Incorporating Your Vision into Your Marketing

When creating your company’s brand, you’ll need a vision statement. Some people get this confused with a marketing position statement. To explain, your marketing is external; your vision is an internal message.

Your vision statement works as your game plan. It lets your employees know where you are headed. In the vision statement, highlight what direction you plan take the company in—its future. When everybody is on the same page, it’s much easier to move the company forward.

For instance, at Real Living we started with what I call essence words. We chose three, and I recommend you do the same. We’re all about family, innovation and results. So, we incorporated those three words into our vision statement: To become the nation’s leading entrepreneurial, agent-centric, consumer-focused network of real estate professionals built on family, innovation and results.

From our initial planning meetings to today, our vision statement allows us to share our vision with everyone, and sharing our vision with consumers was done through our marketing plan.

Creating a vision statement takes time. Don’t get frustrated. Just take the time to sit down and really think about what you want your company to be in the future. Focus your thoughts. Try creating a brand board and filling out at Real You chart to help find the heart of your company.

Share your brand boards with us!

Rally your troops around a clear vision statement

It all begins with a vision statement, and if you’re a business owner—or you plan to start your own business—you need a vision statement. Fortunately, a strong vision statement typically consists of only one sentence. Begin with three vision words or adjectives that you readily and easily associate with your vision for the business. Define them, write them down and then keep them handy. They are the building blocks for your company’s vision statement.

Sandy Clary, founder of Columbus, Ohio-based Clary Communications, masterfully developed a vision for her company when she started her public relations business back in 1983. By putting the vision in writing, both she and her employees were able to stay focused and on task. Perhaps most important, Sandy made sure that creating the vision statement was a team process. That only makes sense, according to Sandy, since team member involvement in the process increases understanding and buy-in of the concept. Now, 25 years later, Clary Communications is still strong, fast-paced, focused, fun and very creative—all traits that were part of the original vision statement.

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Set the tone for your employees—and for yourself—by reading more about Sandy and other women entrepreneurs in Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs.

Have you purchased your copy yet? You can pick it up at any book store or conveniently order it online at Amazon.com! If you’re interested in learning how to create your vision statement, which is part of the larger strategy map for your company, check out Life Lesson Nine!