Week #2

This week’s focus of study was on Mission Statements/Business Plans, SWOT Analysis, Market Orientation and getting familiar with the Pharmism Simulator.  For this week’s blog, I will focus on Mission Statements and round up with some learning from the simulator.

MISSION STATEMENTS:

Before a company begins to create a Marketing Strategy it must first have a mission statement that can serve as a foundation for any marketing plan.   Most companies have mission statement and if you look closely at them you will see many similarities.   You can find mission statement carved in wood or stone and hanging on the walls of conference rooms and sales rooms across the country (and the world).  Unfortunately, the quality and value of a mission statement is not measured by the beauty of its plaque or calligraphy but instead by how well it articulates the purpose of the business’ existence.  A clear, well stated mission statement will enable a clear well stated marketing strategy which will in turn yield improved business performance.

Some of the problems encountered when developing a mission statement are:

1. They are incomplete:  Mission statements need to capture not just the reason you are in business but the main value you are offering the market

2. They can be too vague:  there is nothing wrong with using “big or impressive words but it is easy to fall into the trap of “wordsmithing” or crafting a mission so much that the true meaning is lost.

3. The mission statement is not motivational: a good mission statement needs to motivate those who read it to action that supports the mission

4.  Mission Statements can be non-distinctive: a good mission statement should set your business apart from competition by highlighting the value you bring to the market

5. Some Mission Statements are too reliant on superlatives: being the best is great but a mission statement needs to be clear on how to know you’re the best. 

6.  Mission Statements can be too broad:  here again, a 50,000 ft view is only helpful if you can still see where you’re going from that height

I then decided to focus on mission plans I am more familiar with.  My business is small and therefore lacks a documented plan (yes I know.... a MAJOR shortcoming) so Instead I decided to focus on a different job I have- Water and Sewer Commissioner for Springfield.  Here we do have a documented mission statement as follows:

Our mission is to provide an adequate uninterrupted, high-quality supply of water to our customers, to collect and treat wastewater, and return clean water to the environment. While fulfilling our mission we strive to:

• Conserve and protect our reliable, high-quality water supply for present and future generations
• Meet or surpass public health standards, environmental standards, and support fire protection
• Operate, maintain, improve and manage our water and wastewater infrastructure in a cost-efficient manner
• Manage finances to support Commission needs and maintain reasonable water and wastewater rates
• Maintain an adequate, safe and professional workforce
• Understand and respond to customers’ expectations for service

This Mission Statement is clear and specific. but I found it interesting that the customer is mentioned last, almost as an after-thought.  I feel the statement os too broad and in-distinctive... it could apply to any community and does not take into account our specific needs.  So while we get good marks for having a written and specific Mission statement, there is definitely room to improve.

Now on to the Pharmism Simulator.  

Key Learnings:

1. the Simulator is not a simple tool- you can't just "wing-it", you need to do your homework... trust me, I tried!
2. It takes more than Price- I first tried playing games with only adjusting price- this alone doesn't work.  By the 5th period your share price plummets
3. You can't Advertise your way out of a hole- I tried focusing only on advertising.  This resulted in more and more money spent and market share still dropped
4. Value alone isn't enough- I did focus groups to play up the value and this alone didn't work
5. Conclusion- I think an integrated approach with a clearly thought out Marketing Plan that focuses on value and price should yield better business performance.  This will be my next attempt... we'll see how it goes