How To Write A Mission Statement
Next in the Building a Brand Foundation series, we’re talking about how to write a mission statement.
When someone asks what you do, the last thing you want is to fumble over your words as you figure out how to describe your business. That’s why we have mission statements, 1-2 sentences that quickly describe who you are just enough to pique your audience’s interest so they’ll connect with your brand. These can be easily repurposed across your brand, a game-changer for sure.
Mission statements are an effective way to succinctly get out what your business is all about. They’re also a great way to have a mini elevator pitch that quickly says who you are so you’re not fumbling over your words. Even if you do have a longer 30-second elevator pitch about your brand, it doesn’t fill exactly the same role as your mission statement.
Are you ready to get my exact formula for crafting great mission statements? There are three discovery elements of truly great mission statements: Values, Audience, Offerings.
Step 1: Start with the values that underlay your brand’s foundation. You have to establish these first because, as you grow, you can continue to build your brand, shifting and pivoting, without disrupting the foundation. If your brand is rooted in your values, you don’t have to tear it all down the moment you change the details of what you do. Defining these upfront is key.
Step 2: Express exactly who you want to work with so you’re only speaking to a smaller group. You can really specialize here or simply niche it down to something like “small businesses”, “creative businesses”, or “local organizations.” Just make sure to define this in a way that works for you.
Step 3: Give an idea of your products & services enough that it summarizes the basics of what you do but doesn’t box you in if you change what you offer. If you offer a lot or think you’ll change it in the future, don’t niche your offerings down to much in your mission statement.
Let’s road test this in an example. Say you’re a marketing consultant (Kelly Smith) who works with nonprofits. In the future, this could change if you become a content marketing director or something else. Your values are integrity because you’re down-to-earth and you care about doing things the correct way. You’re honest, bold, customer-oriented, and maybe a little in-your-face.
Knowing all this, you’re not a fit for companies that like to stay in the status quo. Notice how these values could match a photographer, an accountant, or any other professional because they’re not rooted in the exact role you’re in right now.
Next, your audience is small to midsize nonprofits. You can get more specific about what types of organizations or simply niche down to small businesses or local organizations. Services you offer run the gamut but you’re mostly in the realm of social media and brand consulting. We’ll keep this general for now.
Here’s some mission statements we can build from this:
Kelly Smith consulting is a marketing consultant for small to mid sized nonprofits.
Kelly Smith is a marketing consultant specializing in social media strategy. We provide bold and innovative customer service oriented solutions for small and mid sized nonprofits.
Kelly Smith is a marketing consultant for small to mid sized nonprofits looking for innovative customer service oriented solutions.
Someone reading or hearing these statements at a small or mid-sized nonprofit who values bold, innovative solutions should get interested immediately. They should want to reach out because what they’ve been doing in the past hasn’t been working for them. There are a lot of ways you can workshop mission statements like these to come out with what works best for you but you get the idea!
There we go. That's all you need to create a killer mission statement!
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