How To Create Your Business Mission Statement

A mission statement defines what an business is, why it exists, its reason for being. At a minimum, your mission statement should define who your primary customers are, identify the products and services you produce, and describe the geographical location in which you operate.

A well-developed mission statement is a great tool for understanding, developing, and communicating fundamental business objectives, and should be expressed in just a paragraph or two. If you read it out loud, it should take about 30 seconds. And it should answers questions people have about your business, like:

• Who is your company?
• What do you do? What do you stand for? And why do you do it?
• Do you want to make a profit, or is it enough to just make a living?
• What markets are you serving, and what benefits do you offer them?
• Do you solve a problem for your customers?
• What kind of internal work environment do you want for your employees?

A mission is different from a vision in that the former is the cause and the latter is the effect; a mission is something to be accomplished whereas a vision is something to be pursued for that accomplishment.
The commercial mission statement consists of 3 essential components:

1. Key market: Who is your target client or customer (generalize if needed)?
2. Contribution: What product or service do you provide to that client?
3. Distinction: What makes your product or service unique, so that the client would choose you?

Too many company mission statements don't follow the few simple rules necessary to be truly effective and memorable. Here are three tips on writing one that will resonate with customers--and employees.

Start with a Market-Defining Story
You don’t have to actually write the story—it’s definitely not included in the mission statement—but do think it through: Imagine a real person making the actual decision to buy what you sell. Use your imagination to see why she wants it, how she finds you, and what buying from you does for her. The more concrete the story, the better.

Define How Your Customer’s Life is Better Because Your Business Exists
Start your mission statement with the good you do. Use your market-defining story to state whatever it is that makes your business special for your target customer.

Consider What Your Business Does for Employees
These days, good businesses want to be good for their employees. If you’re “hard numbers”-oriented, keeping employees is better for the bottom line than turnover. And if you’re interested in culture and employee happiness, then defining what your business offers its employees is an obvious part of your strategy.

Use the information in this article to create a great mission statement for your business.