In the beginning — before your business became a business — it was an idea. You saw a need, had a vision for the change you wanted to see in the industry and made plans for how to drive that change. To some extent, a company’s origin story is captured in its vision, mission and values. These components combine to form the brand DNA, informing nearly every aspect of how the company goes to market — its tone of voice, target audience, B2B brand experience, business strategy and even who it hires.
Vision: What The Brand Hopes To Achieve IN THE Long Term
I often see mission statements preceding vision statements. However, the mission should support the vision — not the other way around. The vision statement describes what your organization hopes to achieve in the distant future.
Some refer to it as the ultimate dream state, prompting leaders to answer questions like these: If your business had a magic wand, what would the industry or even the world look like? How would the lives of your target customers change? It speaks to a destination that does not entirely exist yet, but that the business is actively working toward.
Because the vision statement is less about the journey and more about the final destination, these statements are more aspirational and often use compelling language and a confident tone of voice.
Inspiring vision statement examples include:
- LinkedIn: “To create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.”
- Southwest Airlines: “To be the world’s most loved, most efficient and most profitable airline.”
In addition to inspiring employees and shaping culture, the vision statement acts as a compass for the company’s long-term business and B2B brand strategy. You should use the vision statement as a litmus test for decision-making related to expanding products and services, reaching prospective customers, or entertaining mergers or acquisitions. If the strategy under consideration doesn’t serve the vision, it’s likely not going to deliver business value.
Mission: How Your B2B Brand Will Achieve Its Vision
While the vision statement focuses on tomorrow, the mission statement focuses on today — what the company is doing right now to make the vision a reality. Said more poetically, the vision is your North Star and the company’s mission statement is your compass.
A good mission statement communicates your core offering and value proposition, identifying the organization’s core audiences and the benefits it hopes to deliver. Some use a simple formula that breaks down what the organization does, for whom and how it does it. Because mission statements are more pragmatic, make sure the language is clear and concise — though your mission statement should also inspire readers and motivate employees.
Mission statement examples include:
- American Express: “Our mission is to become essential to our customers by providing differentiated products and services to help them achieve their aspirations.”
- Oracle: “Our mission is to help people see data in new ways, discover insights, unlock endless possibilities.”
The purpose of mission statements is to help the organization focus on day-to-day activities that further the vision of tomorrow. While it can be an externally facing statement seen by customers on a website or other branded materials, its core job is to remind employees what the organization is doing — and subsequently what they should be doing — every day. Your mission statement should be frequently referenced by leadership in everything from new employee onboarding to town halls.
Values: The Behavioral Attributes Required To Deliver
Values examples include:
- Authentic: “Our heritage is one of honesty, integrity, and courageously doing the right thing.”
- Accountable: “We take ownership for our business and our future.”
- Innovative: “We are committed to new ideas that add value for our customers, our business, and our world.”
- Caring: “We respect each other and care for the communities where we live and work.”
- “Customer obsession rather than competitor focus.”
- “Passion for invention.”
- “Commitment to operational excellence.”
- “Long-term thinking.”
Values drive internal alignment
The big picture: vision, mission and values
Your vision, mission and values act as guides to fulfill your organization’s potential and explain why your brand exists. Created with care, they are the key to ensuring that you meet your financial objectives, that your loyal customers have an exceptional and differentiated brand experience, and that your employees lead a more fulfilling work life.
While their creation and implementation don’t have to be a burden on brand and marketing team members, make sure they are crafted in alignment with executive leaders across the enterprise. That requires time for discovery — holding small group sessions and one-on-one conversations to glean insights that will deliver an authentic vision, mission and set of values to inspire and motivate your organization.
