Your brand is the main identifier representing your business and is the image that comes to the minds of customers whenever your company is mentioned. Therefore, it is vital to invest effort and time to create a brand strategy that effectively shapes your business. A well-designed brand strategy can help improve your business in different ways, like connecting with consumer emotions and needs and enabling the company to succeed in a competitive environment. One of the elements of brand strategy is the mission statement.
A mission statement defines an organization’s purpose for both its customers and employees. It carves a clear path for a business and is the mission that everyone associated with a brand lives by. Failing to create a clear mission statement can mean that customers may misinterpret your overall purpose or not know what they can expect from your brand.
Your mission statement should excite your employees and customers! It should focus mainly on what your brand wants to achieve. A brand mission statement communicates a brand’s objectives, purpose, and how it proposes to serve its audience. The statement can shift over time as a company grows and redefines its goals.
A mission statement should inform others why your business exists and why it is unique. The main elements of a mission statement include:
- Specificity – Tie the statement back to your business.
- Inspiration – Write why people want to work for the firm.
- Value – Write about the value of the company to employees and customers.
- Plausibility – Make the mission statement sound reasonable.
How to create an effective mission statement
Many schools of thought exist regarding creating the ideal mission statement. However, there are certain clear factors to consider, including:
Keep the statement concise: Summarize your organization’s mission in a few sentences. It should state what your business does, such as the services or goods you produce. The mission statement should be tethered to the brand, meaning it needs to be memorable. It is not easy to remember something that is long and drawn-out.
Think long term: A mission statement is an investment in a company’s future. It is vital to keep it open enough so that it can reflect your long-term goals. Describe the way your company serves its customers. Consider the strong values for your business, like high-quality customer service, fostering innovation or creativity, or being sustainable.
Do not make the statement too limiting: Avoid saying that you want to offer the best products for the residents of a particular area. Consider the fact that your business might expand at some point!
Determine what your employees think concerning the mission statement: This statement is a tool designed with your employees in mind. Therefore, getting their opinion is vital. Ask what they do not like about it and how it can be improved.
Be ready to change it: Things usually change over the course of doing business. If your mission statement no longer represents your organization’s products, services, or values, it is time to rewrite it.
Once you create your brand’s mission statement, look over it and edit it. Once you and your team approve it, incorporate it in different places where it is visible to your stakeholders, such as in your ad campaigns and website.
