Close-up of hands marking a paper map with a pen in a dark editorial layout about creating a road map for business success.

The 9-Hour Small Business Tune-Up — Hour 5: Mission Statement and USP

by

Without a clear plan, questions about your business will keep coming back to you. This section helps you answer those questions. By the end of it, you’ll have a business map — a tool that keeps you focused and lets you work with clear direction.

As a city grows, things like road construction change its map. What usually doesn’t change is the terrain. For our purposes, the “roads” are the direction your business is taking, and the “terrain” is your core business. Keeping your business map close by gives you something to check whenever you feel off track.

Mission Statement:

Your mission statement is a tool that helps you hold on to the direction you set for your business. It should be clear, and it should state your roles, goals, mission, and purpose.

Share your mission statement with everyone connected to your business, and have them help put it into practice. Post it where employees, customers, and suppliers can all see it.

Some Tips to Keep in Mind While Writing Your Mission Statement:

  • Keep it clear, specific, and to the point.
  • Think of your business as a journey, and know the destination before you write.
  • Include any long-term goals you have.
  • Provide direction for your business.
  • Include benefits to your clients, employees, and suppliers.
  • State the purpose of your business.
  • Aim for something short — one or two sentences, roughly 15 to 30 words, is easy to remember and say out loud.

Sample Mission Statement of A Touch of Business.com:

Goals:

Our goal is to provide free information and resources for small business owners, founders, and managers who are starting, running, or growing a business.

Customer Satisfaction:

We strive to keep our visitors satisfied by continually adding new posts to A Touch of Business.com regularly.

The information is written and produced by numerous authors, in the fields of marketing, business administration, management, and entrepreneurship. This allows our visitors to benefit from a wide range of business expertise.

Growth:

Our growth at A Touch of Business.com is in direct response to the addition of new content, which in turn gives our visitors a vast amount of information they can access anytime.

Before You Write — A Quick Checklist:

Before you draft your own statement, make sure you can answer these four things:

  • The business — what do you actually do?
  • The customers — who are you doing it for?
  • The methods — how do you go about it?
  • The impact — what changes for the customer because of it?
Exercise: Write Your Mission Statement Below:

Using the tips above and the four questions in the checklist, write a draft of your own mission statement. Keep it to one or two sentences, then read it back and cut anything that isn’t doing real work.

Developing Your USP:

Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is a statement that describes why a customer should do business with you over the competition. Print it out, and make sure you and anyone else involved in your business — including employees and suppliers — practice it. A statement nobody uses doesn’t help you, and your customers won’t believe it if they never hear it consistently.

It must be specific, clear, and compelling. It’s the reason a customer picks you, and it should give you a real edge in your industry.

After your first draft, look at it from a competitor’s point of view. Can they challenge it? If so, what part would they challenge? Write a new draft that addresses that challenge.

If you haven’t completed the section on studying your competition outlined in Hour 4, do that first — it will help you develop your USP. If you’ve already completed it, keep a copy handy to refer to.

Exercise: Creating Your USP:

1. Brainstorm and come up with at least 20 good points about your business.

2. Choose the three most important points that make your business special.

3. Write a short, clear, compelling statement that includes the three points you chose above.

If you get stuck, try this starter template:

[Your business] offers [product or service] for [target customer] to [the value they get]. Unlike [the alternative], we [your key differentiator].

You don’t have to use it word for word — it’s just a structure to help you get past a blank page.

Here’s an example of how one type of business might work through this exercise — a hypothetical membership site offering educational products:

20 good points about the business:

  • Membership is for life and you pay only once.
  • All products are instantly available from anywhere in the world.
  • Free support.
  • Free advice for your business.
  • Huge discount.
  • Members can become dealers.
  • Products come from well-known entrepreneurs and educators across different fields.
  • Members can listen to audio as they work and take notes on what applies directly to their business.
  • They can watch videos on their computers, which alone is worth the price of membership.
  • All the information is indexed, so members can quickly find the e-book, audio, or video that covers a particular topic.
  • Members can find information by product or author.
  • Products come in a variety of formats, including audio, video, e-book, or software.
  • Members never have to pay for another product found in the members’ area of the site.
  • New and exciting products are constantly being added.
  • Before buying a book, members may email first to see if it’s going to be added to the site, so they’ll get free access.
  • No other site has the same free, continually updated collection of products.
  • Regular members build up as much knowledge as the authors who produced the information.
  • The information helps members become professional marketers, whether in their own businesses or as consultants for others.
  • Regular use helps members formulate new ideas to market and run their businesses.
  • A variety of viewpoints and specialized products from different authors gives members a wider view of the business world.
  • A one-year, money-back guarantee is offered if a member is unsatisfied for any reason.
  • Using and applying the information can turn a member into an expert.

The Three Most Important Points:

  • Members never have to pay for another product found in the members’ area of the site.
  • New and exciting products are added continually.
  • Using and applying this information can make you an expert.

Sample USP 1:

Pay Once, Receive “Expert” Business and Marketing eBooks For Life

Sample USP 2:

Fresh Business Material Weekly, Exclusive To Our Members

Now it’s your turn to make a list for your USP!

Key Points and Facts About Mission Statements and USPs

  • A mission statement states your business’s roles, goals, purpose, and direction in one or two clear sentences.
  • Short, memorable mission statements — roughly 15 to 30 words — tend to stick better than long ones.
  • A mission statement only works if it’s shared and used, not just written once and filed away.
  • A USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is the specific reason a customer should choose you over a competitor.
  • A USP has to be practiced consistently by everyone connected to the business, or customers won’t believe it.
  • Studying your competition first — as covered in Hour 4 — makes it easier to write a USP that actually stands out.

Action Steps for Writing Your Mission Statement and USP

Draft your mission statement

  • Answer the four checklist questions: business, customers, methods, impact.
  • Write one or two sentences that cover your roles, goals, and purpose.
  • Cut it down until it’s short enough to remember and say out loud.

Put it into practice

  • Post the mission statement somewhere employees, customers, and suppliers can see it.
  • Walk your team through it so everyone understands what it means day to day.

Build your USP

  • Brainstorm at least 20 points about what makes your business worth choosing.
  • Narrow it down to your three strongest points.
  • Use the fill-in template to draft a first version.
  • Test it from a competitor’s point of view and revise where it’s weak.

Checklist for Writing Your Mission Statement and USP

  1. Mission statement basics
    • States your business, customers, methods, and impact
    • Is one or two sentences, roughly 15 to 30 words
    • Is posted somewhere your team, customers, and suppliers can see it
  2. USP basics
    • Names a specific, believable reason to choose you over competitors
    • Has been checked against what your competitors already claim
    • Is written down and actually practiced, not just filed away
  3. Before you move on
    • Your mission statement draft is complete
    • Your list of 20 points and top three points for your USP is complete
    • Your USP draft has been tested against at least one competitor

FAQ: Mission Statements and USPs

What’s the difference between a mission statement and a USP?

  • A mission statement describes why your business exists and what it’s trying to do. A USP is narrower — it’s the specific reason a customer should pick you over a competitor.

How long should a mission statement be?

  • Short. One or two sentences is typical, and aiming for roughly 15 to 30 words keeps it easy to remember and repeat.

Do employees really need to see the mission statement?

  • Yes. A mission statement only guides decisions if the people making those decisions know what it says.

What if my USP overlaps with a competitor’s?

  • Go back to your list of 20 points and look for something a competitor hasn’t claimed, or hasn’t claimed as clearly. If everyone in your market offers the same thing, it isn’t a differentiator.

References:

Next: The 9 Hour Small Business Tune-Up – Hour 6
Back to The Table of Contents of The 9 hour Business Tune-Up