Every company is distinct. And every company wants to put its best foot forward in both the actual and virtual worlds. Yes, your social network posts, website content, paid advertisements, and emails should all reflect this.
However, it is also critical to have one fundamental statement that unifies everything. So in this article, we’ll look at how to write a mission statement for your business.
Just do follow very closely.
What exactly is a Mission Statement?
A mission statement expresses clearly the aim of your organization. It should explain what your company does and why it does it.
This can be more difficult than it appears because you should attempt to keep your purpose statement as brief as possible. According to the most popular definitions of a “mission statement,” it should be little more than a single sentence or a brief paragraph in length.
Finally, because mission statements explain a company’s long-term purpose, they rarely alter.
What is the purpose of a mission statement in business?
A properly crafted mission statement focuses the company on its personnel as well as its target audience. It serves as a framework, providing everyone involved with a starting point from which to build when establishing the brand. For customers, it distinguishes the company from the competitors without limiting the business’s purpose.
You’ll observe that Google’s mission statement makes no mention of running a search engine, despite the fact that this was its early claim to fame. It is just broad enough to allow the company to expand into the conglomerate that it is today.
Components of a mission statement
Here below are some of the components of a standard mission statement. You can allow this guide as you choose your mission statement.
#1: Function and purpose
What is the major reason for your company’s existence? While components of your vision may be relevant here, a mission statement is not the same as a vision statement. The latter describes where you want your company to go in the future. It’s primarily aspirational. A mission statement describes what your company is doing right now that distinguishes it from the competition.
#2: Capacity
In what way (or methods) does your company shine? What important competencies, talents, and advantages distinguish you? To be sure, you may be in the process of developing and fortifying these, which is perfectly natural. Even when they control their market, the world’s most successful corporations are never satisfied with the status quo.
However, the goal here is to summarize your main competencies in an overall mission statement that both shows what you’re fantastic at – and points the way forward.
#3: Motivational
No, you are not required to be sentimental here. However, your mission statement should be exciting and motivational, as part of its role is to recalibrate and re-energize; this is especially crucial when things go wrong, barriers arise, and so on.
The language used to express the things we’ve just mentioned frequently underlines the inspirational quality of a goal statement (purpose and competencies).
#4: Balanced
It is critical and difficult to find a balance between a practical and hence valuable mission statement and one that is concise and portable. If the mission statement is too brief, it will be confusing and will leave out necessary components. But if it’s too long, it’ll be tedious and perhaps forgettable. It takes time to achieve this equilibrium, but the effort is well worth it.
#5: The Legacy
While a mission statement is primarily concerned with the immediate future, it is equally critical to capture the spirit and substance of your company’s past. What do you want to be recognized for in the marketplace and community, and perhaps more significantly, what do you want to be known for in the coming years?
All these and even more are some of what your mission statement must capture.
What Should Your Mission Statement Contain?
Because your mission statement should be unique to your company, what you mention will depend on your specific focus and beliefs. A mission statement often comprises a general overview of the firm, its purpose, and its aims.
A mission statement might also include information on how the company serves:
- Customers
- Employees
- Owners
- Community
- World
How to Write an Effective Mission Statement
There are various schools of thought on how to write the perfect mission statement, but there are some obvious do’s and don’ts to keep in mind. In this section, I’ll show you how to write a mission statement.
1. Keep it brief and to the point
Do not make it a mouth full. Keep your mission statement precise. Just in a few phrases, summarize the company’s mission.
2. Write with the big picture
Consider the long term. Keep your mission statement open enough to reflect your long-term aspirations because it is an investment in your company’s future.
3. Find out what your staff think about your organization
Discover what your employees think about the mission statement. This is a tool that was created with them in mind, so solicit their feedback. Inquire about how they might improve it and what they don’t like about it.
Benefits of Mission Statement
There are many benefits you stand to get when you run your business with a mission statement. Let’s take a quick look at each of these benefits.
Mission Statement Provides Direction
Having and implementing a mission statement in your business provides a strong sense of direction. It can be used to make decisions, plans, and strategies for the future of your company, and ensure that each of these aligns with your overarching goals.
A Mission statement also protects you from getting caught up in the small day-to-day operations and instead focus on the bigger picture, while maintaining the integrity of your business.
Mission Statement Measures Success
A mission statement measures the progress of your business. As your business progresses, it’s important to refer back to the mission statement as a way to measure success. Your mission is the overarching goal for your business, so if a decision, product, service, action, experience, or any other element of your brand is aligned with that goal, then you’re succeeding.
Mission Statement Brings Teams Together
Your mission statement acts as a binding cord for your entire team to strive after. It has the potential to keep your team members unified, determined, engaged, inspired, and focused on their goals.
According to Inc, 73 percent of employees who work for a “purpose-driven” organization are engaged, compared to only 23 percent of those who do not.
Paints a Clear Picture of Organization
By capturing all of your core values, culture, and beliefs in your purpose, your mission statement informs potential employees about your company’s values, culture, and beliefs.
Having a clear mission can also help with employee retention. According to Gallop’s research, emphasizing mission and purpose are the two most important criteria in keeping Millennials, Generation Xers, and Baby Boomers.
Accountability
A public mission statement informs your team and the rest of the world about your goals and holds you accountable to them. Because your colleagues and consumers will all be aware of what you’re claiming to offer, every decision must be in line with that purpose and contribute to it in a meaningful way in order to retain the integrity of your brand and contribute to your overall goal.
Customers Are Inspired By A Mission Statement
Your mission statement helps your customers to connect to you. If a customer connects with your purpose and believes in what you’re trying to do, they’re considerably more likely to choose your brand over one with which they don’t connect.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this is what I’m going to say: don’t be frightened to make changes in your mission statement if need be. In the corporate world, things change. If the mission statement no longer accurately portrays the organization, it is time to revise it.
A mission statement expresses what makes a company important. By design, it directs the behaviors of employees and attracts customers by explaining what the organization plans to accomplish.