Your company brand is an extension of your
company’s mission and values. Your company exists for
a specific purpose—whether it’s to provide environmentally
friendly cleaning products or a healthy meal for families.
Your brand is the visual concept and reinforcement of your
mission and values. Now is the time to evaluate what your
company mission and values are.
Company mission
Disney’s is to “make people
happy.” Boeing’s is "to push the leading
edge of aviation, taking huge challenges doing what others
cannot do." 3M’s is "to solve unsolved problems
innovatively." What is your company’s mission?
First, it is important to understand what a mission is and
what it represents for your company. Then you will be able
to better determine what your company mission is, or what
it should be. Since the mission can act as a strong marketing
and branding tool for clients, establishing an effective mission
is imperative to your company’s success.
A mission statement is a written representation
of a company’s goals and purpose. It is undisputable
that Disney succeeds in making people happy or that 3M uses
innovative products to solve problems. A mission statement
helps to give your company direction because it helps employees,
vendors, and customers to remain focused on what your company
offers.
4 steps to creating a mission statement
In four easy steps, you can create a meaningful
mission statement for your company and solidify your brand
position.
1. Pick a focus. The
first thing you need to decide when creating a mission is
its focus or theme. It has to be easy to understand and simply
stated. Disney wants to make people happy and they carry through
on this mission with whimsical character names, and an entire
kingdom built on fantasy. Your focus may be more down to earth,
like saving the environment one cleaning product at a time.
2. Communicate your
mission and act on it. Creating a mission is not just
about putting it down on paper. It’s about carrying
through on your actions—internally and externally. If
your mission says you are going to provide environmentally
safe cleaning products to help save the environment and then
a harmful chemical is found in the mixture of a product, then
you are not acting out and fulfilling your mission.
3. Focus on key attributes
you can fulfill. Don’t get too lofty with the
goals of your mission. You can’t save the entire world,
but you can certainly help to save it by offering eco-chic
cleaners. Focus on a few unique things your product or service
offers your clients and include these in your mission. 3M
does introduce innovative products to the market that helps
to solve problems. It invented the post-it note and if that
didn’t resolve a lot of problems, then I don’t
know what did. We no longer have to tape or staple notes to
paperwork. We can just stick a post-it note and remove it
just as easily—all without damaging the paperwork.
4. Take it slow.
You should really concentrate on your mission before jotting
just anything down on paper. Don’t rush the process.
Take it slow. Create a well thought out and educated mission
statement that truly represents your company and what if stands
for.
Your company mission and values go hand in
hand
Your mission statement also supports your
company values. Values are what drives the company to do what
it does. A “green” company that values the environment
offers green living cleaners. A cosmetic company that protects
animal rights sells products free from animal testing. A food
company that values a healthy lifestyle sells organic and
healthy alternatives to unhealthy foods. Values and missions
are directly related. The values your company has it what
drives it to meet its mission—its goals.
