I can probably count on one hand the number of great company mission statements I've seen in my over two decades in marketing. While most business owners have been told that they need to have a mission statement, not everyone has been instructed on how to create one that's useful and meaningful.
By definition, a mission statement communicates the fundamental purpose and values of a business or organization. In simpler terms, your mission statement should make it clear why your company exists. It guides decision making and keeps your business on track over the long term when micro- and macro-environmental factors can make it easy to veer off course. For example, marketing messages, brand image and new product development must complement the mission statement. Discord may lead to reduced results or worse -- failure.
Even corporate marketing executives have trouble understanding what makes a mission statement useful. Take for instance the following mission statement which belongs to the management company behind a popular airport in the U.S. (Note: The city name has been replaced with "City-Name."): "Our Mission: Provide safe, secure, customer friendly, affordable transportation services, and facilities that promote the City-Name Experience."
What's wrong with this mission statement? It demonstrates several of the most common mistakes that make a mission statement, well, stink. Here are the five primary reasons why mission statements fail, and how you can avoid them.
Reason 1: Generalization
Insert the name of your local airport into the real airport mission statement above. Does the mission statement work? This mission statement stinks because it could apply to just about any airport in the world. Yours should be specific. A mission statement must be tailored to your company -- otherwise it's useless.
Related: Mission Statement Worksheet
Reason 2: Fluff
There is no room for corporate rhetoric in a mission statement. The airport mission statement example is filled with buzz words that are vague and meaningless. Get to the point. If your employees can't relate to your mission statement, then it won't mean much to your customers, either.
Reason 3: Confusion
Did it take dozens of people and meetings to develop your mission statement? Sometimes simplicity is the key to clearly communicating the root of what your business is about. If your mission isn't obvious from the start, then you should consider going back to the drawing board, because you're not ready to put it into an official statement yet.
Related: The 3 C's of Communication
Reason 4: Boredom
Ask 10 strangers if your mission statement makes sense and gets them excited. If not, it probably stinks. I'd guess the majority of those strangers would say the airport mission statement example does not get them excited, because it doesn't say anything. Make sure your mission statement tells a story and sparks an interest among your customers.
Reason 5: Overspending on marketing
Do your employees give you a blank look, roll their eyes and grumble to each other when they hear words like "mission statement"? Do they react similarly when they receive your expensive, colorful handouts with the mission statement printed on them? If you have to spend a large amount of money hyping your mission statement and trying to get employees to buy into it, then your mission statement is most likely doomed to failure. A good mission statement should be able to speak for itself without frilly marketing.
Related: 10 Ways to Stretch Your Marketing Budget
Bottom line, your business's mission statement is the nucleus of your company and, by extension, its marketing communications. If you and your employees can't clearly communicate your purpose for being in business and what makes your company unique and meaningful, then you most likely won't be able to create effective marketing strategies and communications. Start at the beginning by developing a solid mission statement that defines your company.
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Comments:
So true. Any business can state that their mission is exceptional customer service or a quality product and you hear it all the time. But an affective mission statement should include what exactly sets you apart from the rest and what exactly to do offer that's so much better than the competition. This takes some serious thought and is not as simple as it may sound.
Indeed Wayne. Examples would have come in handy for certain.
@ Wayne Spivak. Spot-on; its a lot easier to make a blanket criticisms and 'How not to' on Mission statements, but i've found out that most people who criticize Missions statements, when subjected to the nitty gritty of writing one that excites cant live up to the bill.
It is all about confusion and boredom! lol Thanks for sharing this article here. This is really useful. I think I might check this out later and refer this to my friends.
Susan, Great post. I find that most people have not participated in companies that have Aspirations (mission, vision, values) and, therefore, don't think much about it. Those that have them and use them effectively, get substantial value out of them...Zappos is my current favorite example. Many companies don't know how to develop them well, so I put together a series to help companies develop them http://labs.openviewpartners.com/what-are-company-aspirations/ I am hoping to get it together into a free e-book later this year. Thanks for the great post and for flying the flag on this topic! Scott Maxwell OpenView Venture Partners
You should be able to boil everything that you do into a simple mission statement. Anyone in your company should be able to recite the company mission statement and should easily "get it." If you asked employees if they agreed that this was what your company was really- ultimately -about, they should readily agree without having to think about it or try too hard to make it work. Lisa www.StartYourOwnSmallBiz.com
Susan, You make some very good points in your article. And Steph, I agree that many businesses confuse their vision statement with their mission statement. Here is a definition of a mission statement that I have used with my clients that helps them put it into perspective: "A corporate mission statement should be a short and precise statement that declares what business the organization is in, who it serves, and how it achieves that in a unique way. It is the essential "reason for being" of an organization." The key to this definition (and to your point Susan about generalization) is the phrase (and how it achieves that in a UNIQUE way). This also provides the foundation for defining your value proposition -- What do you do?, What's in it for me? and Why should I do business with you instead of anyone else?
Good points. I think people also confuse their mission with their vision. I've seen a bit of this and have written on the differences here: http://stepwise.tumblr.com/post/3763365746/if-your-mission-got-in-a-bar-fight-with-your-vision ("If your mission statement got in a bar fight with your vision statement")
my mission: make people laugh. www.awkwardengineer.com
Your article has merit, but your example unfortunately doesn't live up to the article, and I believe you made a fatal flaw when you didn't give several alternative mission statements that are better because [fill-n the reason]. A good educational experience always provides examples. Now, I disagree with your example of over generalization (not the concept). I think the the mission statement provided captures (sans my comments that follow) what an airport is to provide. The "affordable transportation services" statement should not be in the mission statement because the airport has no control over pricing. Thus the airport could never meet that aspect of the mission statement. And what is a "City Experience"? That is hyperbole and I agree, should not be there. Wayne Spivak SBA * Consulting LTD www.SBAConsulitng.com Twitter: @WSpivak