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Tide Pool Tuesday: Your Mission Statement is Not Your Brand
Sometimes we notice that clients, particularly small businesses looking to grow significantly, try to translate their mission into their brand positioning. These aren’t the same, and shouldn’t be the same. Your mission is what you or your company is trying to accomplish. Your brand positioning, on the other hand, is how you’ll accomplish that goal.
Not that your potential clients or customers don’t care about your mission, but, they’re consumers. Meaning, they’re concerned with how your product or service can help them.
Take a look at your mission statement (or vision statement, motto, etc.). This is the phrase that defines whatever goal you are trying to accomplish. Better yet, it’s a motto, a mantra, a reminder of what moves you forward and fuels your drive. You don’t necessarily need to focus on your product or service here, rather what your product or service aims to accomplish. For example, let’s look at the brand, Honest Tea.
Their mission statement:
“Honest Tea seeks to create and promote great-tasting, healthy, organic beverages. We strive to grow our business with the same honesty and integrity we use to craft our recipes, with sustainability and great taste for all.”
Let’s go back to looking at the consumer, your target market. What matters to them about this? Why does Honest Tea stand out in the natural foods market? This is where your brand positioning lies.
What value does Honest Tea hold in the mind of consumers? A low-sugar alternative. An easily accessible product. Variety of options. Kids like it. It’s healthy, responsible, organic. You can go on for a little bit here, however, see how this brand positioning reflects the mission statement?
Your brand positioning is intended to outline how you would like your potential customers or clients to see you. However, at times you may not be able to completely control this. Brand positioning is something that must be molded form target market research, client or customer feedback, social development, etc.
In conclusion, state your mission. What is your company trying to accomplish? What is the footprint you are trying to leave? Change you are trying to create? Then, find a way to connect with the interests, fears and desires of your target market. How can my product or service add value to their lives?
Take a consumer-first approach. Establish how you can uniquely meet the needs of your target market, and let your brand take flight. Of course, Liquified Creative would also love to help your brand tell it’s story. Find out how>>