How to Describe your Business in 1 Sentence (With Examples)
In today's fast-paced world, attention spans are shorter than ever before. People are bombarded with information from all directions, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to capture and hold their attention. In this environment, being able to describe your company in one sentence is crucial.
Why a One-liner is Important for your Business
- First impressions count: When meeting people, you only have a few seconds to make a good impression. A concise, clear, and memorable sentence about your business can help you capture their attention and leave a lasting impression.
- Improves sales: A person won't buy your product or service if they can't figure out what you do.
- Marketing asset: You can use your one-liner in marketing materials, social media posts, and conversations with customers or investors. It can help you communicate your message consistently across all channels.
- Focus: A sentence that accurately describes your business can help you focus on what's important. It can serve as your business's guiding principle, helping you make decisions that align with your overall mission and goals.
- Easy to remember: A clear business one-liner can help people remember your company and what you do. This can be especially useful when people might need to recall your business quickly, such as when referring you to others.
A Proven Formula to Describe your Business in 1 Sentence
1. What is the name of your business?
Blue Horizon
2. What is your product or service?
Child-care platform
3. Who is your customer?
Busy families
4. How do customers use your product or service?
Book certified babysitters to watch their kids during the day in New York.
5. Now, put it together.
Blue Horizon is a child-care platform for busy families to book certified babysitters to watch their kids during the day in New York.
Testing the Formula Using Airbnb
1. What is the name of your business?
Airbnb
2. What is your product or service?
Online marketplace
3. Who is your customer?
Homeowners and people worldwide
4. How do customers use your product or service?
List, discover, and book accommodations
5. Now, put it together.
Airbnb is an online marketplace for homeowners and people worldwide to list, discover, and book accommodations.
Airbnb's actual one-liner.
Airbnb is an online community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book accommodations through mobile phones or the internet.
As you can see, the formula gets close to the actual thing. In fact, I like the one-liner we came up with better – "through mobile phones or the internet" seems unnecessary since we already used "online" earlier in the sentence.
How to Improve your One-liner
- The grandma test: Your business should be simple enough that your grandma understands what you do! Call your grandma and share your one-liner with her Ask her to explain it in different words. See if your one-liner is memorable by calling her again next week and asking her if she remembers what your business does.
- The email test: Email your business one-liner to a smart friend. Ask them to explain it in different words. You need to edit your one-liner if they have to ask clarifying questions. Testing this over email is important because you won't be able to add any clarification or explanations as you would in conversation.
- Say it aloud: When you say your one-liner aloud, you're able to hear how clear and straightforward it is. If it's too complicated or confusing, you'll likely stumble over your words or find it difficult to say.
- The bar test: Share your business one-liner with a random person at a bar. Again, ask them to explain it in different words. This not only tests whether your one-liner is clear, but it also tests whether or not you can nail the delivery of your one-liner in a loud and crowded environment.
Best Business One-liner Examples
1. "DoorDash is a food delivery platform that connects customers with local and national business."
Commentary: This is one of the most famous business one-liners, and for a good reason. It passes every test with flying colors.
2. "Hopper is a travel app that uses predictive analytics to make travel recommendations."
Commentary: This is another excellent one-liner. It passes every test and leaves no doubt about what the business does.
Ok Business One-liner Examples
1. "Uber develops, markets, and operates a ride-sharing mobile application that allows consumers to submit a trip request."
Commentary: One issue with this one-liner is that not everyone knows what "ride-sharing" is. For this reason, it would most certainly fail the grandma test. Another problem with this one-liner is that "submit a trip request" does not describe the product in the most precise way possible.
2. "WeWork is a platform for creators that transforms buildings into dynamic environments for creativity, focus, and collaboration."
Commentary: The main issue with this one-liner is that "creators" is an unclear description of their customers. People may consider creators to be content creators, creative people, or something else.
Bad Business One-liner Examples
1. "Boehringer Ingelheim is a global group of companies embracing many cultures and diverse societies."
Commentary: I read this one-liner and had no clue what this business does. After looking at the website, Boehringer Ingelheim is a pharmaceuticals business. There is no way to know that from reading the business one-liner.
2. "Caterpillar has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent."
Commentary: Again, I don't know what this business does. After looking at the website, Caterpillar is a construction and mining equipment manufacturer.
Describe your Business in 1 Sentence Today
In summary, a one-liner is essential to your business's brand messaging. By crafting a clear and concise one-liner using my formula, you can make a strong first impression and set your business up for success.
