There’s something scary about a lack of direction and purpose. But you can stop your brand from missing the mark by making sure your brand mission and vision are as solid as a rock. But how do you build a brand mission? What should your brand values be? As dramatic as it sounds, nobody should try to build a brand (or anything) without an idea of why you're doing it. Based on years of working with brands to decide who they are and what they should say, here's some stuff you should consider.
Stay true to you
Creating a perfect brand mission and vision is something everyone has an opinion on. You're looking for a bold idea that people can get behind, shared in a language that anyone can understand. Importantly, this should be real and true to your business. You'll be living with your brand vision for many years, so make sure that it's something that you can stand behind.
It doesn't matter what you call it
When we meet businesses, there's a high chance that they've come up with a name for their mission and vision. Some call it their purpose, their DNA, their mission, or even their North Star. There is something more important than the name though. The test of any mission, is whether it is useful and actionable. This comes down to making sure you capture the heart of the brand; and make it simple for anyone to understand.
Make sure it's in sync
Big picture visions can be difficult for people to agree on. But that's nothing compared to actually making sure people follow up on them in practice. For example, if your brand is about "creating happiness" do you actually do that for your employees? There are lots of brands who have a mission or values that they don't act on in the real world. Actions speak louder than words, and people will notice when you say one thing and do another.
Big thinking in simple words
Most brand statements, whether that be mission or values fall into the trap of complexity. We're not sure exactly why this is. But because setting the vision for an entire company is A Really Big Deal™ some companies are afraid to use little words. The problem is this often means no-one understand them. Which isn't the point, because complexity makes people less likely to use them. Don't be afraid to be simple. It's much better to be simple and clear in what you're saying, so everyone gets it.
What's a brand vision statement?
The vision should summarise how the world will look different with your company in it. What will change? What will be different?
What's a brand mission?
The mission should say how you will make that change happen. How will your difference come to life in the real world?
Show me how it's (not) done...
There are many good examples of well written mission and vision statements for brands. But sometimes it can help to look at what not to do.
Jargon: This is the CX transformation of the future
Corporate Speak: Empowering Tomorrow.
Overblown: To nurture and inspire the human spirit
Vanilla: We're about people, integrity and trust.
The problem with these is they're statements made for the boardroom, not for people - which makes the chances of people actually using them quite low. So let's move this forward. What does a good brand statement look like? Here's a couple of examples of statements that move the needle.
Examples
Vision: Change made easy, for life
Mission. Anyone can improve their home to make life better. Our mission is to make that simple. We make this possible through easy to access advice, as well as materials that are good quality and not cheap.
Summing up
What we like about this mission and vision, is that it's the kind of statement that you can use in many ways. You could use it in a top level meeting with the board to discuss strategy. But you could also use it with a team on the shop floor to set direction for an individual store. Your own mission and values will be unique to your business. But now you know how to get to a brand mission and vision that will be useful and practical to help inspire your team.
