Here's How To Make Your Mission Sizzle.

What do you think the mafia’s mission statement looks like??Like this?

The principle mission of our company is to be a reliable solution driven supplier, maximizing customer satisfaction through efficient distribution. We add value to our marketplace by being operationally excellent with wide-ranging inventories, local availability coupled with creative marketing and service programs.

Also, here’s one that might work for the local gas station, taxidermist and plumbing distributor:

The principle mission of our company is to be a reliable solution driven supplier, maximizing customer satisfaction through efficient distribution. We add value to our marketplace by being operationally excellent with wide-ranging inventories, local availability coupled with creative marketing and service programs.

What you say??They’re the same??Right.?This was front and center on a website for a wheel supplier as I searched for trailer tires.?That window got closed before I ever got to the tires.?

This is pure garbage, it hurts my eyes.?And it discredits anyone who subscribes to thinking this way.?Why??Because every human being and company subscribes to this same empty promise.?There’s nothing personal about it and the lines of distinction between one company and another get real fuzzy when impersonal cute marketing words get sprayed around recklessly.

Imagine a management meeting with the topic of developing a mission statement.?Someone spouts a generic word concoction and everyone says, “Yep, sounds nice.?We could aspire to that.?What’s next on the agenda?” Too typical.?

If you’re not telling a story about how your solution set is different, preferably better, you’re bobbing in the sea of sameness.?There’s some effort required to think deeply in preparing a statement that resonates.?

Think of those Viet Nam war movies where the helicopters speed along at 1500 feet spraying thousands of rounds of ammo.?It did more to scare people than do any real damage.?Now, think of a sniper and their effective rate vs rounds fired.?Who’s got the best metrics?

Do you want to simply bark in the wind or talk directly to someone who wants your products??The hype show we inhabit suggests more companies prefer barking, yet that’s the last thing anyone wants to listen to.?That hype show, created by a lack of creative thinking, gives you the opportunity to do it right.?Invest in some real thinking, set up your story that’s dripping with honey.

Your marketing should be like a lover whispering in your ear.?Yes, you want to make your customers lust for your products.?Don’t you??

Instead of conjuring flowery language, put on your customers shoes and think about what it is about your product that’s attention worthy.?That is the seed of your message.?What do you uniquely offer that solves a particular problem??

It’s possible that your company’s service is superior, which has nothing to do with the product being sold, but presents such a compelling benefit making you #1 in your space.?

When you market to everyone you’re marketing to no one.?You’ve got to get specific.?If you’ve got kids, you don’t describe them as 4 feet tall, brown hair, goes to school.?No, you might say, “My son Max’s sparkling enthusiasm, energy and unique foot work with a soccer ball makes him a team standout.?Plus, his infectious smile, red hair and freckles makes him popular at the academy.”

Those few words make you feel like you know him.?With that information you choose to like him or not.?That’s how tribes and affinity are made. It’s personal and connects individually. It should be like that with your business.

What sounds better if you’re a taxidermist searching for a mission statement?

We take dead animals and make them look alive.

Or

We showcase memories.

Right, you chose correctly.?Simple, elegant, personal.?Those traits are now your checklist.

Today’s world is fast and it’s speeding up.?You used to get 7 seconds to make an impression, now you get 3.?Think of all the effort that goes into making your business function every day.?If you’re in manufacturing management, the silos of production, finance, marketing, sales, engineering and purchasing are all consuming.?But your customer doesn’t care about that, the only thing that matters is solving their problem.?

Thus, those companies becoming beacons of salvation stand out.?Accordingly, forget about selling how the sausage is made, start raving about how good it tastes.

The difference between getting it right and getting it wrong is whether the mission statement makes you think or makes you feel.?Thinking is cold, feeling is warm.?No one likes being cold.

Ask yourself about those 3 crucial impression making seconds, do you want to convey,?being operationally excellent with wide-ranging inventories?or?my product does X to improve your life?

Go, go now.?Fix it to win.