Developing that compelling taglines is no mean task. Very few companies have been successful at this endeavor. Most taglines are bland; many seem not to have any relation with the product or the company. Take a look at some of the following:

• "Image Anywhere" Can you guess the name of the company? Canon.
• How about "Better Sound Through Research." The company, Bose.
• "Bank of Opportunity." I would never have guessed Bank of America.
• "Enjoy Your Flight." Pick any airline, but it's actually from Aerlingus.
• Here's one that's hard to believe, "Beyond Petroleum." British Petroleum.
• "The Possibilities Are Infinite." Any guess? Fujitsu.
• The next one sounds like a prosecutor's tagline: "A Promise For Life." Actually, it belongs to Abbott.

Now let's take a look at some taglines that come closer to the companies and products they represent:

• "Good to the last drop." You guessed it - Maxwell House coffee.
• "Have it your way." Burger King's, and still one of the best taglines.
• "The Ultimate Driving Experience." BMW, of course.
• "For the Sleep you dream about." Tempur-Pedic mattresses.
• "Think Green." Waste Management; makes sense.

Ten different types of customers provided interesting and insightful feedback.

• Younger Customers: "Cool! Does it come in different colors?"
• Small Business Owners: "Too gimmicky, and too expensive."
• Home-Based Business Owners With Little Office Space: "Perfect for what I need, but can you add a couple of shallow drawers and or shelves just below the desk top."
• Older Customers: "More of a gadget than a desk. I prefer wooden desks."
• Architects, Engineers, Designers, and Radiologists: "I've been waiting for this all my life. Can you make the desk-top surface out of glass with light from underneath?"
• Corporate Buyers: "Too expensive for general use, but might be acceptable for certain level executives and specialists."
• Women Executives: "Good idea, but needs to be more stylish."
• IT Technicians: "Good, but can you supply some vertical shelving for placing computer accessories?"
• Military: "We like its flexibility, but would like it to be lighter weight for shipping by air to distant field operations. Can do?"
• Retailers: "It probably won't be a huge seller, but it definitely will attract some buyers we are currently not getting; besides, it looks high tech, which gets people's attention. Just one thing; can you improve the instructions for assembling the desk? They are not as easy as 1-2-3."

• For the present, eliminate younger customers, small business owners, and older customers from the target list. Reason: lower price market segment.
• Home-based business owners with little office space, potential niche. Add shallow drawers, emphasize desks as perfect solution to space limitations.
• Architects, engineers, designers, and radiologists. Offer glass top design as an option, Target this niche labeling product as "designed specifically to meet the high standards and requirements of professionals."
• Corporate buyers. Target senior executive market with desk as "a sign of distinction and recognition," something that is out of the ordinary drab desk world.
• Women executives. Focus on growing C-level women executive market segment. Get high level brand name fashion designer to give the desk the right look of elegance and distinction.
• IT Technicians. Focus on practicality and versatility. Provide a number of space-increasing shelving options. Offer a basic model at a lower price.
• Military. Unforeseen market, but well worth targeting, Get engineering and manufacturing staff together to find ways to reduce weight and enhance flexibility even more.
• Retailers. Select from the above mix three different price models for different level buyers. Get team working on instructions; add a CD to the printed instructions.

In view of the interest shown by these eight types of customers, and the need to reach out to potential customers directly, set up an online marketing campaign.

• Commoditization - your products and services are increasingly becoming indistinguishable from those of your competitors. What are you doing to make your products and services different in ways that your customers value?
• Asia - practically anything you do can be done cheaper by someone in Asia, anything, that is, except innovative concepts and products. What are you doing to make what you do something that can't be outsourced or off-shored?
• Price competition - any fool can lower his or her prices (and they do, constantly), but only a professional knows how to innovate value that makes price irrelevant. What are you doing to avoid lowering your prices?
• Abundance - there is so much of everything available today that is good quality and low price that customers are looking for new ideas, concepts, experiences, and innovations. What are you doing to create greater value in your business?
• Mature markets - there is so much competition that very few markets are truly hot these days. American markets are mostly mature ones where annual growth is in the low single digits. If you want to grow, you'd better innovate your way to competitive growth. What are you doing to grow your business faster than your industry's or profession's rate?
• Profits - higher opportunities and profits involve higher risks. Innovation is a less risky option than inaction, and it brings much higher profits. What are you doing to improve your profit margins?
• Automation - automation is eliminating the processes, products, services, and jobs that aren't being outsourced. Anything that is routine, procedural, mechanically quantitative, or just plain simple, will be in danger of elimination due to automation, anything, that is, except innovations. What innovative things are you doing that makes being replaced by automation unlikely?
• Technology - is rapidly changing the ways we live and work, buy and spend, and even entertain ourselves and others, that innovation is now demanded and expected by our customers. If we want to survive, we'd better begin to innovate. What are you doing to innovate through technology?