Are business statements actually useful—and should your company create one? Learn more about the purpose of mission statements, see some mission statement examples, and learn how to create your own.
What is a business mission statement?
A business mission statement is a short summary of your company’s purpose. It can include ideas about how the business will serve customers, list the business objectives, and lay out a company’s values. The statement can be as long or as short as it needs to be.
While it’s true that all for-profit businesses have a broad purpose of making money for investors, shareholders, and business owners, a business mission statement goes deeper than just income. It covers the kind of impact the people in this business want to make, and how it will achieve those goals. It can also reflect your brand’s personality, tone, and voice.
You can think of it as your company’s “why.” Why are you in business? Why do you choose to approach things in a certain way? What is your larger purpose and impact on your industry?
Creating a mission statement allows you to create long- and short-term goals for the company. When making decisions, you can look to the mission statement to make sure your goals align with the mission.
Mission statement examples
Not sure where to start with your own company? It can be helpful to look at the mission statements of other successful businesses.
Noom
As a digital health company, Noom covers a wide range of customer concerns—but their mission is focused on helping people make changes for the better.
This is their mission statement:
“Everything we do at Noom is driven by a singular mission: to help as many people as possible live healthier lives through behavior change. By equipping people with the wisdom and power of behavioral psychology, we believe we can help everyone build long-lasting, positive habits.”
Red Aspen
If you want to see a group that takes their mission statement seriously, just look at direct sales company Red Aspen. Their mission is:
“To inspire women to stand up, stand out, and stand together by uniting passion with purpose.”
And they don’t stop there. They go on to say, “If you think that’s dorky of us, well, we totally agree with you and we’re not sorry. We freaking love our mission because we believe in it.” This is a great example of a mission statement showcasing the personality of the company.
Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort
Sometimes a mission statement can be simple. Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort shows what a straightforward mission statement looks like:
“We will inspire the love of Zion in every valued guest.”
How to write a business mission statement
The following steps will help you create a business mission statement that your company can benefit from.
1. Gather information
Talk to the business owners, leadership, and stakeholders about the company mission, values, and overall direction. Great ideas can come from anywhere, but also be sure to talk to those who are most invested in the company.
Remember that outsiders don’t know what’s going on inside the company, and a mission statement can show them what matters most to the organization.
Here are some questions to get you started:
- What inspired you to create your company?
- What problems does your company solve?
- Does your company have any unique traits?
- What is your company culture like? How do employees support each other?
- What feelings do you want customers to associate with your brand?
- How would the world change if your company achieves its mission?
- Is there a philosophy that guides decisions in this company?
Take notes on any recurring themes from your interviews—that means you’re definitely on to something.
2. Think about what your company offers
Take a literal benefit that your company provides—a straightforward product or service—and connect it to something emotional, or something with a greater purpose.
For example, if you sell something like expense management software, you can offer many concrete benefits: greater organization, transparency in spending, and better budgets.
But this doesn’t describe the ultimate benefits—things like peace of mind for your accounting team and less stress for employees who spend. A great mission statement will tie both of these ideas together.
3. Start writing
You’ll want to come up with several possible versions to choose from. The goal is to write up mission statements that are achievable, motivating, and clear. They can be a single short sentence or a full paragraph—whatever it takes to convey your meaning.
Once you have a few different versions of the business mission statement, ask yourself the following questions about each one:
- Is this inspiring?
- Is it meaningful, or is it just using a lot of buzzwords?
- Does it show the personality of the company?
- Does it tell customers why they should choose your business?
- Will it have a positive influence on future business decisions?
This will help you find the version that is true to your brand, useful for reaching your goals, and motivating for your customers.
Mission statement vs. Vision statement
A mission statement is about what a company does in relation to its customers, but a vision statement is larger in scope. It describes what the community, country, or even the world might look like if a business becomes successful enough.
For example, LinkedIn has both a mission and a vision. Their mission statement is, “Connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.” This is a benefit directly tied to the services they provide.
Now take a look at their vision statement: “Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.” This is about more than just online social connections—it’s about improving the lives of workers around the world.
Some companies have only a mission statement or only a vision statement, while others have both. You can choose to create whichever is more meaningful for your business.
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