# Marketing plays a big part in a buiness but is the vision statement even greater?



## wizeapparel (Jan 28, 2012)

HEy guys I am working on putting my idea for my vision statement for my company to put as a bio on website social media, blogging and much more. Is really essential to have this vision statement put out there cause this is just starting off?


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

not essential, no. it's not even necessary for a business to have one, and those that i believe benefit the most from them (inasfar as management believes they actually provide value for a company through such ridiculous methods to 'prove' and justify their paychecks) are non-profits. mission, value and vision statements have, imo, about as much worth as the managers whose job it is to see those vague goals come to fruition. but, a manager that needs to keep his job is inherently inclined towards the status quo, the rare renegade boss that attempts real change will get weeded out of the system fast as he exposes the failures and shortcomings of his peers and 'superiors.' 

to me, this junk is nothing more than bland pleasantries and empty promises, like quality statements which generally go something like, 'we will meet or exceed customer expectations and industry standards through continuous improvement and innovation,' then it's back to affixing band-aids as usual. the real slogan for places like this should be, 'the beatings will continue until moral improves.'

so, to answer your post title's question (which was misleading,btw), these things meant to give focus, direction and inspiration pales in comparison to marketing. but, if you do come up with a vision statement, by all means put it on everything for your staff and customers to see as it's not something you wouldn't want *everyone* to know.

you tell me if these sample vision statements hold any value whatsoever and can even broach the importance of marketing or anything that requires actual work on the creators' part:

walt disney's vision statement: to make people happy.

wal mart ~ worldwide leader in retail

macy's ~ Our vision is to operate Macy's and Bloomingdale's as dynamic national brands while focusing on the customer offering in each store location

amazon ~ Our vision is to be earth's most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online

avon ~ To be the company that best understands and satisfies the product, service and self-fulfillment needs of women - globally

what pissses me off is that people that get paid vast sums of money have the nerve to cash their paychecks for coming up with this moronic drivel. and that it takes a team of fools to actually come up with it. by virtue of having a business isn't this stuff self-explanatory/self-evident? i mean, you know what you sell, and you want to be the best at it as you can possibly be, so what's the point of having to write it down for all to see? 

the vision statement is written for the client and is meant to provide a corporate identity to the business. and leave it up to some management-style thinker to come up with the idea that what would be diary entries or blog posts are basically 'personal vision statements.' ridiculous. 

mission statements, on the other hand, are short statements that gives a reason for the company to exist. three main components to into a good mission statement (borrowed from wiki): 

1) Key market – who is your target client/customer? (generalize if needed)
2) Contribution – what product or service do you provide to that client?
3) Distinction – what makes your product or service unique, so that the client would choose you?

this can have some actual value to it. again from wiki (because i'm too lazy to find more examples elsewhere):

McDonalds - "To provide the fast food customer food prepared in the same high-quality manner world-wide that is tasty, reasonably-priced & delivered consistently in a low-key décor and friendly atmosphere."

Key Market: The fast food customer world-wide

Contribution: tasty and reasonably-priced food prepared in a high-quality manner (bwahahahahaha! someone needs to show this to the lousy golden arches in my town!)

Distinction: delivered consistently (world-wide) in a low-key décor and friendly atmosphere. (yeah, those giant play areas some of them have are really low-key, there, guys.)

Courtyard by Marriott - "To provide economy and quality minded travelers with a premier, moderate priced lodging facility which is consistently perceived as clean, comfortable, well-maintained, and attractive, staffed by friendly, attentive and efficient people"

Key Market: economy and quality minded travelers

Contribution: moderate priced lodging

Distinction: consistently perceived as clean, comfortable, well-maintained, and attractive, staffed by friendly, attentive and efficient people

is this stuff really necessary for our purposes? absolutely not. is it necessary for the tee-shirt customer? no, and why would a t-shirt customer even care? what could you put in a vision statement that's not already obvious? 'to give people joy through humour' if you're selling funny tees? really?

spend ten minutes on it, put it in your 'about us' section and be done with it.


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

oh, well, actually, come to think of it, if you bother with a vision statement, indeed you would plaster it on every stinkin' thing you could that the customer would see.


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## wizeapparel (Jan 28, 2012)

You do make a valid statement I guess what I was trying to do was lean more towards the mission statement like the example you were giving . But then if I don't give any details of anything then what really going.to get people to know hey buy my stuff when its all online I know designs and what our theme is plays a big part but how else are we suppose to give our ideas a life behind each theme


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

Be creative and personable. Be fun and get involved in social media topics that are geared to the theme of your brand. Nothing wrong with having a mission statement. But don't lead with that. Don't be too corporate. Develop a culture that associates with your brand. Think of brands you like and study/research/observe what they do.

Why do you like those brands? What makes you buy those shirts?


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## EnMartian (Feb 14, 2008)

A mission statement was the big go to thing for a while, but it's quieted down a lot now. I do recommend having an About Us page on your site and giving people a glimpse into who owns the company and what those people believe, but it doesn't have to be as formal as a mission statement. 

As for selling shirts, you could go a lot of ways. Talk about what inspired the design on the shirt. Talk about what you want people who are wearing the shirts to think or feel while they wear them. Write about the spirit behind the company and what the designs are supposed to say to the world. I think the trick is to develop your own way of communicating on your site and then making sure you carry that through the entire purchasing process.


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## ryan barker (Jul 21, 2011)

i like a professional looking site, of course, but there are those that are so slick they make me sick. ugmonk springs to mind. i agree, you don't necessarily want to come off as all corporatey. i just dropped by affliction's site, and it's slick, but it doesn't make me want to choke on my own vomit as hollister's, which just feels like forced committee thinking to me... and it looks oddly cheap, like a sci-fi channel original movie (and i use all those words loosely). 

kristine is right, also, an 'about us' pretty much should answer what a vision statement says, just in more personable detail and in a paragraph or two. 

"Think of brands you like and study/research/observe what they do." ~ try as i might, my wife just won't let me research clothes for strippers. says we keep running out of dollar bills. pfft.


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