Vision. Mission. Purpose.
Can you feel that? Those goosebumps on your arm aren’t just because you’ve left the AC on too high. That, my friend, is the feeling of possibility. Of taking your brand and business to a whole new level.
Because, once you have outlined the vision, mission, and purpose for your business and brand, so many things fall into place.
Or, maybe we should rephrase that. Once you have outlined your vision, mission, and purpose for your business and your vision, mission, and purpose for your brand. Because, while there is overlap between these two interpretations, there are also important differences.
While these three words sound pretty epic on their own, just you wait. They have the power to close the strategic gap in your business and brand development and help you define a strong commercial identity moving forward.
So, sit back, relax, and let’s ride this wave of possibility together and see where it takes us. Actually, maybe you should turn down the AC first. Yeah, do that and then we’ll get started.
Business Planning Stage
A business plan is typically only written once and revisited yearly to check on your progress. It’s a key guiding force behind the direction of your business, and the vision, mission, and purpose help to guide it as well. Let’s take a look at how they manage that.
- Vision: Defines where the company is headed and what the future is meant to look like.
- Mission: An actionable plan designed to give the vision legs.
- Purpose: Defines why the company does what it does.
With these elements in place, you’ll be giving your business a clear direction and form. You now have something to show investors, financial institutions, and potential stakeholders that says “look at us, we know what we’re doing and you should support us to do it”.
And it all starts with vision, mission, and purpose.
Brand Strategy Stage
Now we come to the brand strategy side of things. You may notice that the order of these three terms has swapped around a bit from the business planning stage. This is deliberate. A strong brand needs to outline its purpose first and foremost, so that the vision and mission can follow suit.
This strategy shows how purpose, vision, and mission play out on the brand level for the company GlowPhone. They make glow-in-the-dark phone cases, if you were wondering. They also don’t exist… yet.
Purpose (Why do we exist?)
Definition: The reason the company exists – what outcomes customers can expect and how these outcomes benefit them.
Example: To make it easy for people to find their phones in the dark, providing convenience and peace of mind, especially in emergency situations or during a black out.
Focus: Customer-centric. It’s all about who the company is serving and why the company does what it does.
Vision (What do we do that’s different?)
Definition: The essential difference from competitors that will make a real difference to clients.
Example: Creating phone cases that glow with brilliant, long-lasting illumination, eliminating the frustration of losing your phone in the dark.
Focus: This is category-centric. It establishes what the company aims to be relative to its competitors and the rest of the industry.
Mission (How are we going to achieve this?)
Definition: The specific actions the company will take and the enablers it will provide.
Example: Innovate and refine glow-in-the-dark technology, especially for phone cases, ensuring durability and brightness, and expanding our product range to include diverse styles and colours.
Focus: Company-centric. It articulates what the company does and how it does it. Whereas the vision statement is more future-focused, the mission statement is more about what the organisation does now. A reason to believe, so to speak.
Contact Amplify
Need help understanding and outlining your brand’s vision, mission, and purpose? Thought you’d never ask. Get in touch with us today!
