If you want to really energize and focus your overall marketing efforts, take the time to write a mission statement, a vision statement, and an ethics/values statement for your business.  I’ve been working on these for a client, and I realized that I—and any business owner, small or large—ought to have them, too. 

The simple act of writing these statements has three benefits:

1. They will help you focus on where your company is and where it’s going. 
2. They will help you identify and communicate your core competencies and your target market to your employees, stakeholders (if you have any), customers, and potential customers. 
3. They can form the underpinnings for an entire marketing plan.

Because Whole Foods is one of my favorite stores, I used their statements as examples below.

Mission Statement

This is a broad, one sentence overview of your company.  It clearly and succinctly describes your company’s unique attributes, services, and/or products.  You can use it on your website, business card, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn profiles and in your elevator speech and e-signature.  You can and should update it as your company grows and evolves.

To write one, make a few lists:

1. Who are your clients? Consumers or bus

Read full article…