How to Write a Company Mission Statement
The goal of your mission statement is to define your company’s purpose in a well-written and concise paragraph that explains your business’s focus and goal. Although it may be challenging to formulate the appropriate words to describe your business, it is imperative to share what your company stands for in a memorable and effective way.
What Is the Purpose of Your Mission Statement?
Every business owner should write a mission statement early on to provide its partners, investors and employees with the framework and purpose of your company.1
Your mission statement should serve as a sentence describing your company’s function, markets and competitive advantages to your investors, partners, employees and customers.
A mission statement defines what a business is, why it exists and the reason for its being. It should define who your primary customers are, the products and services you provide and the location in which you operate. Read on for more specifics.
What Should Your Mission Statement Include?
Your business’s mission statement should answer these four questions:
1. What does our business do?
2. How does our business do it?
3. Who does our business do it for?
4. What value does our business bring?
Tips for Writing Your Mission Statement
Similar to opening a small business, crafting the perfect mission takes a lot of time and effort. To make it the best it can possibly be, here are a few tips to help.2
- Involve individuals connected to your business. Different people bring different perspectives. Try to involve another person who can see the strengths of your business and contribute any unique characteristics they see your company possesses.
- Set a due date. Mission statements are short and oftentimes only a sentence or two. Therefore, completing it may fall by the wayside to higher-priority items. To make sure it gets completed, brainstorm with your team – and set a date for yourself. Make certain you stick to it.
- Use enthusiastic language. Once you have identified the basic theme behind your mission statement and have a draft, begin refining the language. The statement should create an image for your customers and inspire action. To achieve this, use colorful verbs and adjectives to make it enthusiastic. If you’re excited about your company, your customers will be as well.
- Test it. After you have completed your statement, distribute drafts to your investors, partners and employees. Inquire about what they think, how they feel about it and if there are ways to improve upon it. Keep in mind that a comprehensive statement that captures the essence of your company is the end goal.
References
1 Entrepreneur. (n.d.) Mission statement. Retrieved January 20, 2015 from http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/mission-statement
2 Smith, D. (n.d.). 5 tips for a useful mission statement. Retrieved January 20, 2015 from http://www.inc.com/ss/5-tips-on-developing-an-effective-mission-statement
