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How to write a great mission statement for your new PR firm or corporate PR department

01 Jun, 2020 Annual communication plans, PR consulting, PR planning, strategy, budgeting

If you are starting a PR firm, or if you are reviewing the core role of your corporate communication function, you can clarify several vital anchor points as a guide to your forward planning. You can do this by combining the answers to the 4 key questions below into 1-2 paragraphs comprising a mission or positioning statement. How to write a great mission statement for your new PR firm or corporate PR department.

PR firm

1. What industry sectors do you specialize in? [Factual]

Eg “My/our firm specializes in consulting to the ….industry/ies.”

2. Summarize the types of services your firm provides? [Factual]

“We provide …” (bullet points).

3. How are those services delivered? [Creative]

What do you think your clients are saying about how you stand out in delivering your services? What do you want them to say?

4. What is your ‘Unique Selling Proposition’ or special difference that separates you from your competitors? [Creative].

“My/our business is special because…”

The client test

This activity helps to address question 4. It relates to things I would like to have my/our clients say about our business:

• What would they say about us?
• What would they say about what we do?
• What would they say about what we offer?
• What would they say was the reason they deal with us?

The positioning statement is a combination of responses to questions 3 and 4. [Write 1-2 sentences for your response to each of questions 3 and 4.]

Write your answers to all the above four questions as a combined business purpose and positioning statement.

Corporate communication department

1. What business sector/s is your organization in? [Factual]

2. Summarize the services you provide to your internal and external stakeholders. [Factual]

Eg “Our department’s communication services comprise…”

3. How are those services delivered? [Creative]

What do you think your stakeholders are saying about any distinctive way you deliver your services? What do you want them to say?

4. What makes your service provision special compared with similar departments in other organizations? [Creative].

“Our department is outstanding as a service provider because…”

The stakeholder test

This activity helps to address question 4. It relates to things you would like to have your stakeholders say about your department:

• What would they say about us?
• What would they say about what we do?
• What would they say about the communication tools we use?
• What would they say was the reason they deal with us and don’t seek external service providers?

Now you can draft these thoughts into sentences and create the mission statement or business purpose statement for your business or department. They should add up to “Why you exist.”

Overall, if you follow these guidelines, you will be able to write a great mission statement for your new PR firm or when you are reviewing the core role of your corporate PR department.

Prioritize your own team as the key stakeholders

Research has found that the most important stakeholders of all are your own team members, whether you are focusing on the whole organization or the staff members of your department or firm. Here is an ‘oldie but goodie.’ Teresa Amabile and Steve Kramers, authors of a famous Harvard Business Review article, “The power of small wins,” have also written  an excellent HBR article, “To give your employees meaning, start with mission.” Published in 2012, this article powerfully reminds us that “far too often, mission statements turn out to be empty lip service to values that aren’t lived every day by managers inside the organization…the organization must actually support employees’ ability to achieve meaningful goals.”

Further reading

You may also like to read my article, “Make communication central to achieving your organization’s mission,” which provides some helpful insights on organizational mission statements.