Your Mission Statement Is Lame

Jun 17 2011

-Brant Kelsey

I recently had a customer who insisted on putting a mission statement on the website homepage. To them, they believed it was an important step in the customer's pre-purchase decision process.

No. I'm sorry.

Your mission statement is lame.

Customers don't care about a mission statement, or a vision statement. Chances are they work at a company with a fancy mission statement and they know what that's all about. Don't believe that customers buy because of a well-crafted mission statement. Your vision/mission was probably crafted at a "leadership retreat" by committee, and is probably chock full of corporate lingo like "synergy," "excellence," and "customer service" (see above).

Let's get real. They buy because you do what you do better, easier, cheaper, or more consistently than your competitor. It's your brand's promise. You've made this promise either consciously or unconsciously through your actions since the day you opened your doors.

A mission statement should simply describe the purpose of your company.

"To combine aggressive strategic marketing with quality products and services at competitive prices to provide the best insurance value for consumers." - Aflac

Your vision should be aspirational and describe what your company wants to become.

"Be the world's beer company." - Anheuser-Busch

These statements generally have no place on any of your marketing materials. At most, even if done correctly, they shouldn't make it out of the annual report. Your brand promise is where your energy should be focused. It's what your customer cares about.

So what is a brand promise, and how do I get one?

A brand promise simply lets customers know what to expect from your company when they come in contact with it.

Here are a couple of brand promise examples:

"Don't be evil." - Google

"When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight." - FedEx

"Ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen." - Ritz-Carlton

Some might argue these are slogans, mottos, or tag lines, but ultimately what they do is promise what the customer experience with that company will be like.
It sets the bar for current and future employees, and is a guiding light for marketing, operations, and management. The brand promise is part of the larger brand development foundation you should be striving to build.
Your brand promise should be bold and project confidence. Chances are your competition is scared to be that forward.

When crafting your brand promise, use your vision and mission, then create a statement that describes "how" you will behave, operate, appear, communicate or interact while performing [insert your mission here] en route to [insert your vision here].

Take the time to determine how you're going to deliver your brand, and plant that flag. It's a benefit to your operations, staff, and customers.