VISION
(THE BIG PICTURE) A vision statement tells of how you see the future. What measurable results look like. It provides a link between your mission and purpose and the scope for your future growth. It aligns your leaders with the followers who also share the vision. A vision keeps you on course, aligned to your purpose. By nature it is aspirational, blue sky, big thinking. It’s optimistic. By nature, it involves the change you want to see in the world. And to make that change you need a plan. That plan is the Mission.
PURPOSE
(WHY) A purpose statement tells WHY you do what you do. Why your company came into existence in the first place and why it is important that it exists. It speaks of what injustice there is in the world and why the organisation is here to do something. It can sometimes be thought of as the founding story.
Mission
(HOW) A mission statement tells the HOW of your business. It tells us how the big picture vision will become a reality. It drives you. It tells the work you do everyday and the programs you run. A mission statement talks about how lives are changed. It has goals like how many people are reached, how many individuals are touched by the business. It’s the action plan.
IMPACT
The impact is what matters. Measuring results, and building in ways to measure the impact you are making, means that you can use this to communicate the ways you are striving toward your vision. This is how you know if you’re on the right path with your mission.
Why is this important?
Many small businesses (and even larger organisations) understand that their core function is meeting the needs of their customers or stakeholders. Generally speaking, they feel the need to either increase the uptake of their services and understand that the best way to do that is through advertising of some sort.
From a communications perspective, they generally move directly to a ‘tactical response’. That is, they get a Facebook page, email people with an offering on MailChimp, create a flyer or make a poster, or invest in advertising in a newspaper, radio or television channel.
Investing in the strategy before investing in the tactics ensures that all of your communications work for your goals.
The best way to achieve results from tactical communication is to understand the reason WHY you are communicating. Working on the strategy makes it really simple to create communication that is aligned to your mission.
Invest in workshopping your Purpose, Vision, Mission and Impact before you create any tactical communications.
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