I am often asked, “What should a mission statement look like?”
You could think of it like this: “It’s how we do business.” You have a vision, but that speaks to the ideal. Mission get into the everyday.
Business owners can go online and see everything from snappy slogans, to lengthy step-by-step services lists, or even guarantee policies positioned as mission statements.
For years I’ve offered private clients permission to use some of my own business communications tools and statements (FAQ, Terms of Service, Vision Statements, About bios, etc.) as live examples of the ways you can customize your own. So dear reader, I offer you my composite mission statements below, used in the most recent 16 years of consulting. They can be fodder for you to create or refine your own.
Mission Statements can be any length. They may include mini-statements, with each one focused on a key aspect of your business: its purpose, products & services, results, the customer relationship, industry commitment; any or all of the above.
While your mission is at the core of your brand, it is not your brand. In fact it is something much deeper. It is what you do every day, in every transaction, big or small, everything behind the scenes, beyond what your public sees.
My point is simply this: think it through in depth, and don’t mistake a mission for an ad headline. Don’t get stuck in the desire for words that snap and sizzle. Write them to be authentic Making promises you intend to keep matters most when presenting your mission. Especially when you intend to fulfill on it, and be known for doing so reliably.
So here are my statements to spark your own. Our core mission is presented in the first three statements below, with additional statements that provide more detail about business cultural values and principles.
The Marketing Deal Mission
• It is our mission to support clients in achieving High Performance Communication that makes a difference in our modern mindset. Our tools and techniques are designed and delivered for this purpose.
• We are committed to empowering choice: offering excellent choices to our clients, and supporting them in offering excellent choices to their audience.
• We believe in business being fun, with a healthy blend of personal vitality and sustainable principles.
• We believe that the most successful and valued business relationships develop the same way they do in life: without aggression or pressure, based on professional standards and practices that honor all concerned.
• We consider respect and privacy to be critical in building a sustainable business. We adhere to and advise on best practices in this area to protect our clients’ communications assets.
• We aspire to the highest standards of ethics in marketing and advertising. We consider business to be very personal, based in value offered and exchanged.
• • •
Thanks for asking, and for visiting our blog!
Here’s what we offer to fulfill on our mission.
— Doane A. Curran