8 magical tips for crafting your vision & mission
There is no better time than now to really hone in on your brand vision, mission and values. Brands that have created these solid foundations and are sharing them with the world are truly making waves, as a result of genuinely connecting with the more mindful consumer of today. When you nail a good mission and vision statement, great in fact, actual magic happens. These stellar statements will capture the essence of your entire brand and shine a light on the value you offer consumers in a cleverly concise way.
In the words of Simon Sinek ‘people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.’
Although the benefits of crafting these are plentiful, actually bringing them to life is a challenge most entrepreneurs with big visions and high hopes grapple with. We create these statements when bringing brand strategies to life for our clients and see firsthand how powerful they can be for any business. This is a skill that gets better with practice and time, which most business owners don’t have the luxury of. This pressure is probably one of the main reasons for carving out these statements often falls short. If done right from the beginning though, these statements will grow with you and will only need creating once in a brand’s lifetime.
VISION & MISSION EXPLAINED
What actually is a mission and vision statement though? And, what is the difference between the two?
Some consider these two powerful statements interchangeable but it is important to have both. They are a perfect pair of present and future for your brand and would be lost without each other, as purpose and meaning are the beating hearts of any business.
WHAT’S IN A MISSION STATEMENT?
Your Mission Statement focuses on the today of your business and what you do in the now. Consider it the roadmap statement for your company. When defining your mission statement you need to ask these three questions…
- What do we do?
- Whom do we serve?
- How do we serve?
The benefits of a good mission statement strongly articulates its value in the world as a company. As a result, it motivates a team to move together toward a common, purposeful goal. As well as resonating with the heart, minds and wallets of your customers wanting to buy into a brand that shares their values.
WHAT’S IN A VISION STATEMENT?
Your Vision Statement focuses on the tomorrow of your business and who you want to become, consider this the blue sky thinking statement. When crafting it, you need to be asking yourself - ‘if my company succeeded in everything it was doing, what would the world look like?’
- What are our hopes and dreams?
- What problem are we solving for the greater good?
- Who and what are we inspiring to change?
Your vision statement aids growth, both internally and externally. A strong vision helps everyone focus on what matters the most for their company. It also invites innovation and stimulates inspiration. A purpose-driven company envisions success as a whole because they know what success means for their company.
STATEMENT EXAMPLES
Here are some seriously inspiring examples to get you started…
Company: Patagonia
Mission: We’re in business to save our home planet.
Vision: A love of wild and beautiful places demands participation in the fight to save them, and to help reverse the steep decline in the overall environmental health of our planet.
Why it works: Building and implementation in Patagonia’s mission convey what they achieve every day. The tone of the vision changes dramatically, showing a company who will rise up to protect the future.
Mission: We’re in business to save our home planet.
Vision: A love of wild and beautiful places demands participation in the fight to save them, and to help reverse the steep decline in the overall environmental health of our planet.
Why it works: Building and implementation in Patagonia’s mission convey what they achieve every day. The tone of the vision changes dramatically, showing a company who will rise up to protect the future.
Company: TED
Mission: Spread ideas.
Vision: We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world.
Why it works: The TED mission to “spread ideas” is a simple demonstration of how they serve. The vision is all about impact, how spreading ideas invokes change in the world.
Mission: Spread ideas.
Vision: We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world.
Why it works: The TED mission to “spread ideas” is a simple demonstration of how they serve. The vision is all about impact, how spreading ideas invokes change in the world.
Company: Tesla
Mission: To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. Vision: To create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles.
Why it works: What better word than “accelerate” in a mission to serve as the driving force behind what Tesla does. While boldly stating “best in the century” reflects loftier dreams in the vision.
Mission: To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. Vision: To create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles.
Why it works: What better word than “accelerate” in a mission to serve as the driving force behind what Tesla does. While boldly stating “best in the century” reflects loftier dreams in the vision.
So, let’s get to how you can DIY your own seamless and succinct vision and mission statements with these handy hacks…
01 | FIRST THINGS FIRST, BE CLEAR ABOUT YOUR PURPOSE
At the beginning, remove the pressure of having to be clever and focus on being clear. Break all of the elements down into points first. Ask yourself these (fairly) simple questions…
- Why does my brand exist?
- If I were to succeed, what would it look like?
- What are my core values?
- What problem am I solving?
- What makes us unique?
Pinpoint your brands focus and work from there as a starting point.
02 | WRITE DOWN ALL OF THE WORDS
Don’t hold back, write every word you can think of and jot them down. Create a list of words that resonate and feel free to consult a thesaurus without getting bogged down with fancy words. (A handy tip here is to keep this list and use it as a brand dictionary for the future). The best, most memorable statements aren’t some stunning prose but in fact, the ones that are beautifully simple and capture your attention in a heartbeat.
03 | USE YOUR IMAGINATION
Ask yourself, if you were living in a world where your brand was the solution - what would that world look like? Be a storyteller in this stage, go wild and stretch those imagination muscles to the max. Write down the story that comes to mind, no matter how ridiculous it may seem.
04 | COMMUNICATE WITH CLARITY + CONFIDENCE
Articulate what your brand is all about, what it is that you do and why it has a place in the world. Be sure to remove any fluff though, just say it well and with inspiring confidence. If you get stuck, write what you want and then strip it back by reaffirming the key points - then, go back and edit it to utter eloquence.
05 | SHINE A LIGHT ON THE BENEFITS + STRENGTHS
Your offering is the best of the best - people, in fact, the world needs it. You want everyone to know that, right? Yes. Think about exactly what you need to say about the benefits and strengths of your product or brand? Is it quicker, bigger, all natural, more reliable or cost-effective? Save you time? Save the planet? Or make you happy? Explore the descriptive benefits and obvious strengths, and keep writing them down until your mind runs dry.
06 | TIME TO PLAY PHRASE SCRABBLE
At this stage, you should have a strong list of words, terms and phrases. Start by pairing these together. The aim of the game is to be simple yet effective, not clever and confusing. These statements need to be inspiring to both you and your customers. We may have said this is a ‘game’ but don’t get caught up in wordplay and idioms - keep it powerful, truthful and thought-provoking (not thought muddling).
07 | BE RUTHLESS + CULL
You may be crafting compassionate statements but you need to be heartless at this stage of the game. By this point you will have a bundle of worthy options, go through them one by one and remove any that don’t resonate with you instantly. Then, with the remaining list ask yourself these questions - Will it connect? Will it work across all platforms? Does it need explaining? Are there any unnecessary words in there? Are all my key points included?. Once you have a list of potentials, share them with some friends that fit within your target audience. Don’t give them any context and just ask them how the statements make them feel? Is it clear to them? We may have said this is a ‘game’ but don’t get caught up in wordplay and idioms - keep it powerful, truthful and thought-provoking (not thought muddling).
08 | SLEEP ON IT. THEN, SLEEP ON IT SOME MORE
When crafting words, sleep is your greatest asset. At first, you should always let the creative juices flow and create your copy without any restraint. After though, getting some beauty sleep is the best editing tactic in the book. Let the ideas sit and brew overnight, you will end up making a far more considered and refined piece of work by giving it room to breathe. Rest assured, one will stand out above the others; likely the one you had never really considered. Or you may end up having a eureka moment and forming a beautiful blend of two.
Once you have chosen your two winning statements, it’s time to start opening your mind up to ideas on how you can share them with the world. Consider where you can take your advertising and marketing campaigns and well folks, as they say, the rest is history.
Soon you’ll find that vision of yours has become a reality and you will be saying ‘mission accomplished’. Next up, world domination.
If you need help defining your brand's vision, mission, and values or building a brand strategy that gets your business blossoming, then get in touch with us - we would love to help!
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