Not every page of every website needs to exceed the 1000 word limit. Some pages are there to push a message across to the audience and connect. Mission statement is one such place for a company or brand.
A mission statement to a company is personality to a person. It is the one place anyone can go to, in order to identify the brand. Not only does this statement form a concrete image in the engaging user’s mind but also provides a focused common goal at large for the employees to work towards. With its dual role, writing a good mission statement becomes pivotal to the website. So, how to write a mission statement for a business? Where to start?
I, personally, prefer writing the mission before creating the homepage content for it gives me a bigger picture to work towards. You might prefer it vice-versa but the fact remains that it needs to be a top priority. How does a writer do a justifiable job of creating a good mission statement?
Start by identifying the factors that drive and run an organization. These drivers need to be included in every mission statement written for a business. You can do this by answering three questions:
What is the end goal of the brand?
This question is answered by a simple trick: trace the journey of the person behind the establishment. The end goal or the milestones of a company has much to do with the business storytelling I talked about in another blog.
The goal an organization wants to achieve.
An organization while establishing a mission board for themselves looks for a greater goal which is then broken down into milestones. This greater goal that the organization wishes to grab at the peak of their success is the defining part of the mission statement.
In other words, the goal, when achieved, will define the organization’s success. In most cases, this goal is an utopia like situation that constantly gives something to work towards. Google or AI seeking firms are a great examples.
A solution that the organization seeks.
Many a times, the mission statement for a business comes in the form of problem-solution dynamic. It is still a part of the company’s story as they set out to solve the problem and the solution is placed as the end as a goal to be achieved by the company.
This ‘solution’ is everything that the employees work towards and the seekers hope to receive from the organization. Non-profits make for a perfect problem- solution mission statement example.
Who does the company cater to?
After an end goal is clearly engraved, the next thing to include would be the public. The goal may not always clear the queries of the users. Thus, when writing a mission statement for a business, one has to have its demographic or interest group included.
The service provided.
In good mission statements, companies clearly open their doors to the seekers of a focused service. Instead of calling to a large number of people who need help, the company identifies it’s focus service. The seekers of that particular service become the target group.
Organization, may not always cover a single service but for a good mission statement the focus needs to be on special abilities. An example of the same can be seen on hospital mission boards and websites. The specialty is what defines the target.
Organization’s operational demographic
Mostly, mission statement do not zoom in on a geographical area but instead choose to define their specialties as mentioned above but one cast does not fit all. National, local and hyper-local organizations are specially defined by geography.
It is good tactic to state your region of operation clearly in such cases. Restaurants always fit this bill and so do local hobby item selling shops.
Methodology used by the organization?
This is the last and most important question. The mission statement must always include the journey that a firm hopes to undergo in order to achieve the goals they set themselves up for.
The work to be done
An organization my have the people and the service down but the journey itself cannot stay hidden in mist. The road they are going to take in order to successfully chauffeur themselves and their users towards the end goal has to be a part of the mission statement. This is a futuristic journey. Do not talk about the past, talk about the future!
This is where the brand has a change to stand out and let the readers know how their methods towards their goal are going to be different than what has been observed so far. Talk about the road less taken. Include milestones or actionable items that the users may identify with or approve of, going forward.
That wraps everything that MUST go into a good mission statement for a cohesive understanding transfer between the provider and user. The next big thing is saying the exact words.
Two ways to write a mission statement
- A mission statement starts with a defining goal, moves into the journey and ends with a shout-out to the users.
- A mission statement can also start by ‘evoking the target group’ to ‘comes along on the journey’ to achieve a ‘defined end result’.
Note: The journey is always in the middle; it is a transitioning state.
The first statement takes a declaration approach while the other is storytelling. Find the best style that represents the organization’s voice and use it in the mission statement.
Reflect on the journey, find your mission.
See you next blog!
Abhilasha Dubey 