12 of the Best Mission Statement Examples To Inspire You

A great mission statement captures the core beliefs and values of your organization, and having one can bring a variety of benefits to your business:

• A mission statement clarifies the direction you want your business to move in, and can help to guide the creation of other important elements such as your business plan, financial model, and brand strategy.
• Mission statements help to inspire employees and offer guidance on how they should approach their roles.
• A mission statement can provide a framework for decision-making.
• A good mission statement immediately puts your company’s values and ethos at the heart of your brand and at the forefront of customers’ minds.

A great mission statement should not only explain the purpose behind your brand but should also form a connection with your audience. 

Combining physical, emotional, and logical elements, your mission statement should create connections with both customers and employees in order to ensure they stay loyal to your brand.

A great mission statement is concise, clear, and different from those already out there. Your mission statement should be unique to you and help your brand to stand out from the competition.

These 12 examples of mission statements all showcase how, when done correctly, a great mission statement can have a major impact on the success of your brand. So, let’s take a look:

#1. Patagonia

“We’re in business to save our home planet.”

Patagonia is an outdoor clothing and equipment brand that puts the planet at the heart of everything it does.

Patagonia’s mission statement spotlights the company’s main business aim, to save the planet and operate a sustainable business.

The guiding ethos behind the brand is that one of the best ways to save the planet is to use products that don’t damage it. This mission was born after Patagonia realized the steel pitons for rock climbing it originally sold were causing damage to the rocks.

The brand uses its mission statement as a guiding light through everything it does, committing time, money, and resources to environmental causes and projects worldwide.

What Can We Learn From This?

If your business prioritizes giving back, ensure your mission statement highlights this. You can do this by focusing on the value you bring to customers, as well as the value that using your brand will allow them to contribute to.

#2. Google

“Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

Google’s mission statement couldn’t make its business goals more clear.

As the world’s largest search engine, Google’s job is literally to collate and distribute information to users. Centered around its own algorithm—its system for organizing information—Google has nailed a simple and clear mission statement.

Google is incredibly simple to use, meaning the search engine is “universally accessible and useful”, just like its mission statement claims.

What Can We Learn From This?

A wordy mission statement can unnecessarily complicate your message, especially if your business has a simple, clear purpose. If you’re looking to make an impact, consider a short, simple, and memorable mission statement that clearly outlines what your business strives for.

#3 Nike

“Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. If you have a body, you are an athlete.”

Nike is an athleisure brand focusing on bringing everyone the latest technologies and styles.

From professional athletes out on the field to the everyday person running errands, Nike is designed for everyone.

While it doesn’t use this word, this is one of the most inclusive mission statements out there.

What Can We Learn From This?

Brands positioning themselves as inclusive or appealing to a large demographic should take note of the language Nike uses in its mission statement. It clearly indicates the industry it operates in while simultaneously validating anybody who’s shopping there.

Using inviting and uplifting language in your mission statement will break down the stereotypes that surround certain industries and encourage a wider demographic to identify with your brand.

#4. American Express

“Become essential to our customers by providing differentiated products and services to help them achieve their aspirations.”

American Express uses its mission statement to set it apart from other credit card companies.

The key focus for American Express is offering services that can genuinely help customers do what they want to do, and its mission statement refers directly to what the brand offers customers.

What makes American Express a leading credit card company is that it offers products and benefits to its customers that extend that far past those offered by its competitors.

What Can We Learn From This?

Your mission statement could highlight what sets your business apart from its competitors, by using language such as “differentiated” and “unique” to describe your products and services.

#5. IKEA

“To offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.”

IKEA opted for a vision-based mission statement that focuses on what it can offer customers and why customers should choose its brand.

While many furniture brands may focus their mission statement on providing great furniture, IKEA chooses to go one step further and showcase the importance of ensuring its prices are low and accessible to all.

IKEA’s mission statement is another great example of promoting inclusivity and accessibility, ensuring the brand is positioned as putting the needs of its customers first.

What Can We Learn From This?

If your business has a unique angle or selling point that sets it apart from its competition, this is a great foundation for your mission statement. IKEA solves a common problem its customers face – a lack of affordability in the furniture market. Make your mission statement unique by thinking about the problem your business solves for its customers.

#6. TED

“Spread ideas.”

The shortest of all our mission statement examples, TED has made its mission statement as simple as possible, and it shines through in every single TED Talk the brand publishes.

This mission statement is a great example of being broad and non-specific while still aligning closely with the company’s ethos and goals. TED knows what it wants to do and does it.

What Can We Learn From This?

It’s important that your mission statement accurately reflects your business’ goals and values, but if your business offers a wide range of services or products, you might find this challenging to pin down in a short statement. In these cases, broad, all-encompassing language can be a better approach – just make sure the language you choose still closely aligns with your brand identity.

#7. Nordstrom

“Our mission is to continue our dedication to providing a unique range of products, exceptional customer service, and great experiences.”

Nordstrom’s mission statement is powerful because it connects directly with customers, promising a fantastic experience as well as stellar products.

This is also an excellent example of how a brand can use its mission statement to connect with not just its customers but also its employees.

Nordstrom employees are able to use the brand’s mission statement as a guide for customer interaction, ensuring they are upholding the brand’s values by offering the best customer service possible.

What Can We Learn From This?

Offering positive customer experiences is at the core of any successful business. By using language that speaks to both customers and employees, your mission statement will have a dual purpose and can be used as a gold standard for staff to uphold. If your business has an existing reputation and experience in its field, you can easily highlight this in your mission statement using language such as “continue to…”

#8. Starbucks

“Inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.”

Starbucks’ mission statement is ambitious (nurturing and inspiring the human spirit doesn’t sound like an easy task to us) while still being relatable and using approachable language.

While the start of the mission statement is grand and inspiring, the second half refers to tangible aspects that every customer can relate to.

What Can We Learn From This?

It is possible to share ambitious goals for world domination if, firstly, you use relatable language and secondly, the goals are attainable for your business. Starbucks’ language drills down to how each singular customer helps it to achieve its overall goal, and is a clever way to involve consumers and express gratitude.

#9. Microsoft

“To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”

Microsoft is a software company and yet its mission statement makes no reference to software of any kind. Why? To keep it accessible.

Let’s be honest, software and IT can be hard to get your head around if you’re not an expert, and the last thing Microsoft wants to do is alienate potential customers.

Microsoft’s mission statement focuses on the why behind the products, as opposed to the what.

As Microsoft operates in such an evolving market, this is a great way to keep the mission statement flexible and open to change. No matter what area the brand branches out into, the mission statement will still be appropriate.

What Can We Learn From This?

To maintain a strong brand identity, you should avoid changing your mission statement unless necessary. To keep your mission statement relevant for as long as possible, you should think forward to your business’ near-future goals and try to encompass them – especially if your business is new or evolving.

#10. Pinterest

“Bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love.”

Pinterest is all about inspiration, so it should come as no surprise that its mission statement uses this word.

Like Microsoft, the platform chooses not to go into specifics of what it offers, and instead focuses on the value and emotions it’s hoping to prompt in users.

Pinterest is a platform that’s used by users for both personal and business use, so it’s important that its mission statement encompasses both.

What Can We Learn From This?

If you aim to evoke a specific emotion through your products, you can focus on this in your mission statement and speak directly to each customer, no matter what their relationship is with your business. This works particularly well for health and wellness services and businesses selling products for the senses, such as scented candles and aromatherapy.

#11. PayPal

“To democratize financial services to ensure that everyone, regardless of background or economic standing, has access to affordable, convenient and secure products and services to take control of their financial lives.”

PayPal’s mission statement is clear and powerful – after reading it users should be in no doubt about what it offers and why.

The online payment platform has always put three goals at the heart of its offering: being accessible, affordable, and secure.

PayPal’s mission statement focuses on the service it offers and the benefits that come with that service. It accurately acknowledges what users will be looking for and ensures the mission statement reflects this.

What Can We Learn From This?

It’s a good idea to use your mission statement to explain the long-term benefits that your product or service will have on your customer, especially if your business aims to solve pain points such as accessibility and affordability. This will help your customer envision their life with your product in it.

#12. JetBlue

“To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground.”

In case you didn’t already pick up on the theme, JetBlue is another brand that includes the word “inspire” in its mission statement.

The airline uses its mission statement as a key way of differentiating itself from fellow airlines, of which there are many, as JetBlue is dedicated to not only offering a great airline experience in the air but also giving back to community projects on the ground.

What Can We Learn From This?

Combining your work and services with your philanthropic efforts is a great way to connect with your customers on a deeper emotional level. When competitors are providing similar offerings to you, this emotional kinship is often what sways a customer to choose your business.

As you can see from these mission statement examples, there are various ways your brand can use your mission statement to inspire audiences and employees and lay the foundations for your wider business strategy. 

From Nike’s inclusive and accessible mission statement to Patagonia’s statement that closely mirrors its ethics and values, there are plenty of things you can take from the examples in this article to inspire your own mission statement.

Be sure to let us know in the comments which mission statement is your favorite and now you’ve finished this article, why not take a look at our guide to rebranding your business next?