Components of the Marketing Tree: Roots – Mission
This article addresses a second root of the marketing tree illustration: mission. Last month’s article was about purpose (vision). In simple terms, mission is what we do. Purpose is why we do it.
Here is the same illustration used with the preceding article about purpose. The mountain peak in the distance represents our purpose and why we are on this journey in the first place. The vehicle represents mission and what we are doing to accomplish our purpose. The GPS represents our core values and guidance on the journey.
A mission is a specific task. Two businesses may have similar purposes but have vastly different missions. Garbage service as a mission is vastly different than food service. But both are valid missions, and may even be guided by the same purpose.
Remember Mike’s Meats? Mike’s business takes prized game and family-raised livestock and turns them into memorable snacks and meat cuts. The mission at Mike’s Meats is to produce legendary products from their customers’ own harvest.
What happens if you have no mission statement? Take “Frank’s Fixes.” Frank’s Fixes mechanic shop didn’t have any mission statement, really, other than, “If it’s broke, I can fix it.” He boasted that the only reason he didn’t fix 747 jumbo jets was because they didn’t fit in his shop! Little wonder that his lack of focus brought incredible stress into his small shop. And little wonder that he couldn’t retain employees who were expected to fix a tricycle one day and a complex diesel pickup the next. Had Frank fixed his focus on a sensible mission statement and stuck to it, he would likely still be in business.
Knowing your mission is important because it creates a focus and stabilizes your company’s direction. With a focus, one can better identify and eliminate distractions. For example, it helps answer questions like these. Should we add that new product line? Should we agree to collaborate with a neighboring company that wants to share resources? Focus enables new employees to readily comprehend and advance the mission. A valid focus expressed in a mission statement can effectively advance the purposes of any business. But the mission statement isn’t just a one-year focus. Instead, it looks out decades into the future. At the same time, astute businessmen know that their mission may need to change over the years as external factors change what customers need or value.
Here are some characteristics of a meaningful mission statement for a business.
1. A clear mission statement is simple and crystal clear.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen at Microsoft in 1975 had the goal of “A computer on every desk.”1 Because of its clarity and simplicity, even a five-year-old could understand it!
Mike’s Meats’ mission statement of “making legendary meat products” provides a concise target and focus for everyone’s efforts. The mission statement gives direction on what to do. In fact, the longer Mike’s Meats exists, the better they are at creating products that fulfill their mission. For them, it is snack sticks and pre-seasoned grill entrees. Some five-year-olds in the area actually won’t eat snack sticks if they aren’t Mike’s. They understand. Some dads won’t bother firing up the grill if they don’t have Mike’s products to make for dinner. They understand, too.
The mission statement not only gives direction on what to do. Just as important, it tells us what not to do. “Making legendary meat products” helps Mike and the boys say “No” to opportunities that don’t fit the mission. When a salesman came by asking Mike’s Meats to carry fresh salads in their retail store it was an easy “No” in spite of a persistent salesperson.
2. A good mission provides a clear mechanism for the business purpose to be accomplished.
When Mike’s Meats creates snack sticks or flavorful grill entrees, they fulfill their purpose of “Bringing happy memories to the family table.” Mike’s Meats has framed photos in the customer space of exactly this happening—Mike’s family gathered around his table, loaded with venison from the deer in the adjoining picture: Jr. with his first buck.
Mike’s slogan is “Delicious meats are the best kind of memory.” This slogan captures the alignment of his mission and purpose. His business passion is to bring to others what he has so often enjoyed: concluding the hunt or the hog project with legendary, savory meat shared and eaten with family, friends, and hunting buddies.
3. A strong business mission solves a complex problem for a large number of people.
Anyone who has turned a deer carcass into snack sticks or cut steaks from a fattened steer knows something of the size and complexity of the problem Mike’s Meats solves. “Here today, gone tomorrow” businesses aren’t solving a complex enough problem. Most folks can make their own lemonade and walk their dog.
The more complex the problem, the larger the amount of capital needed. The more advanced the research and development required, the more valuable it is to fulfill that mission. In short, the more barriers it leaps, the more robust the mission will be. The larger the problem, the greater the rewards for the ones who solve it. And the more people who need a solution, the stronger the business mission.
4. The solution provided by the mission has significant meaning.
The mission must address something that people generally care about. Even if every household in your community has several garden hoses, and garden hose life could be significantly extended by proper care, no one really cares enough to have them waxed and polished. However, the community surrounding Mike’s Meats takes raising their own livestock seriously. And many of them hunt to take that game home and enjoy the food. They really care about tasty meat—it lights them up! And it lights up Mike’s shop too, both the place and the people in it.
When a business addresses something that matters to people, they are providing value. It’s helpful to think of delivering value to the customer from two vantage points. The value provided could be hard value, such as the ability to produce potatoes at only 80% of the current standard production cost. Or it might be soft value in perceived safety for children or peace of mind. Whatever the mission is, it should have some form of significance to both the client and the business owner.
The more effectively a business can impact the things that have significant meaning to clients, the stronger its mission is. People tend to value their wants higher than their needs, which is why retail space selling groceries will likely have lower margins than one selling sports equipment. But since people’s needs must be met, the solution grocery stores provide has significant enough meaning for even smaller towns to have several outlets.
5. The mission capitalizes on available resources and financial strength.
Mike’s Meat was born and thrives today because it fits Mike and his boys. Mike and his family are uniquely positioned to make meats that satisfy. Sometimes, Mike introduces himself as a “hopeless carnivore,” “a lover of meat—any kind of meat.” From butchering to seasoning to packaging to enjoying a great product with friends and family, it’s all a pleasure for Mike and his sons.
Furthermore, since Covid, many people want to raise their own meat. The butchering business is booming. Besides, Mike lives in an area where an abundance of white-tail deer are harvested annually, fattened to perfection by pillaging quality agricultural products in local fields and pastures.
Also, Mike is tapping into trade secrets he’s discovered. You’ve heard of “tools of the trade” and “secret recipes.” Mike knows all that stuff and maximizes his knowledge to make his butcher shop and his products outstanding.
Businesses are successful as they capitalize on available resources to create a strong financial model. Mike’s Meats thrives for this reason.
Part of maintaining financial strength is suitable pricing. The price must deliver appropriate value for customers to continue to purchase the service or product. As exciting as some missions would be to pursue, if the expenses cannot be kept lower than the income, the mission must be tweaked to stronger financial strategies.
Do you have a well-defined and useful mission statement? Use this simple tool to gauge how masterful your mission is. Evaluate each of these components of masterful mission by assigning it a number between 1 and 10, with 10 being the strongest. Add the five scores and multiply by 2. How close do you get to 100%?
In summary, choices have consequences. Business mission choices had consequences for Mike’s Meats. How strong is your mission?
- https://money.cnn.com/2015/04/05/technology/bill-gates-email-microsoft-40-anniversary/