Every company will always aspire to establish a strong relationship between its brand and customers. A good brand has to give away what the company does (purpose) and the aspect of the product or service that the company and its customers value most. This will usually be achieved through a mission statement. The statement ensures different stakeholders of the company, such as customers, management, owners, employers, and investors, are in sync with what the company is offering. Depending on the number of details included in it, it can be a single sentence or a brief paragraph.
A well-created one will usually play a vital role in instilling brand loyalty among customers. It reminds them of what the company stands for and what they should expect from its products and services. The statement will typically try to state the companyโs primary objective (customer and employee experience) while considering the objectiveโs physical, logical, and emotional elements.
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A person can create a personal mission statement to guide what they want to achieve and the principles that guide achieving their set goals or fulfilling their duties in their respective field of profession.
These are famous among reputable professionals, investors, and businesspersons. It will incorporate different aspects of the personโs life, such as professional ethics, financial discipline/principle, and spiritual and social outlook.
It is a conclusive summary of the purpose and values of an organization that the companyโs customers, partners, employees, and shareholders can refer to understand what they should expect from the company and consequently what is expected from them in their respective capacities. This information is given such that the statement outlines a general description of the company/organization, its objectives, and its functions. A mission statement and vision statement are created to serve different purposes within the organization, which forms a basis for differentiating the two.
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The goals and objectives outlined in it are set such that they are attainable.
Therefore, once they are attained, the organization will have to set new goals to reflect the changes within and without the organization. As a result, it has to be reviewed and revised to accommodate the changes.
How does It Work?
In a company setting, a mission statement helps keep the employees and the entire organization community on track as to what the company intends to achieve with its product or service delivery. It more or less sets a standard of customer and employee experience that needs to be observed as long as the company is operational.
By highlighting the organizationโs core values, ethics, culture, fundamental goals, and agenda, it becomes clear to the companyโs stakeholders, such as suppliers, distributors, employees, and shareholders, how they should relate to and work towards its plan. In addition, having it in place helps external parties align their objectives with those of the company.
A mission statement also helps create a pillar around which innovative methods and novel strategies for achieving company goals can be built. Therefore, as much as the new strategy will vary from the previous one, the objective remains the same.
By outlining what the organization does, how, and why it does what it does, it creates a reference basis for potential investors to refer to when deciding whether to invest in the organization.
EXAMPLE
If an organizationโs mission is to provide voluntary non-profit medical services, the organizationโs interests would not align with those of a for-profit investor.
Mission Statement vs. Vision Statement
A mission statement highlights what a company does (purpose/goals) and how they do it. On the other hand, a vision statement will describe what the company aspires to do, where it wants to be, and what the community or world will be like in the future. It is set in the present or continuous tense, which is meant to show what the company is doing and continues to do, while a vision statement is set in the future tense. Both statements can include the companyโs function/purpose or goals, target audiences, and company deliverables but are very intense (mission takes up the present tense while vision takes the future tense).
Therefore, a mission statement will be a roadmap for the vision statement, implying that if the company continues to do what they do and how they do it, it will get to where they want to be in the future. It thus shows what an organizationโs brand can become in the future by focusing on the long-term value of a deal. It can change throughout the years, whereas a vision statement will typically remain unchanged as it represents a companyโs aspiration.
What Should I Include in a Mission Statement?
When creating a mission statement, the companyโs principal deliverables, purpose, and core values need to be narrowed down to a few wordsโa process that can be more difficult than it sounds. In addition, a good one needs to be captivating and specific to make customers and employees associate with it.
Therefore, coming up with a comprehensive, simple one will usually require the following few simple steps discussed below.
What your company does
Firstly, it needs to be clear what the company does explicitly at the moment, not in the future. This will require a listing of the products or services offered by the company. A company does not detail the production processes, but simply the result of those processes with which the customer interacts.
Use simple termsโexamples of different company products and services.
- Offer medical care
- Taxi services
- Sell luxury watches
- Sell baby toys
- Design websites
- Provide cloud storage
Describe how it does
The next item to include in the mission statement is how the company offers its services or products. Several aspects can be described in this section. They include core values, quality, innovation, customization, etc. This element should not be technical, and it should use simple words to show how the company operates. What a company does is not the production process but the overall business modelโhow it interacts with customers and employees. This ultimately shows the value the company brings to its customers and employees.
Examples of different ways companies operate are:
- Offer high-quality products
- Produce sustainable products
- A luxury brand
- Ensure safety
- Ensure convenient shopping
- Encourage and practice innovation
- Provide honest and factual information
- Offer impenetrable security
A mission statement can focus on two key proficiencies and values that a company can guarantee its customers, employees, and investors.
Explain why your company does it
Lastly, it is expected to highlight the motivation behind the business. This is โwhy the company was started. The passion behind a business can range from different things, such as improving the quality of people’s lives, filling a niche, fostering talents and creativity, creating more job opportunities, etc.
Now, the three elements can then be tied together to generate a strong one.
The examples โprovide cloud storage,โ โoffer impenetrable security,โ, and โcreate more job opportunitiesโ can be combined to give the mission statement below:
EXAMPLE
To offer impenetrable cloud storage services for small online shops to support the creation of online job opportunities.
Examples of Mission Statement
Examples of some well-known brands and companies are as:
Virgin airways
EXAMPLE
โto embrace the human spirit and let it flyโ
Virgin Airways
Tesla
EXAMPLE
โto accelerate the worldโs transition to sustainable energyโ
Tesla
Starbucks
EXAMPLE
โto inspire and nurture the human spiritโone person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a timeโ
Starbucks
Nike
EXAMPLE
โto bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the worldโ โ
Nike
Spotify
EXAMPLE
โto unlock the potential of human creativityโ
Spotify
TED
EXAMPLE
โSpread ideasโ
TED
AIRBNB
EXAMPLE
โto unlock the power of sharing space, resources, and support in times of needโ
AIRBNB
Microsoft
EXAMPLE
โto empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve moreโ
Microsoft
Kickstar
EXAMPLE
โto help bring creative projects to lifeโ
Kickstrater
Squarespace
EXAMPLE
โto help people with creative ideas stand out and succeed. We create a modern platform that enables millions to build a brand, share their stories, and transact with their customers in an impactful and beautiful online presence.โ
Squarespace
The American red cross
EXAMPLE
โprevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power ofโ
The American red cross
EXAMPLE
โto strengthen our communities through our platform, people, and profitsโ
EXAMPLE
โGive people the power to build community and bring the world closer togetherโ
Bill & Melinda gates foundation
EXAMPLE
โto create a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive lifeโ
Bill & Melinda gates foundation
The Artemis agency
EXAMPLE
โActively helping clients change the worldโ
The Artemis Agency
Pros and Cons
A mission statement has its advantages and disadvantages. This article will look into some of the benefits and shortcomings of using one in a company.
Pros
The benefits are diverse. However, the most notable benefit is that it states the companyโs goal(s) to both internal and external stakeholders. This way, everyone has a clear idea of what they are all collectively working to achieve within their respective roles.
A mission statement acts as a morale booster for employees of the company. Having an overall clear objective in place goes a long way in giving the employees a defined purpose they are working towards and a sense of inclusion as they get to know how their effort is contributing towards a particular product or service.
Using one shows a companyโs commitment to its purpose. This reassures its investors and customers that the company will continue to deliver on profitability and customer expectations, respectively.
Cons
The use of mission statements is not without disadvantages. One major shortcoming of having it is the time and money required to develop and effectively implement it. It can sometimes take years and millions of dollars that could have been redirected to other company activities to develop a befitting one. This becomes an even greater liability if the resources are spent to develop the wrong mission statement.
Also, sometimes it can be too ambitious and, consequently, too unrealistic to be feasible. This can impose unrealistic expectations on the employees, which impacts the company negatively rather than having the expected positive impacts.
Concluding All
Once a satisfactory mission has been developed, it should be implemented. It can be incorporated wherever possible
EXAMPLE
In ad campaigns and on the company website. In addition, the statement should be visible or accessible to all company stakeholdersโcustomers, employees, and investorsโso that anyone who interacts with the company will have the mission statement in mind.
It should then be used as the foundation of the overall company’s operations. All departments within the company should direct their employees and functions to align with the mission statement.
Lastly, the company vision statement can be developed. Mission and vision statements are essential tools in ensuring a businessโs success and help establish a consistent brand for the business.
Key Takeaways
- A mission statement should state the companyโs purpose in brief.
- One sentence or a short paragraph of maybe two to three sentences will usually be enough to create a cohesive mission statement.
- It helps give direction to the company, thus ensuring that everyone is focused on what the company intends to offer to the customers and community.
- A well-crafted one will typically contain details about the customers, products or services, core values, employee concerns, and public image.
- Using a template can make the process of creating one simpler and faster. Once created, it should be incorporated in different areas, such as advertising campaigns, premises, websites, and other places where it will be visible to its target audience.