Why do you choose to buy products and services from certain brands even when cheaper options exist? It often comes down to a compelling brand mission — like these 35 mission statement examples.
Brands use a mission statement to express their values. As consumers, we like to patronize businesses that have values we believe in.
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Table of Contents
A mission statement is a simple statement about the goals, values, and objectives of an organization. A mission statement summarizes why a business exists and helps a company respond to change and make decisions that align with its vision.
This brief description helps customers, employees, and leadership understand the organization’s top priorities.
An effective mission statement will naturally change over time. As a company grows, it may reach its early goals, and they’ll change. It’s important to revise mission statements as needed to reflect the business’s new culture as it achieves its goals and develops new targets.
A great mission statement combines physical, emotional, and logical elements into one exceptional customer (and employee) experience that you value as much as they do. A good mission statement will not only explain your brand’s purpose but will also foster a connection with customers.
When your brand creates a genuine connection with customers and employees, they’ll stay loyal to your company, thereby increasing your overall profitability.
Mission statements also help you stand out in the marketplace, differentiating your brand from the competition.
I’ve personally observed that there’s more brand recognition for companies when consumers think they have an important mission.
When wearing a pair of TOMS shoes, I’ve noticed that people comment more on my shoes than when I’m wearing Converse or Nike shoes (which are both more well-known brands). TOMS famously created the One for One® model, where they vowed to donate one pair of shoes for every one purchased.
A memorable company mission makes your product more noteworthy.
Your mission statement should clearly express what your brand does, how it does it, and why the brand does it. You can quickly sum this up in your mission statement by providing the following:
With these three components, you can create a mission that is unique to your brand and resonates with potential customers. Next, we’ll guide you step by step on how to write a proper mission statement to build on as your company evolves.
You understand the importance of a well-crafted mission statement that effectively summarizes a company’s purpose, but how do you write one? Let’s look at the steps to write a good mission statement, and then we’ll dive into mission statement examples to inspire your creativity.
A good mission statement helps prospects understand what your company does in a literal sense. This means explaining your offering in basic, clear terms. Your explanation should answer the most basic questions like:
Record your answers and focus on how your product or service brings value to your buyer personas, otherwise known as your target audience.
Now, this is where you can start thinking bigger. You didn’t just make a product or service at random. Instead, you’re most likely motivated by a set of core values. This is particularly important for socially conscious businesses and brands that care about well-being.
Core values are deeply ingrained principles that guide a company’s actions. Take HubSpot’s culture code, HEART, for example:
These are principles that not only company employees respect but are principles that our customers appreciate as well. By identifying core values that hold meaning on personal and organizational levels, you’ll have an appealing set to add to your mission statement.
So, how can your company offering serve your core values? You need to draw a connection between the two in a way that makes sense to the public.
For example, if one of your core values centers on innovation, you want to frame your product or service as pushing boundaries and explaining how it helps customers innovate their lives or business practices. Essentially, you’re taking the literal benefit of the offering and expanding it to serve a higher purpose.
A mission statement can be as short as a single sentence or as long as a paragraph, but it’s meant to be a short summary of your company’s purpose. You need to state the what, who, and why of your company:
Condense this to be between one and three sentences long. At this stage of development, it’s often helpful to write several mission statement drafts to help process ideas and experiment.
Once you have successfully conveyed your brand’s message, it’s time to refine and perfect your mission statement.
Above all, your mission statement stands as a marketing asset that is meant to be:
Your mission statement should clearly outline the purpose of your company offering, capture the company spirit, and show the common goals the company is working to achieve.
Have other team members or advisors read your mission statement draft and make adjustments if needed according to their recommendations. This is normally a slow process for brands, and I’ll share ideas and company mission statement examples in a moment to help inspire creativity in the writing process.
A vision statement is aspirational and expresses your brand’s plan or “vision” for the future and potential impact on the world. They often serve as a guide for a brand’s future goals and explain why customers and employees should stick around for the long haul.
A good vision statement should be bold and ambitious. It’s meant to be an inspirational, big-picture declaration of what your company strives to be in the future. It gives customers a peek into your company’s trajectory and builds customer loyalty by allowing them to align their support with your vision because they believe in the future of your brand as well.
Your company vision is meant to be inspirational while also aligning with the company’s mission. A vision statement should have the following characteristics:
Both mission and vision statements are often combined into one comprehensive “mission statement” to define the organization’s reason for existing and its outlook for internal and external audiences — like employees, partners, board members, consumers, and shareholders.
The difference between mission and vision statements lies in the purpose they serve.
A mission statement clarifies what the company wants to achieve, who they want to support, and why they want to support them. On the other hand, a vision statement describes where the company wants a community, or the world, to be as a result of the company’s services.
Thus, a mission statement is a roadmap for the company’s vision statement.
A mission statement is a literal quote stating what a brand or company is setting out to do. This lets the public know the product and service it offers, who it makes it for, and why it’s doing it. A vision statement is a brand looking toward the future and saying what it hopes to achieve through its mission statement. This is more conceptual, as it’s a glimpse into what the brand can become in the eyes of the consumer and the value it will bring in the long term.
In summary, the main differences between a mission statement and a vision statement are:
Now that we know what they are, let’s dive into some useful examples of each across different industries.
Need more examples to build your mission statement? Download our free overview of mission statements — complete with 100 templates and examples to help you develop a stand-out mission statement.
Write a mission statement with these useful templates, like the example below:
The Life is Good brand is about more than spreading optimism — although, with uplifting T-shirt slogans like “Seas The Day” and “Forecast: Mostly Sunny,” it’s hard not to crack a smile.
There are tons of T-shirt companies in the world, but Life is Good’s mission sets itself apart with a mission statement that goes beyond fun clothing: to spread the power of optimism.
This mission is perhaps a little unexpected if you’re not familiar with the company’s public charity: How will a T-shirt company help spread optimism? Life is Good answers that question below the fold, where the mission is explained in more detail using a video and with links to the company’s community and the Life is Good Playmaker Project page.
What we like: Life is Good has a lofty, yet specific, mission statement. It’s a hard-to-balance combination.
Notice that sweetgreen’s mission is positioned to align with your values — not just written as something the brand believes.
The language lets us know the company is all about connecting its growing network of farmers growing healthy, local ingredients with us — the customer — because we’re the ones who want more locally grown, healthy food options.
The mission to connect people is what makes this statement so strong. And, that promise has gone beyond sweetgreen’s website and walls of its food shops: The team has made strides in the communities where it’s opened stores as well. Primarily, it offers education to young kids on healthy eating, fitness, sustainability, and where food comes from.
What we like: Inclusive language is built into this statement.
A previous vision of Patagonia’s mission statement was “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”
Patagonia’s mission statement spotlights the company’s commitment to helping the environment and saving the earth. The people behind the brand believe that among the most direct ways to limit ecological impacts is with goods that last for generations or can be recycled so the materials in them stay in use.
In the name of this cause, the company donates time, services, and at least 1% of its sales to hundreds of environmental groups worldwide.
If your company has a similar focus on growing your business and giving back, think about talking about both the benefits you bring to customers and the value you want to bring to a greater cause in your mission statement.
What we like: This mission statement example from Patagonia succinctly combines their products and activism into one memorable sentence.
The tweet above is from Simon Sinek, and it’s one that we repeat here at HubSpot all the time. American Express sets itself apart from other credit card companies in its list of values, with an ode to excellent customer service, which is something it’s famous for.
We especially love the emphasis on teamwork and supporting employees so that the people inside the organization can be in the best position to support their customers.
What we like: The emphasis on teamwork and supporting employees so that the people inside the organization can be in the best position to support their customers.
In one sentence, the brand takes us to the root of why it was founded while also revealing its vision for a better future.
The longer-form version of the mission reads: “We’re constantly asking ourselves how we can do more and make a greater impact — and that starts by reimagining everything that a company and industry can be. We want to demonstrate that a business can scale, be profitable, and do good in the world — without charging a premium for it. And we’ve learned that it takes creativity, empathy, and innovation to achieve that goal.”
The mission statement’s success all comes down to spot-on word choice.
What we like: Warby Parker doesn’t hold back on letting its unique personality shine through.
This mission statement from InvisionApp is:
As a result, it makes the folks at InvisionApp seem trustworthy and genuine.
What we like: This mission statement uses short senses and powerful words to be as pointed as possible.
Penguin is speaking to an audience that is excited to expand their horizons and explore new narratives. This mission statement focuses on the power of story and how it can shape lives. With that, the publishing house makes its mission more than just releasing books.
What we like: Penguin creates a mission that everyone can relate to. Who doesn’t love a good story?
The folks at IKEA dream big. Their vision-based mission statement communicates their mission of making everyday life better for their customers.
It’s a partnership: IKEA finds deals all over the world and buys in bulk, then we choose the furniture and pick it up at a self-service warehouse.
“Our business idea supports this vision . so [that] as many people as possible will be able to afford them,”the brand states
What we like: Using terms like “as many people as possible” makes a huge company like IKEA much more accessible and appealing to customers.
A previous version of Nordstrom’s mission statement was, “Offering customers the very best service, selection, quality, and value.”
When it comes to customer commitment, few companies are as hyper-focused as Nordstrom is. Although clothing selection, quality, and value all have a place in the company’s mission statement, it’s clear that it’s all about the customer: “Nordstrom works relentlessly to give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible.”
If you’ve ever shopped at a Nordstrom, you’ll know the brand will uphold the high standard for customer service mentioned in its mission statement. Associates are always roaming the sales floors, asking customers whether they’ve been helped, and doing everything they can to make the shopping experience a memorable one.
What we like: The use of the term “great experiences” creates the feeling that Nordstrom cares about retaining customers instead of making on-off sales, which breeds customer loyalty.
Mission statements from 100 companies and templates to create one for your business.
