A mission statement describes the entire business. Many people confuse it with the term “motto” but that is a wrong take. Mission statement tells everything about the business; its target market, the ambitions and goals the business wants to achieve, the geographical location the company operates in and the products it offers.
All in all, a mission statement is a short formal summary of the entire business plan and the company’s workings which represents the company at all levels. On the other hand, a motto is a short descriptive phrase about the company.
A mission statement changes from time to time, it’s never constant. Once you have created a place for your company in the market, your mission statement changes with the evolution of success. Your mission statement doesn’t have to be catchy, like a company logo, but has to be true and accurate. Ask yourself at every point, that does the mission statement represent the current goals and objectives of the company? If not, amend it accordingly. At the beginning, a company will have the objective of growth but once it has gained a sufficient market share for itself the objective will change to maximize profits. This change should then be made in the mission statement too.
Things to keep in mind about a mission statement
The mission statement is not only to represent the company at all professional levels but it is for the employees and customers too.
A well structured mission statement will invoke a sense of responsibility in the employees towards the company as they would consider themselves a part of the overall company.
While the customers would heighten their loyalty towards the company upon knowing the objectives the company has planned to satisfy its customer base.
Moreover, a good mission statement covers what it does for its owners too.
How to write a mission statement
To write a mission statement the company’s professionals should think about questions like: What are we doing for our customers? What benefits will the owners of the company incur? How the employees are involved? What objectives we have set for the company? What stage the business is at? What does the business aim to achieve in future? What are the cultural and ethical lines that company follows? What is the product being offered?
Thus, a good mission statement should include the ethics, culture, hierarchy, objectives, goals and aims of the company. It should make every individual related to the company feel important. So to write the mission statement executives from every level of the company should sit together and draw it up conclusively.
