What is a mission statement?
A mission statement is 'a formal summary of the aims and values of a company, organization, or individual'. They are usually very short and concise, condensed into a sentence or small paragraph, and used to help employees keep focused and motivated with a clear goal in mind. It explains what the company does, how it does it and why it does it, which interests prospective investors who may be interested in a company if their missions align with each others.
Example:
Royal Shakespeare Company's mission statement:
- To inspire and captivate audiences and transform lives through amazing experiences of Shakespeare's plays and of great theatre
- Relevant, resonant and accessible, made in Stratford-upon-Avon, shared across the UK and around the world
What is brand positioning?
Brand positioning is the "act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market”, describing how the company differs from its competitors. A brand positioning strategy is used make consumers perceive a company in a specific way, increasing consumer loyalty and their willingness to purchase a company's products or services.
To create successful positioning, three things need to be analysed: what the consumers want, what the company's and brand's capabilities are, and how each competitor is positioning their brand. A positioning statement is then created, which typically is a three word summary of the company's brand identity.
There are many types of brand positioning strategies. For example:
- Customer service positioning strategy (highlights friendly customer service/strong support systems, which can help justify higher price points)
- Convenience-based positioning strategy (highlights why a product/service is more convenient based on factors such as location, ease-of-use, accessibility, etc.)
- Price-based positioning strategy (highlights the affordability of a product/service)
- Quality-based positioning strategy (highlights the quality of a product/service based on factors such as craftsmanship, materials and sustainable practices)
- Differentiation strategy (highlights a product's/service's uniqueness and innovative qualities)
- Social media positioning strategy (highlights what platforms/channels the business is most and least active on)
What, in business, is meant by values and drivers?
Values are at the core of every business. They're what a business stand for, their principles, their philosophy. They can the principles a business owner personally has, the beliefs and attitudes all staff have in common or the organisation's standards of behaviour. A clear set of values will be agreed upon all management and employees and they will always be adhered to and prioritised by the business.
Example:
Enchantment Theatre Company's values:
- Originality
- Imagination
- Transformation
- Community
- Salespeople
- Number of stores/locations
- Website traffic
- Commissions, fees, and other selling expenses
- Number and price of products solved
- Production rate for manufacturing
- Energy and electricity costs
- Salaries and wages per employee
- Commodity prices (e.g. oil, copper, rubber)
How can an individual, business or organisation market themselves?
The best B2C (business-to-consumer) marketing strategies are:
- Social networks and viral marketing: uploading shareable content on social networks such as videos, images and text posts
- Paid media advertising: paying for an advertisement to be displayed elsewhere such as on social media, websites, in shops, etc.
- Internet marketing: any kind of marketing that uses the internet and online technologies (e.g. websites, email, social media)
- Email marketing: an automated process that targets specific prospects and customers with the goal of influencing their purchasing decisions
- Direct selling: marketing and selling products/services directly to consumers, building face-to-face relationships between sales agents and consumers by visiting their homes
- Point-of-purchase (POP) marketing: targeting consumers that are already engaged with the business through product displays, on-package coupons, shelf talkers, etc to sway purchasing decisions
- Co-branding marketing: where two brands join together to promote and sell a single product/service
- Affinity marketing: a partnership between a supplier and an organisation that gathers those with the same interests (e.g. a coffee shop selling goods from a local bakery)
- Cause marketing: a co-operative effort between a for-profit and non-profit organisation to promote and benefit from social and other charitable causes
- Conversational marketing: interactions via a chatbot or live chat, providing self-service and answering their questions immediately
- Earned media/PR: publicity that's created through efforts other than paid advertising, and is always unsolicited and gained organically (e.g. social media testimonial, word-of-mouth, television or radio mention, article)
- Storytelling: creating a 'tale' of who the company is, what it does, how it solves problems, what it values and how it engages and contributes to the community
In business, what is a blueprint and how would this relate to customers and marketing?
A business blueprint is a strategic plan that tells those in charge how to strategically execute business, covering aspects such as the productivity requirements, necessary jobs, milestones, targets and expected outcomes. It's a composition of documents, including the life plan, organisation chart, position contracts, job prototypes and business plan.
- Life plan: the foundation of the blueprint that details the most important things the business owner wants the business to say to the world, setting milestones for how they can ensure the message and impact is left behind
- Organisation chart: covers what positions the business needs to operate at peak performance (e.g. sales manager, customer service, marketing specialist, etc)
- Position contracts: details what tasks each position is responsible for, the quality standards, the expected outcomes, who they'll report to, and how the position fits into the company's mission and vision
- Job prototypes: a documentation of how tasks are done to act as a training manual for new hires. This also stabilises consistent processes as the quality standards will be equal regardless as all employees will receive the same training
- Business plan: the outcomes and goals the business owner will use to identify whether the business systems are working
Having a blueprint increases the chances of a business securing a loan, securing investment capital and growing their business.
There are also marketing blueprints which involve designing a vision for the company's future, defining how the brand will be built upon, creating a map to reach the set goals and inspiring the team to make the most of every marketing opportunity. This will help the business to create a brand identity whilst keeping the customers in mind, visualising the company through their lens to improve overall brand perception, increase sales and customer satisfaction levels, and provide synergies to drive up company profitability.
Websites used:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/missionstatement.asp
https://www.rsc.org.uk/about-us/policies/our-plan-2018-2022
https://www.thebrandingjournal.com/2016/11/brand-positioning-definition/
https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/brand-positioning-strategy
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/starting-business/planning/business-planning/values
https://enchantmenttheatre.org/about/mission-vision-values/
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/modeling/business-drivers/
https://marketbusinessnews.com/financial-glossary/business-driver/
https://www.weidert.com/blog/top-10-most-effective-marketing-strategies
https://howtoentrepreneur.com/what-is-a-business-blueprint
https://m.economictimes.com/small-biz/marketing-branding/marketing/the-need-to-have-a-marketing-blueprint/articleshow/49177739.cms
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