Know How to Write a Powerful Business Mission Statement Check 15 Examples
Every business sells something. Every business is unique. Every business wants to make the most of it both in the real world and online. Yes, your social media posts, website content, paid ads, and emails should reflect this. But it’s also important to have a central statement that holds everything together.
This is where your business mission statement comes in. This powerful pitch describes the essence of your company and makes it clear to customers and employees what it’s all about.
But even with a brief pitch, distilling your business into a sentence or two is no easy task. That’s what we aim to help you do. In this article, we will cover:
What a business mission statement is (and what it isn’t).
- Five steps to writing a compelling business mission statement.
- 15 Examples of Powerful Mission Statements to Inspire Yourself.
What is a corporate mission statement?
A good business mission statement defines your organization in a nutshell. It summarizes your reason for being and delivers it to the public in an easily digestible way. This includes:
- Who your customers are (and sometimes, where do you operate).
- what product or service do you offer.
- The ultimate value/positive outcome of these products/services.
- How do you make it possible?
Here is a generic example:
We build Class A commercial office buildings for high-end tenants in major metropolitan areas, delivering project specifications on time and within budget using our proprietary total quality management system.
But while the mission statement is mostly facts, those facts should also be communicated in a way that captures the feelings that affect how your company is perceived. Take David Tea as an example:
We scour the globe for carefully crafted single-origin loose leaf teas to share with our North American community. We are pushing the limits in new tea fields with our blends. We want it to be as easy as possible to discover, explore and feel better through tea.
- What a business mission statement is not
- Mission statements are often confused with other aspects of brand identity, so let’s separate them:
- Mission Statement: This is what you do, why you do it, how you do it, and what value you bring.
- Vision Statement: Your vision statement is what you want to be by accomplishing your mission.
- Goals: Your goals are tangible outcomes of your mission.
- Core Values: Your core values unite your team and power all of the above.
The following are examples of mission, vision, and core values:
How long should the mission statement be?
A business mission statement should not be an essay describing how the company got started and where the vision came from. Save this descriptive content for your About Us page. It should be direct, purposeful content that can serve as a kind of headline for your company.
Think of your mission statement as a branding tool — summarizing your company’s purpose in a few sentences or less.
“Chargify combines great technology, subscription expertise, and customer service ethos to solve real-world problems and strives to be the operating system for your subscription-based business.”
How to Write a Compelling Mission Statement for Your Business
Distilling your business into one sentence is a tough job, but we have a three-step process to help you write your company’s mission statement:
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Inventory
Start broad first. Sit down with your team (or yourself) and take stock of the following:
- What is your core business type?
- What are your tangible deliverables?
- What makes your deliverables unique?
- What problems does your deliverable solve?
- What are the benefits of your deliverables?
- What is your unique value proposition?
- What is your brand personality?
- What’s your secret?
- What advantages do you have over your competitors?
- What are your team member’s strengths and secret weapons?
- Who are your target customers?
- What is your general audience or persona?
- Do they exist in a specific location or area?
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Collection of your information
Collect your answers to these questions and turn them into reasonable and actionable statements about how and for what purpose you intend to operate. Freely organize information into four buckets:
How do you do it
What is the ultimate benefit/value you get
Sometimes parts of the list are mixed or not included. There is no right or wrong mission statement.
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Turn down
For each of the above elements, distill it into a phrase or two and use the formula below.
- We give [target customers] [the ultimate value you deliver] [what you do] through [how you work].
- You can change your order in any way you see fit.
- We [deliver this value] to [target customers] through [what you do] through [how you do].
- Let’s take AnyClip’s mission statement as an example:
- AnyClip’s mission is to increase audience engagement, leveraging its metadata expertise to deliver a personalized audience experience.
- What they do: Provide a personalized viewer experience.
- How they do it: Through metadata expertise.
- The end benefits are increased audience engagement.
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Add Color
Avoid flashy and unnecessary adjectives and adverbs that compromise readability, but see if adding or substituting any words can help add a more emotional feel, as with Campaign Monitor.
“We help/empower/equip [target customers] by providing [tangible deliverables] to achieve/achieve/eliminate [desire/pain point].”
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Public
It’s time to let everyone know about your mission! Here are some of the many methods:
- Create a page dedicated to your mission, vision, goals, and values.
- If it’s short enough, use it as your homepage title.
- Use it on your Facebook or LinkedIn company page.
Link to it in job postings.
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Adjust as needed
Change happens. New leaders join. Business name change or merger. Goals and strategies shift. Culture is evolving. So be sure to revisit your mission statement every year and make adjustments when needed.
Example of a corporate mission statement
Let’s explore some example mission statements for existing businesses and the different approaches they take.
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Clarks – Building Brand Loyalty
Building brand loyalty starts with building an emotional connection with ideal customers (and employees) through a successful mission statement. This keeps your company’s values and goals at the top of the minds of customers and employees.
Clarks’ mission statement reads: “Our passion is to listen to our customers and provide products that consumers feel proud, respected, and trusted by all at Clarks Companies N.A.”
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Swarvoski – Attracting and Retaining Top Talent
Having a mission statement is also important when it comes to attracting the right talent for your company. People who identify with a company’s mission statement are not only motivated by work and money.
They are also motivated by a shared mission. Mission-oriented employees are more likely to stay with the company and become high performers, which contributes significantly to the overall success of the business.
Swarovski’s mission statement is as follows: Swarovski enriches everyday life with high-quality products and services that exceed customer expectations. We inspire our colleagues with innovation and reward their achievements while working to expand our market leadership.
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Patagonia – Stand out from the competition
When you are just starting your business, your company must try to differentiate itself from other companies with similar products and services. A good business mission statement can help your company build trust with customers and connect with your target audience.
Patagonia’s mission statement is as follows:
“Building the best products doesn’t cause unnecessary harm, using business to inspire and implement solutions to environmental crises.”
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Full Cast Audio – Competing with Big Brands
While it may sometimes feel difficult to compete with the “big guys”, a well-crafted mission statement can give customers an idea of how your brand is a better fit for them. There’s no reason you can’t build your brand recognition like a big company.
With nearly 4 billion people on social media, you can share your business mission with them through a targeted digital marketing strategy.
The mission statement of Full Cast Audio is as follows:
“We’re a small company with a big mission: to use outcast actors instead of a single narrator to make great recordings of great books. We firmly believe we’re pioneering a new art form, one that’s more comprehensive than ever new ways to experience author intent.”
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Cisco – Addressing Your Broader Community
Many companies have several layers, consisting of products, services, and partners that contribute differently to the market. A unified business mission statement helps clarify your company’s purpose to investors, clients and applicants. Identify the personality of the entire brand and communicate that message through a clearly defined mission statement.
Cisco’s mission statement is as follows:
“Shaping the future of the internet by creating unprecedented value and opportunity for our customers, employees, investors, and ecosystem partners.”
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Walmart – keep it short and sweet
Walmart’s mission statement is just one sentence, easy to understand and remember. They clearly explain why they exist and why they are important to their client’s lives.
Walmart’s mission statement is as follows:
“Save people money and make their lives better.”
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Shopify – Say what you believe
A simple phrase like “we believe” followed by a unique point of view can help differentiate the “why” behind a brand.
Shopify’s mission statement is as follows:
“We help people achieve independence by making it easier to start, run and grow a business. We believe in the future of business with more voices, not less, so we’re reducing barriers to business ownership and making business more important to everyone Individuals are better.”
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Nike — Make it inclusive
Nike’s mission statement is clear, concise, and inclusive. Their goal is simple, and their message implies that everyone should be inspired and benefit from their innovations.
It says:
“Also brings inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.
*If you have a body, you are an athlete. “
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Virgin America – Positioning itself as an industry leader
Virgin America’s mission statement tells you where they are and how they plan to get there. They also position themselves as industry leaders in domestic air travel.
It says:
“Virgin America is a California-based airline with a mission to make flying good again, with brand new aircraft, attractive fares, first-class service, and a range of fun, Innovative facilities.”
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Whole Foods – Show Your Personality
Whole Foods Market generally and specifically mentions who they want to help with their business mission statement. This shows that their personalities are focused on kindness, and they clearly explain how they intend to improve the world through their business.
Whole Foods’ mission statement is as follows:
“Our deepest purpose as an organization is to help support the health, well-being, and recovery of people (customers, team members, and business organizations in general) and the planet.”
Start writing your business mission statement
As you can see from these examples, a great mission statement doesn’t need to be verbose or very detailed. Your mission statement should concisely communicate your company’s purpose and allow customers to see themselves in your brand.
Follow these simple steps to create your business mission statement that will impact your employees, investors, and customers.
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