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From the days of early civilization, mission statements have become an integral part of business communities. They’re intended to guide the organization through decision-making, strategic objectives, and future actions on values. In adversity, a mission statement helps the business make ethical decisions about its services and business operations.
Typically, mission statements refer to short documentation specifying the reason for the organization’s existence, target customers, products and services. While mission statements aren’t extensive enough to detail such elements, they work as hints more than guides, encouraging employees and customers to make the right choice.
As a yoga studio, your mission statement should reflect why you’re in the business, what you offer your clients, and why they should be choosing you. In this article, we’ll guide you through the basic elements of a yoga mission statement and help you write your first draft.
Why do you need a yoga mission statement?
We often come across fitness studios who wonder if mission statements are trivial. They’re trivial in the sense that mission statements don’t directly affect sales or revenue, but they do positively influence the performance of management and employees to achieve organizational goals of better productivity and increased revenue.
Clarity of purpose
For yoga studios, clarity of purpose is quite critical to motivate employees, retain customers, and enhance legitimacy. Being transparent with the mission statement gives a general sense of belongingness and inclusion to employees and yoga students.
For example, Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s mission statement “Our mission is to create components for people to live longer, healthier, fun lives.” resonates with their focus on creating quality yoga apparel that promotes health and wellness—attracting customers who want to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Alignment of actions
The Volkswagen scandal in 2015 emphasized the importance of alignment of action for businesses. Despite their promise of a more sustainable future, their practice of disregarding or even exploiting the objective through “defeat devices” proved to be destructive for their reputation.
A mission statement for your yoga studio will ensure your actions stay aligned with your core values, guiding every decision and fostering engagement. For example, if your mission statement revolves around mutual respect, your yoga policies must ensure women's safety and zero tolerance towards any kind of harassment or bullying.
Provides direction and focus
As mission statements typically include long-term objectives and goals, they provide the vision for management and employees to achieve those objectives. Starbucks, for instance, promises to deliver coffee only through sustainable means and has successfully implemented this goal.
As a yoga studio, your mission statement will continue to provide clear direction and focus throughout the coming years.
Differentiation from competitors
In addition to your sales copy and digital marketing efforts, mission statements can make the first differentiation of your studio from your competitors. A compelling yoga mission statement helps showcase the benefits of joining your studio while still maintaining the USP (unique selling point) of your business.
Moreover, as it’s now more important than ever to focus on providing better services and customer support, highlighting your USP directly below your brand placement through mission statements can be revolutionary.
Practice of accountability and success
Take the example of this mission statement:
“Our mission is to help individuals of all fitness levels achieve a healthy lifestyle goal through personalized, science-based yoga sequences and exceptional coaching. We are committed to achieving this mission by regularly tracking and reporting our clients' progress and continuously updating our training methods based on the latest scientific research. We thrive by holding ourselves accountable to the highest standards of professionalism and client satisfaction.”
This fictional building strength yoga brand emphasizes its commitment to client satisfaction and professional coaching. They believe these elements to be their standard of success and hold themselves accountable to them. This announcement of accountability, in addition to keeping the brand focused, also increases trust among clients.
Components of a yoga mission statement
As with any great marketing and management tool, mission statements also have a structural practice that contributes to their success.
Core values and principals
A study, published in the Journal of Marketing, concluded that consumers are more inclined to purchase from a brand whose mission statement revolves around values such as social responsibility and environmental stewardship. While we didn’t need extensive research to realize that, it solidifies the importance of core values and principles in the yoga mission statement.
A few tried and tested examples of values and principles that resonate with customers are:
- Respect for customers, employees, and the environment
- Integrity in business practice
- Teamwork, collaboration, and customer appreciation
- Focusing on customer satisfaction and loyalty
- Social responsibilities
- Transparency in all communications
- Accountability of decisions and actions
- Respect for diversity and human rights
- Ethical behavior and decision-making process
- Women's safety and focus on consent, even to touch-adjust yoga practice
Purpose and goals
Nike’s mission statement "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world." focuses on its purpose of taking athletes under their wing to inspire them and their goal of reaching every athlete in the world. To justify their mission statement, they also endorse lesser-known athletes who show promise.
As for your yoga mission statement, including your purpose and goals can help you evolve faster than your competitors. Stay true to your purpose and try not to embrace something that doesn’t feel like you.
Creating mission statements like “Our goal is to teach yoga and make you happy” doesn’t do any good for your brand. While the purpose is announced, the casual approach doesn’t list the actions to back it up. Consider building strength with your mission statement to clearly state your purpose and goals.
Target audience
Each of your marketing strategies, including mission statements, should be created with your target audience in mind. By understanding the demographics, you can craft a mission statement that has clarity and is relatable to the target group striving for self care.
Moreover, by knowing what concerns your target audience in terms of yoga practice, competitor drawbacks, and pain points, you can create relevant mission statements that speak to those concerns and try to resolve them while you teach yoga.
Unique selling proposition
Your yoga mission statement should include your unique selling point and its implications. For example, a yoga practice that offers customizable programs for premium members might write:
“At our yoga studio, we're committed to providing a personalized, transformative experience for each and every one of our students. Our expert yoga teachers take the time to get to know you and your individual goals to create a customized practice that helps you achieve your yogic potential.”
Brand tone and personality
Set your brand tone and display your unique personality through your mission statement. Whether your target approach is friendly, inspiring, or humorous, stay consistent with the tone throughout the creation of your mission statement.
A particularly humorous yoga practice mission statement could be:
“At AbYoga (Your studio name), we’re serious about yoga…but not too serious about your failures. Let yourself break poses, wear the shirt backward, and fall out of positions, while our yoga teacher judges you only for not trying hard enough. We’re here to find your inner peace and not lose you in the battle of curses. Come as you are and let’s flow together through the river of painful postures.”
How to write a yoga studio mission statement
We’ve already given you a hint of what to take into consideration when writing your yoga studio mission statement. Here are a few more tips to solidify the techniques.
Keep it short
Don’t write an essay in the name of a mission statement. Keep sentences short and paragraphs shorter. Remove any unnecessary jargon and fluff from the copy to keep it conversational and light. As mission statements are intended to brief the audience about the vision, objective, and purpose of your studio, don’t let complex copy get in the way.
Think long term
Your mission statement is likely to stick with your brand for a long time. Make sure to think long-term when crafting it. As a yoga studio, focus on the extended benefits of starting a yoga practice and the mental wellness factor associated. Consider including your long-term vision to turn your studio into a safe space for yogis in the mission statement. You can also include yoga teacher skills and expertise in your statement.
Don't limit your possibilities
Try not to include your town’s name, specific class names, yoga teachers' names, or product names in your yoga mission statement. These components limit your possibility and deter your brand from potential students in other locations or with other requirements.
Seek feedback
Prepare a few mission statements and seek feedback from employees, yoga teachers, managers, and even friends. You could also seek feedback from colleagues who teach yoga and your existing client base through surveys and specific questions.
Revise and refine
Don’t hesitate to revise, refine, or even remove your mission statement. If you already have a yoga studio mission statement that isn’t resonating with your vision anymore, swap it for something better.
The bottom line
We’ve covered what a mission statement is and its purpose in this article. We’ve also discussed the components and writing tips behind the craftsmanship of mission statements in great detail. Hopefully, you’ll now be able to write a compelling mission statement for your yoga practice. All the best!
