Every organizations I've ever worked for has pretty much had the same Vision statement and it goes something like this:
"We will be the premier (insert industry here) in the region, with the highest level of customer service possible."
Blah. Boring, and useless, if you are really trying to create a vision. How can employees see themselves in that? Lots of companies "strive for excellence" but every time I hear that phrase I think of Yoda ' "Try not. Do, or do not."
Your vision statement really needs to reflect your Unique Value Proposition - your UVP - because otherwise it is just another collection of fancy words. The UVP defines not only who you are as an organization, but what benefit you bring to your customers that they can't get anywhere else. Your UVP should be completely understood by all employees so that they can verbalize to your customers. It should be the underpinning for your entire marketing strategy, as well.
How do you find your UVP? For heaven's sake, don't ask your employees. They will have all kinds of ideas that sound reasonable but probably don't reflect your UVP. Instead, ask your customers. Ask the customers who left you, and the ones who aren't your customers. Ask why they chose you - or why they didn't. Ask them what it is about your company that makes you different. Ask a lot of them and write down their answers. If you are getting a lot of different answers that will tell you that your brand is not well established in the minds of your customers. It may tell you that your company hasn't distinguished itself yet as having a UVP. Either way, it indicates you have work to do in clarifying that vision.
If you are getting consistent answers, that tells you that your brand is understood. You may not be happy with what the brand is, but at least you know where you are starting from. If the results don't define your company in the same way you do, then you will need to do some gap analysis and figure out how to get there.
Your UVP is out there, somewhere. Finding it is your first step but then you must refine it and make it the basis of all you do whether that's writing a new Vision statement or creating a new ad campaign. Until you know your UVP, you may just be wasting a lot of resources in your marketing.
"We will be the premier (insert industry here) in the region, with the highest level of customer service possible."
Blah. Boring, and useless, if you are really trying to create a vision. How can employees see themselves in that? Lots of companies "strive for excellence" but every time I hear that phrase I think of Yoda ' "Try not. Do, or do not."
Your vision statement really needs to reflect your Unique Value Proposition - your UVP - because otherwise it is just another collection of fancy words. The UVP defines not only who you are as an organization, but what benefit you bring to your customers that they can't get anywhere else. Your UVP should be completely understood by all employees so that they can verbalize to your customers. It should be the underpinning for your entire marketing strategy, as well.
How do you find your UVP? For heaven's sake, don't ask your employees. They will have all kinds of ideas that sound reasonable but probably don't reflect your UVP. Instead, ask your customers. Ask the customers who left you, and the ones who aren't your customers. Ask why they chose you - or why they didn't. Ask them what it is about your company that makes you different. Ask a lot of them and write down their answers. If you are getting a lot of different answers that will tell you that your brand is not well established in the minds of your customers. It may tell you that your company hasn't distinguished itself yet as having a UVP. Either way, it indicates you have work to do in clarifying that vision.
If you are getting consistent answers, that tells you that your brand is understood. You may not be happy with what the brand is, but at least you know where you are starting from. If the results don't define your company in the same way you do, then you will need to do some gap analysis and figure out how to get there.
Your UVP is out there, somewhere. Finding it is your first step but then you must refine it and make it the basis of all you do whether that's writing a new Vision statement or creating a new ad campaign. Until you know your UVP, you may just be wasting a lot of resources in your marketing.
No comments:
Post a Comment