When it comes to the growth and success of your fitness business, how much of a difference can having a gym mission statement actually make? As it turns out, quite a substantial one.
A mission statement identifies the purpose and goals of your business, along with the value it provides. It’s more than just a description of the business. It’s an expression of your intentions and direction to staff, members, visitors, partners and more.
Alongside a compelling vision, having a clear, meaningful mission statement can guide and inspire. Oftentimes, it can give your team a sense of belonging in a mission to make an even bigger impact.
Every business - fitness or otherwise - should have a clear mission statement. And because it defines an organization's continuous, ongoing purpose and focus, it likely won’t change much over time.
Once you’ve spent the time to craft a compelling gym mission statement, take the steps to ensure it’s visible. A document in a folder on your desktop won’t make an impact. Share it on your gym website, in staff meetings, with potential partners, etc. You never know who it will resonate with, and how you can extend your own mission even farther.
One quick note before we get started with crafting your gym’s perfect mission statement. There is a distinct difference between mission and vision statements. This is sometimes confusing to gym owners. So it helps to understand the difference as you get the ball rolling. Now, let’s do this!
Three Key Mission Statement Components.
To three important pieces to include when crafting your gym mission statement are the purpose, core values and emotional connection.
1. Purpose.
The purpose is a single statement explaining the business’ primary objectives and sense of direction. Essentially, why it exists, other than to make money. When writing the purpose statement, think about how it can be put into practice. It can also demonstrate how your product or service benefits those who use it.
2. Core Values and Culture.
Next up are the core values that guide your business and the correlating culture these values will create. This part of the message expresses your gym’s values and priorities for customers and team members. In other words, from a high-level perspective, what is truly important to you?
3. Emotional Connection.
Remember, a gym mission statement isn’t an explanation of how your business will operate. You want to establish a real, human connection. This is also how you’ll create the ultimate gym member experience! By focusing on emotional connection, you can challenge people to see things from a different viewpoint or tap into their feelings. Try finding the middle ground between too conceptual and too bland.
How to Craft Your Gym Mission Statement.
Here are four simple steps to start writing your gym mission statement:
1. Write Goals for Longevity.
Your long-term goals are a great place to start when writing your mission statement. Ideally, you’re making a succinct proclamation about what your gym will accomplish over time, and how you plan to do it. For a gym to succeed, it must have a clear vision and statement of its goals and objectives. Goals in a mission statement should be somewhat timeless. That is, even if the gym’s strategy changes, the mission remains consistent.
2. Define Your Target Audience.
Think about your ideal customer. Who do you get excited about working with and having in your community? The more you know about your target audience, the better you'll be able to focus marketing and lead generation efforts. To dig even deeper outside of your mission statement, consider creating buyer personas for your gym.
3. Highlight Your Core Values.
Your gym mission statement should be built around your core values. Your values are generally part of the driving force behind starting your business. So they shouldn’t be excluded from your mission. In fact, using the values in a few short words or phrases as highlights can increase the emotional connection.
4. Keep it Focused and Clear.
It’s pretty simple: Be specific, straightforward and to the point. If your mission statement contains buzzwords or jargon, it may be confusing or lose its impact. In terms of length, there’s no exact formula. However, most are between two to four sentences long, and no more than 100 words. Think of it this way: You want something that’s easy for you to remember but hard for your target audience to forget.
A Quick, Step-by-Step Guide.
If you’re like most gym owners, you get excited about any opportunities to talk about your business. And this can be even more true when it comes to your mission. After all, it’s a large part of why you opened in the first place.
Remember, there are a variety of places that you can provide more lengthy details about your gym. For example, the “About Us” section of your website or gym signage can be a great place to display this info. Your gym mission statement, however, should be concise.
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Here’s a quick and easy step-by-step guide to begin crafting your mission statement.
- Make a list of your core values.
- In simple terms, write a sentence that explains what your gym does.
- Write a sentence that outlines your long-term goals and a high-level view of how you plan to accomplish them.
- Write a sentence that describes your ideal customer.
- You now have three sentences and a list of core values. Try to combine the three sentences, sprinkling in your core values to come up with your gym mission statement. Refine as needed until it resonates with you.
In Summary: Guide Your Gym to Success.
As a gym owner, you have control over whether the mission statement for your gym serves as a guide to your goals or an obstacle.
Imagine going to work every day with a sense of mission and conviction. You are passionately committed to your organization's vision, and mission and strongly believe in its values. Your mission statement can create that feeling for your staff and members too. Think of it as a strategic guide for your core values, community and culture.
