What Is a Mission Statement?
A mission statement is a short, clear description of a company’s purpose, core activities, and strategies for achieving its long-term goals. It provides clarity of purpose and makes it easy for consumers, outsiders, and employees to connect with a brand on a sentimental level.
It also exists to align the company’s culture, operations, and decision-making with its central purpose and core values. When everyone in a company understands its core purpose, they work together to achieve those goals without compromising established values.
What Makes a Good Mission Statement?
Effective mission statements have the following attributes:
- They are unique
- They are short and emphatic
- They are clear and definitive
- They set standards
- They leave positive impressions
- They represent current trends
- They remain relevant
They are unique
Your statement must be unique to your brand. So much so that when someone reads similar words elsewhere, they remember your company. That way, your products will carry their own meaning and create a special connection with every customer.
They are short and emphatic
Mission statements are written in a few words, not paragraphs. They leverage the power of brevity to grab the attention of any user and convey your message in the fastest way possible. Using too many words and more than one paragraph could make readers uninterested, as they want to get a sense of your brand in less than a minute.
So, ensure you can condense everything about your company and communicate your purpose and core values in a few words or a paragraph. Remember that those few words can convey different meanings at the same time.
They are clear and definitive
Readers shouldn’t labor to understand your mission statement. They should know the fundamentals about your company immediately after reading it. A good statement must contain simple words that resonate with everyday people, tell them who you are as a brand, show what you believe in, and define what you do in the clearest way.
They set standards
Every good mission statement tells the world to hold a brand to a specific standard. That way, your consumers have something to look forward to when engaging with your product or service. These standards will also drive your internal policies, brand culture, and employee behavior to consistently meet the expectations you have set.
They leave positive impressions
Leaving a good impression means people will be happy to associate with your brand. Even if they are not buying now, your company’s product will be the first thing they remember when they are about to shop in that space. A positive impression also attracts investors and the best kind of employees, who’ll want to be part of your objectives.
They represent current trends
Your mission statement should contain the things you’re doing now, rather than in the future or past. While you can add a little bit of your history, you should make it relevant to the present. You should also use active and direct expressions instead of passive ones.
For example, you should say, “We source our products from organic materials” instead of “Our products are sourced from organic materials.”
They remain relevant
A great mission statement influences a company’s long-term decisions rather than reacts to fleeting trends. It must be a reliable guide for an organization, even as the world changes around it. It helps a company make smart choices and keep its day-to-day work on track, no matter what happens in the market or with technology.
How a Mission Statement Works?
A mission statement is at the heart of any organization’s strategic plans and must capture what you truly set out to do from the beginning. It’s not just text on paper or a marketing gimmick that ships out to an intern. Everything you enumerate in the statement helps staff and the public clearly understand what you want to achieve. That way, there isn’t a communication or perception gap between insiders and outsiders.
It also ensures you can create internal policies and a work culture designed to help employees improve productivity and enjoy their work environment. The mission statement should give them a sense of purpose and a feeling of fulfillment whenever they meet specific milestones.
A well-crafted mission statement can direct a company’s strategy in improving work culture, encouraging employees to work harder, and creating better work environments. However, blending those strategies with practices like time and productivity tracking can drive business growth even further.
Mission Statement vs. Vision Statement
It’s easy to start writing a vision statement when you actually want to write a mission statement. Most people use these terms interchangeably and some brands make the mistake of combining both into one statement.
However, mission and vision statements do not mean the same thing. Your mission statement describes your company and what you do in the present, while your vision statement articulates what your brand is working hard to achieve—its long-term goals.
Steps for Creating a Good Mission Statement
The following steps will show you how to craft a compelling mission statement that resonates with your consumers and other stakeholders.
You should note that you don’t necessarily have to write out the mission statement in the following order. Rather, the guide shows you what to ideally capture for the best result.
- Define the purpose: The first step is ensuring your mission statement declares why your company exists and what it intends to achieve every day. It should explain the main reason your organization was founded and the role it intends to fill in customers’ lives. If you’re starting a new restaurant chain, for example, your purpose should go beyond telling people you want to feed them. Instead, outline the specific things you intend to do differently. For example, your restaurant may focus on creating unique dining experiences, sticking to sustainable kitchen principles to minimize food waste, partnering with local farmers to support communities, and using the freshest ingredients.
- Identify core values: Adding your core values to the mission statement tells everyone what you believe in and stand for. It also shows what you’re willing to do to achieve your objectives. It should highlight things that speak to your ideal customers and inspire potential employees. For example, a company may emphasize community support by saying it sources materials or employee growth by declaring that it will empower every person in its workplace.
- Determine the target audience: Your target audience includes your ideal customer, investors, and employees. You want to make sure your mission statement unifies everyone who interacts with your company. That way, everyone has a uniform perception of your brand and can connect at the same level.
- Highlight key services or products: Anyone should know what your company does after reading your mission statement. It shouldn’t be open to interpretation. If a potential consumer reads your restaurant’s statement, they should be willing to dine with you.
- Keep it concise and clear: Your mission statement should be short, simple, and sharp. As mentioned earlier, you will lose most users with long or multiple paragraphs. You can always fit everything you want in one to three sentences. A mission statement example that embodies conciseness is Tesla’s “accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” In one sentence, the company has defined its customers, its objectives, and its core values.
Mission Statement Examples
Now, let’s cover 16 mission statement examples of some of the most successful brands in the world. We’ll explain why these mission statements work and how they can inspire you to craft something effective for your brand.
Retail and consumer goods
Walmart
“We aim to build a better world — helping people live better and renew the planet while building thriving, resilient communities. For us, this means working to create opportunity, build a more sustainable future, advance diversity, equity and inclusion and bring communities closer together. And at the end of the day, helping our customers save more of their hard earned money for the things they care about most. Because at Walmart, Live Better is what we do every day.”
Walmart
Walmart’s mission statement shows that the company’s core values are their commitment to a better quality of life, social and environmental responsibility, and creating opportunity. The brand’s declared purpose is helping save more, which doubles as its message to its ideal consumers.
Nestlé
“Our purpose is to unlock the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come.”
Nestlé
Nestlé’s mission statement concisely emphasizes its dedication to enhancing the quality of life through the power of food. It speaks to health-conscious consumers, families, and communities who value nutrition and well-being. The statement also clearly states the company’s intention to be around for a long time.
Unilever
“We are people with purpose, bringing hundreds of brands to homes, kitchens, and bathrooms across the country. We aim to make sustainable living commonplace with high-performing brands that are a force for good, taking action for a more sustainable and equitable world.”
Unilever
Unilever mentions “sustainable” twice in its mission statement, demonstrating its drive to promote sustainability through its products and practices. The statement clearly and concisely shows that it is into a diverse range of consumer goods and it speaks to its consumers and employees.
Fashion and luxury
Gucci
“Gucci forges ahead continuing to redefine luxury while celebrating creativity, Italian craftsmanship, and innovation.”
Gucci
Gucci is one of the world’s biggest luxury brands, and its mission statement affirms its position in that space. It reflects the brand’s commitment to high standards of creativity, quality, and innovation and also embraces its Italian heritage as a cornerstone of its identity. This approach appeals to customers who seek distinctive, high-quality luxury items, as Italian craftsmanship is known to be synonymous to quality.
Adidas
“Athletes do not settle for average. And neither do we. We have a clear mission: To be the best sports brand in the world. Every day, we come to work to create and sell the best sports products in the world, and to offer the best service and consumer experience – and to do it all in a sustainable way. We are the best when we are the credible, inclusive, and sustainable leader in our industry.”
Adidas
Adidas tells its target customers that they share the same drive for excellence and domination. The mission statement goes on to send a message to employees and other stakeholders and declares the company’s commitment to inclusivity and sustainability.
Victoria’s Secret
“We’re committed to fostering a happy, healthy and inclusive culture, which means the activity and community we foster across all our social media channels must put that commitment into action, by maintaining a safe, inviting, supportive and inclusive space for all.”
Victoria’s Secret
Victoria Secret focuses on carrying everyone along and promoting safe interactions within its community of consumers, employees, and stakeholders.
Technology and services
Traqq
“Traqq helps businesses and organizations monitor and analyze internal company processes. Your team will get better organized, enjoy higher transparency and improved work efficiency.”
Traqq
Traqq’s mission statement embodies why the company was founded and the services it offers in saying it “helps businesses and organizations monitor and analyze company processes.” It also clearly identifies the brand’s ideal customers and tells them to expect “higher transparency and improved efficiency.”
Airbnb
“At Airbnb, our mission is to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere. In the early days, many people thought strangers sharing homes would never work, but we believed that a community built on trust could succeed.”
Airbnb
This is another example of a mission statement that evolved over time, as it also tells the company’s story. That bit of history and the rest of the statement explain Airbnb’s passion, core values, and services. The statement also directly speaks to and inspires its customers, employees, and other people willing to associate with the brand.
IBM
“Our clients’ systems support modern society. In making them faster, more productive, and more secure, we don’t just make business work better. We make the world work better.”
IBM
IBM is a global tech giant known for its hardware and software. Its mission statement shows a shared sense of purpose with its clients in making the world better and supporting modern society. The company’s statement also shows that its services focus on improving and securing systems.
Amazon
“Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, Earth’s best employer, and Earth’s safest place to work.”
Amazon eu
Amazon’s mission statement lists the company’s most important principles and core values in its first sentence. It goes on to emphasize that customer service is central to its existence by mentioning customers more than once. It also sends a clear message to its employees about being “Earth’s best employer and safest place to work.”
Pharmaceutics and healthcare
Johnson & Johnson
“We believe good health is the foundation of vibrant lives, thriving communities and forward progress. That’s why for more than 135 years, we have aimed to keep people well at every age and every stage of life. Today we are committed to using our reach and size for good.”
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson’s mission statement starts with the “why” and goes on to tell consumers that it’s been around for a while. This approach builds a sense of trust and reliability. It’s a statement that has evolved over time and communicates the company’s desire to use its experience and growth to do even more good.
Pfizer
“It’s our mission to be the premier, innovative biopharmaceutical company, making breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. Good health is vital to all of us and finding sustainable solutions to the most pressing health care challenges of our world cannot wait.”
Pfizer
Pfizer tells the world about its burning passion and drive to solve health care challenges by declaring that the endeavour “cannot wait.” The statement also states the company’s intent to be innovative and “change patients’ lives,” directly speaking to medical professionals with the same passion and people that may need groundbreaking medicine.
Mayo Clinic
“Inspiring hope and promoting health through integrated clinical practice, education and research.”
Mayo Clinic
What Mayo Clinic’s statement lacks in length it more than makes up for in delivery, inspiration, and promise. It boldly asserts the company as a health institution and explains their role in educating and advancing medical practice.
Nonprofit and environmental organizations
While nonprofit organizations don’t target paying customers, their audience includes donors, volunteers, workers, and the rest of the world. Each organization’s mission statement works as a rallying cry for people to support their cause.
WWF
“The World Wildlife Fund’s mission is to leverage sound science to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.”
WWF
WWF’s mission statement is part of a broader value statement. It goes straight to the point in spelling out the organization’s main reason for existing and its drive to help species facing extinction.
Red Cross
“The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest humanitarian network in the world. Its mission is to alleviate human suffering, protect life and health, and uphold human dignity, especially during armed conflicts and other emergencies. It is present in every country and supported by millions of volunteers.”
Red Cross
This mission statement clearly defines the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, emphasizes its purpose, explains what it currently does, and states its makeup. Still, declaring its mission to “alleviate human suffering, protect life and health, and uphold human dignity” can inspire people who share the same passion to help in crisis anyway they can. The last sentence in the statement also invites volunteers to join the cause.
Oxfam
“Together, we fight inequality to end poverty and injustice.”
Oxfam
Oxfam’s mission statement is a short and powerful proclamation of who they are, what they do, and what they stand for.
Conclusion
While you can have a more elaborate mission statement that digs into your different core values and commitments, you need a punchy headline that can always capture your target audience and deliver the right message.
