The pillars of a confident, clear marketing message
Photo by Laura Gordon
Imagine being able to articulate your brand’s message confidently and clearly every time you’re asked about your field of work. Losing our train of thought is common - but without honing our message we risk losing opportunities we deserve. Strong communicators connect with their authentic mission and vision first - and then hone the delivery for different audiences.
A great mission statement makes the purpose of the company visible and clear for everyone who contributes to it – internally and externally. It blends your brand’s distinctive ‘why’ with the ‘how’ in a simple statement that connects to both sides of the brain. One side of our brain hears logic and reason, another feels emotion. A great mission statement acknowledges both, without fancy terminology or rhetoric.
When done correctly – it directly connects to the singular purpose of the business and is the key to encouraging collective responsibility by the team, for the clients and industry at large. It stands as the golden framework for every team member to be held accountable to embody.
Having a reliable mission statement includes: what we do, why we do it, who we are doing it for and who is doing it. Tap into the soulful purpose of the brand; articulate your “why”– what fuels your fire of passion for the industry and how this benefits clients. An effective mission statement authentically reflects the core values that clients should feel when encountering a brand at every touchpoint. A mission statement is the connective tissue of any impactful conversation, speech, presentation or new business proposal to follow.
Belmond’s service statement, for instance, does this well: “At Belmond, we perpetuate the legendary art of travel with iconic trains, magnificent hotels, intimate river boats and scenic safari lodges. Our portfolio is the epitome of Slow Luxury, encapsulating the essence of mindful living and the intrinsic value of time. Our teams around the world are committed to curating incomparable genuine experiences that invite our guests to disconnect from the fast-paced life and connect with the world around them.”
It’s important that your brands ethos, values and purpose come through really clearly but also inspire more conversation with your audience.
A vision is like a picture of what the success of your brand looks like, when things are going very well. A vision provides a path from the current state of your brand to the ultimate success, guiding the way of getting there. A vision stands as the believable aspiration for the company that is specific enough to provide a direction for the company to go in, yet broad enough to allow growth and adaptations within the industry and market.
For the owner of a business, a vision acts as a filter for decision making: choosing the opportunities that align with getting to the vision they have committed to as a business. For the team, a vision shows them what potential you see in the business and provides a clear direction about where you’re all headed together.
A vision provides a strategic compass for long term impact.
While Belmond’s formal vision statement is likely kept private and may include more insights pertaining to growth and expansion, one defining message they’ve perpetuated in the market is a commitment to stewarding conscious travel. “As the visionary leader of luxury travel, we believe we have a distinct role in perpetuating the Legendary Art of Travel. At Belmond, our passion is to craft incomparable genuine travel experiences. With that comes a responsibility for safeguarding the beauty that surrounds our properties, as well as the precious local culture that make our guests' stays so unique.”
Having the message feel fluid will allow you to feel more powerful, more commanding and more relevant to the discussion. When it comes to delivery, we advise our clients to write things down and practice many times over. Know where you can alter on the spot and what key words you want to stay consistent, to establish trust with whomever you’re speaking with. Don’t overlook your tone, facial expressions and body language presented alongside those words - they are what makes you memorable and conveys a feeling of trust, when done intentionally.