearly. (Aside: being able to do any sort of job means to the average person that you don’t do any one thing very well – you’re the jack-of-all-trades, but perhaps the master of none. People looking to hire someone first looks to the specialist, the person who does a specific type of work regularly, not just occasionally).

However, is Allsort is good name? I don’t believe it is, but mostly not because of the name but because of your marketing “strategy”. As I tell my clients, a name is one of the last things a business needs. What it needs first is to clearly identify who the target customer is, where they’re located, what problem of theirs do you solve, what makes your solution/offering better than your competition, and why they should trust you. Once you’ve articulated this, then you’re well on your way to creating a name that both is memorable and effective.

It is difficult to create iPhone applications as you need to learn the iPhone SDK and a new programming language called Objective-C.

(Aside: using X/HTML still requires a certain level of skill set for your users, but not as high as Objective-C. If you really want to lower the bar to entry, consider a graphic front end to the whole process – so the user can be anyone who can use a WSYIWYG system that you create. That’ll make it possible for non-programmers to create iPhone Applets).

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Jay’s Answer: The obstacle that you may have in your tagline is that people may not know what they need to create an iPhone app. They may assume it’s techno-heavy or may not. Many of your suggested taglines are talking about difficulty/expertise required.

As your software is currently packaged, you’re offering a way for web designers (or others who are already HTML-savvy) to write a web app. Your “Create iPhone apps in HTML” states this, but doesn’t answer the question “…but is that good?”.

For example: Create iPhone Apps In A Day, speaks to the benefit they get (speed of development).

We are looking for a catchy tag line for a medical mobile imaging business. We go to doctor’s offices, nursing homes and small hospitals and provide ultrasound and imaging services for their patients.Convenient for the doctors and patients.

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Jay’s Answer: Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

• Testing Convenience For Your Patients
• Imagine No More Waiting.
• Bring Imaging Service In-House
• Get Results Quicker. Fast and Easy.

We are starting an integral home services company. Services include:plumbing, gardening, electric, general maintenance, repairs, cleaning, etc) Our prospective clients are middle to high income homes and small business as well as apartments and condos. We are trying to get customers that would pay a little more than regular service companies, in exchange for a good service, good presentations, security, and punctuality. Could you give us some ideas of good taglines?

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Jay’s Answer: Here are some tagline ideas to play with:

• Service Beyond Your Expectations
• 4 Star Service For Your Everyday Needs
• Your Property Is Our #1 Concern

I will be opening a small assisted living facility for 6 elderly residents. It is located in an upscale neighborhood and we will provide assistance with the activities of daily living 24/7. The company name is Space Coast Assisted Living and we are calling the home Hammock Pointe Manor. Typically the elderly parent is the resident, but it is usually the family that makes the decision on the facility. We are thinking the keywords comfort, compassion, confidence in a home-like setting are what we are trying to portray. I can’t quite condense it into a memorable tagline though.

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Jay’s Answer: The key for a tagline is to have it fit your business like a glove, otherwise the tagline is generic. All assisted living businesses should evoke trust, caring, comfort, safety, and confidence. That’s a given. But what about your facility makes it different/better from the other facilities people can choose from? Who specifically would be an ideal client for your facility and why?

I’m working on a tagline for my business which offers Mortgage and Financial (Insurance and Estate Planning) Solutions. Have you any ideas for me? Here’s some (amongst others) I’ve come up with so far:

– Providing a route map towards financial security.
– Working together to create your financial security.
– Financial Solutions for your ups and downs.

I look forward to hearing from you and thanks for any advice.

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Jay’s Answer: Because the name of your business is vague (ACC Associates), it falls upon the tagline to make it clear who you’re targeting and a primary benefit to them.

It’s assumed that financial planners are accurate, expert, and professional. Also, people aren’t looking for generic “solutions” – they’re looking for answers to their problems.

Given that, here are some ideas to play with:

• Helping You Save Money Easily (saving/easy are the key points)
• Plan Your Worry-Free Financial Future Today (worry-free is the key point)
• Creating Customized Plans For Financial Stability (customized/stability are key points)