Every company should have a mission statement that clearly defines who they are, their principles, and why they exist. However, writing a mission statement that accurately shows who you are as a brand isn’t easy.

Then again, nothing worth doing is ever easy, luckily, we’re here to simplify things, and if you’re still unsure about how to write your Mission Statement, you can ALWAYS get in touch for a chat.

This guide makes things more accessible by providing five simple statement writing tips.  Most business owners go into a venture with a plan and a purpose. Maybe, you want to change the way things are done in your industry and make processes more efficient. Others may want to improve the customer service and set themselves apart from the competition. Whatever your reasons, it’s best to communicate them with a mission statement. 

What is a mission statement?

A mission statement is an action-oriented declaration that highlights your company values in relation to your business purpose. It tells those seeing your company for the first time what you do and the reasons behind your decision. The length of company mission statements can vary from one line to multiple sentences.

Steps to writing a mission statement

“You can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.”

Before writing a single word of the mission statement, before even beginning to brainstorm what points to include, we first need to define our target audience or target market.

After defining the target market, we can begin to try and think like them, understand what appeals to them, what motivates them to buy something or choose our product or service.

Think about everything you went through to get that product. When you “walk a mile in their shoes” and visualize the scenario from the buyer’s perspective, you can develop a good story about why your business came into being.

This strategy can also help you define the buyer persona and develop better content for the mission statement. Once you’re ready, you can start following these steps:

1. Say what you do

You’re in business to solve a problem and meet the needs of your clients. Therefore, it makes more sense to state what you do as part of the mission statement. For example, assuming you sell dairy products or provide real estate services.

As you state what you do, incorporate your values into the statement. Going back to the previous example of selling dairy products, assuming you value the consumer’s health or focusing on weight loss, you can change the message ‘to sell low-fat dairy products’ to target people who want to lose weight.

2. Say why you do it

If you want to convince people to buy your products, you need to inspire them and show passion. Make them feel your desire to make a difference through your products or services. The key to successful Branding is to tailor your Brand’s messaging and story to fit your Target Market exactly for maximum effect. Why you do what you do is pivotal in your story and your Mission Statement, you distinguish yourself from your competition, and clarify why you are the better choice.

Think like a consumer. What can make someone want to purchase low-fat dairy products? Maybe the person is trying to get healthier without letting go of their love for dairy products. Hence the statement can be updated into something like, ‘to sell you low-fat dairy products so that you can eat the things you love without worrying about your health.’

3. Refer to the company by name

Instead of starting the mission statement with, ‘our company’s purpose is to…’, which most times comes off as cold, impersonal, and distant, use your Brand or Company name to make it more memorable and help improve remembering it. For example, you may decide to call your dairy business ‘Lucy’s Milk Farm’.

Hence the mission statement may be, ‘At Lucy’s Milk Farm, we strive to give you quality low-fat dairy products so that you can eat the things you love without worrying about your health.’

4. Discuss and edit

Before you publish the mission statement, share it with your employees to get their opinions. Have a genuine discussion with them about alternative statements. Ask them to say their suggestions out loud so that they can hear themselves. Do the same as the leader. By saying the statement out loud, your ears may pick up errors you never noticed when you said it in your head.

Consider your team’s suggestions and edit the wording to make it more impactful. Then, test it out with a few potential customers. Ask them to give you, their opinions. Then, make the final edits.

5. Show it to the world

If you feel the mission statement is sufficient and it accurately represents who you are as a brand, use it in your promotional campaigns. You can use the storyline in your mission statement as the plot for your commercial ads.

You can also write your mission statement at the entrance to your business premises. It should be up there with your company name.

To conclude, your company’s mission statement helps the customer create a mental image of who you are and what you do. It can be the thing that separates you from all your competitors. Finally, avoid using common words that overstate your importance as a brand, such as ‘world-class products’ or ‘best company’ and keep it simple and straightforward.

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