The answer is an unequivocal yes.  In the rush to market, some small business owners tend to overlook the need of a Mission Statement. That usually means that writing a Vision Statement is not even on the radar.  It’s unfortunate but easily corrected. 

When assembling a marketing or business plan, a Vision Statement is just as important as a Mission Statement.  A Vision Statement is a tool that helps you look at your company’s future. It also adds value to your Mission Statement.  Let’s look at it like this- if your Mission Statement is a guide marker along the road to achieving your business goals, than your Vision Statement is your destination.    

There’s a lot of planning on how to get on the road to success, how to travel that road to success but we don’t always identify where we’re going.  The Vision Statement helps with that; it clarifies your destination.

How to write a Vision Statement.

Writing a Vision Statement requires a little different approach than writing a Mission Statement.  The first thing is to write a Mission Statement.  Take a look here.  The work you invested in your Mission Statement answered these questions – why you are doing what you are doing and how are going to help your client overcome their challenges.

Before you start brainstorming, think of your Vision Statement this way – what does it all look after you have been there? What does your niche look like, how do your clients feel after you have solved their problems?  That’s your future, that’s your Vision Statement.

Borrowing the same advice we gave about a Mission Statement, try to refine your vision and stay away from the corporate speak.  From the heart is always the best approach.

Now take your Vision Statement and let your employees know where your company is headed.  Inspire them to work toward that goal. And work every facet of your vision into your marketing.

Here’s our Vision Statement

Small business owners hesitate a bit when asked to create a Mission Statement.  It’s a task too often neglected when creating a Marketing or Business plan.  A Mission Statement is simply a “statement of the purpose of a company…”  Well, it’s a little more than that. 

Creating a Mission Statement is an opportunity to summarize the goals of your business and to state to the world why you are doing what you’re doing. A Mission Statement is a powerful tool to unify your team.  It’s a guide on how to operate in the present and how to accomplish your goals in the here and now. And is quite possibly one of the most important documents that you should create for your business success.

A Mission Statement is an important cog in your marketing and business plans.  Creating your statement motivates you and gives you purpose.  If your marketing plan is the map for the road to your business success, then your mission statement is certainly a guide marker along that road.

How to create a Mission Statement.

For inspiration, take a look at the Mission Statements a few companies that you admire. 

After you have read them, answer these questions: Why is your company here?  And, what are your client’s challenges and how can you help them overcome?

Now, write away – don’t worry about length or how it sounds or flows.  Get your thoughts and feelings down. And don’t worry if it’s too personal; the more from the heart, the better. Keep thinking about why you have your business and how you’re going to solve your client’s problems.

Once you have finished brainstorming and have a rough draft, start refining your statement and try to make it as short as possible.  Stay away from industry sounding statements like, “our company will be the global leader, etc…” You don’t have to rush; the process of creating your statement is as valuable as your final product.

Now that you have your statement, use it.  Tell your employees.  Use it to guide your marketing and customer service programs.  

Here’s our Mission Statement

Accuracy is how close you come to hitting a target. The closer you get to the target; the more accurate you are.  Makes sense.

Precision is how many times you are accurate.  If you hit the target, precision is how many times you can reproduce that hit.  Kind of makes sense.

Meet your customer’s expectations accurately & precisely.

Take a look at the two figures.  In the figure on the left, the arrows are all “close” to the bullseye; pretty accurate.

In the figure on the right, the arrows are all “bunched” together missing the bullseye. The hits are precise but not accurate.  That helps a little more. 

What does this all mean? 

In terms of customer satisfaction, being accurate is okay, but just okay.  You also need precision for your accuracy to count.  

How do we do that?  

Let’s look at it as if the target is your customer’s expectations and the arrows are your product. 

If you fulfill your customer’s expectations the first time, that’s great; you hit the bullseye.  What about the second time?  Do you still have to deliver that knockout punch? Do you need to hit the bullseye?  You bet.  You need to know the target, aim, and hit the target precisely like you did the first time.

The more accurately you hit the target of your customer’s expectations and the more precisely you deliver your product, the more effective your business message will be.

Practically speaking, the fresh salad you made on Tuesday has to be just as fresh on Thursday when your customer returns with a friend.  The great customer service your staff provided on a slow weekday has to be the same great service on a busy weekend.

A customer whose expectations are met accurately is a happy customer. A customer whose expectations are met precisely is a repeat customer.

Here are portions of a letter that General Robert E. Lee wrote to his son Custis.  Remove any political element and view it as a parent giving advice to their child or a mentor teaching his apprentice – the words resonate for today’s small business owner.

“You must study to be frank with the world. Frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do, on every occasion, and take it for granted that you mean to do right…”

“Never do a wrong thing to make a friend or keep one; the man who requires you to do so is dearly purchased at the sacrifice…Above all, do not appear to others what you are not…”

“If you have any fault to find with any one, tell him, not others, of what you complain; there is no more dangerous experiment than that of undertaking to be one thing before a man’s face and another behind his back…”

“We should live, act and say nothing to the injury of any one.  It is not only for the best as a matter of principle, but is the path of peace and honor.”

We all have the opportunity and choice to do the right thing in any situation.  Being honest builds trust.  Creating standards builds a foundation.  Being yourself is easier.  Openly communicating builds morale.  Eliminating negativity builds integrity.  It works with your team, your customers and even your competition.

The team at Walsh/wexford is fascinated with Marketing.  It truly is a science. The craft can be practiced poorly with disastrous results or it can be executed in just the right way where the process becomes magical.  It is an art to connect with a group of people who become clients.

Our approach for our clients is a blend of marketing with business.  We love building business from the ground floor, guiding it to the next level, or bringing it back to life.  Our success and our client’s success are accomplished with two rock solid techniques – creating a strong business base and a great marketing plan.

The real excitement for us is helping and teaching fellow business owners.  We love the exchange of ideas and sharing what we have learned with our clients so they can realize their business goals.

We want this blog to be a place where we can connect with other small business owners, where you can connect with each other and where we can help one another achieve our business goals.