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Product Vision Vs Product Mission – Definition, Purpose, Tips & Examples

Product Vision Vs Product Mission – Definition, Purpose & Examples

Companies come in various shapes and entrepreneurial dreams come in various sizes.

Regardless, the problems that arrive after their inception are always the same.

Having an idea for the product is the easiest part.

And if you thought that securing capital or hiring talent was difficult, you are mistaken.

Once you are in, you realize that you have to constantly convince and motivate everyone, from stakeholders to customers.

How do you do this effectively?

By bringing clarity into every aspect of the product’s development.

Product vision and product mission statements can help you do that. 

What is Product Vision?

Your product vision statement sums up everything that you imagine your product should accomplish. 

Bringing the reasons behind creating the product to the forefront, a product vision statement combines purposefulness with aspirations. This covers:

  1. The ways in which the product satisfies customers
  2. The ambitions it has for the market and the industry

Meaning, it is grounded by the users’ needs while being propelled by personal ambitions, be it wanting to innovate or come out as a winner in the market. 

The product vision statement is always long-term in nature and is a powerful tool for aligning every stakeholder and framing strategy.

Why is Product Vision Important?

There are numerous reasons why companies need a product vision. It is crucial for both customers and stakeholders.

For every new customer or someone who accidentally discovered your product, only a product vision statement helps them to understand what the product is or what it is intended to accomplish.

A product vision is a long-term, high-level view of the end goal or purpose of the product. It provides direction and guidance for the team to make decisions about the product. Also helps the team to know what to prioritize and what to avoid.

A clear product vision keeps team members and stakeholders focused on customers, aligned, motivated, and improves communication.

How does a Product Vision Statement help?

Align everyone in the organization

With so many people working under and along you, you would need to effectively manage and delegate.

A product vision statement allows you to do exactly that.

After their initial orientation, all you’d need to do is give them the statement and its context.

Then onward, in every meeting, you reiterate your product vision to calibrate everyone toward the important stuff.

People come from different backgrounds, and a singular product vision unites them to work toward a common goal.

Team Alignment towards Goal- Product Vision

Better product roadmaps

When everyone is on the same page, it helps you and other senior team members to directly take a top-down approach. 

You can start off with a high-level vision statement and then break it down into a strategic guide and action plan—the product roadmap.

This brings in a sense of uniformity between all levels of tasks and leaves no room for misunderstanding. 

Faster decision-making

As you research the market and get feedback from your users, there would be a ton of new ideas and initiatives being generated.

Deciding which to pursue would hardly be an issue. 

The product vision statement acts as a compass, allowing you and other stakeholders to clearly see what would deliver the maximum value and bring you closer to your ambitions.

Examples of Product Vision Statements

  • Creative Commons: Realizing the full potential of the internet — universal access to research and education, full participation in culture — to drive a new era of development, growth, and productivity.
  • Disney: To entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world’s premier entertainment company.
  • Facebook: Connect with friends and the world around you on Facebook.
  • sweetgreen: To inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food.
  • JetBlue: To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground.
  • Workday: To put people at the center of enterprise software.

Tips to develop a good Product Vision

Here are some tips to help you develop an ideal product vision::

Rooted in the target audience’s needs

Whatever your inner motivations are for building a product as an entrepreneur, they all mean nothing in the face of the customer’s needs.

Why? 

Because you are just the one who builds the product, whereas they are the ones who would use it every day.

Their needs triumph yours, always.

Here is a product vision statement template that would help you frame your preliminary product vision:

Product Vision Statement Template

This means clearly identifying what would make your users happy and working toward making those happen.

Knowing that it is not about you 

This relates to the previous pointer. You make the product and your users experience it, but there are so many other things that you end up influencing.

For example the economy, the environment, the condition of workers, etc.

Taking an active stance against any kind of exploitative strategy is also something that your product vision statement should do.

Look at the following:

  • Tesla: ‘To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.’
  • Paypal: ‘That every person has the right to participate fully in the global economy, and that we have an obligation to empower people to exercise this right and improve financial health.’

Sure, they are in the business to build world-class products, but they also ensure that they improve and elevate others as well.

Using the right words for the maximum effect

The ideal product vision, as Roman Pichler puts it, should be:

  • Short and Sweet: Unless it is easy to communicate, it is pointless. It should be just the right size ⁠— short enough to be conveyed fast and detailed enough to inspire imagination.
  • Clear and concise: Putting down words that just fill the space for no reason are useless. Words like ‘great’, ‘unique’, and ‘powerful’ are too generic to give any actual meaning.

Best Product Vision Examples

  • Patagonia: ‘We’re in business to save our home planet.’ Was previously: ‘Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.’
  • Prezi: To reinvent how people share knowledge, tell stories, and inspire their audiences to act.
  • IKEA: To create a better everyday life for the many people.
  • TED: Spread ideas.

Product Vision Board 

A tool created by Roman Pichler (a leading product management expert) that helps you define, visualize and validate product visions and strategies.

Product Vision board

Roman Picher states that product vision and strategy are key, but describing them can be challenging. By filling out this board, you capture the perfect vision and strategy for your product.

What is Product Mission?

While the product vision statement is all about aspirations and bringing people together, the product mission statement specializes in actions and bringing all tasks together.

To be simpler: The product vision is the ‘what’ and the product mission is the ‘why’.

Let’s contrast between Microsoft’s product vision at its founding and Warby Parker’s product mission.

  • A computer on every desk and in every home.
  • To offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially conscious businesses.

Microsoft talks about what it wants to do, while Warby Parker (also) tells us why and how it is going to proceed. 

The lines between product vision and product mission statements are generally blurry because:

  • Most companies tend to merge the what-s and the why-s in a single statement
  • Others generally do not have any statement until way later 
  • Reasons and aspirations are two sides of the same coin

Regardless, keeping product vision and product mission separate has its advantages. 

Why Product Mission is needed?

A product’s mission plays a key role in distilling the why or how of a product in an easily understandable and sharable way.

It explains what the value of the product is, who the product is expected to serve, and what it is offering. It also clarifies in what way the product is unique and stands out among the competitors.  

The product vision defines the goal while the mission defines the way to achieve the goal. With a mission statement, everyone can consistently check on whether they are heading toward the right goal and have no misdirection.

How does Product Mission Statement help?

The product vision statement tells your employees and stakeholders about why you want to build a product.

This in itself is not always a strong driver for them to buy in.

With the product mission, you give them concrete reasons that inform them why they should work with you.

Consider Hulu’s Mission: To help people find and enjoy the world’s premium video content when, where and how they want it. It has a vision ⁠— ‘world’s premium video content’, that is grounded by its mission ⁠— “when, where and how they want it”

With a clear distinction, it becomes easier for everyone within your organization to have conversations about the product. They also get a glimpse of what effective results would look like.

The product mission statement also helps speeden brainstorming and iterations.

Anything that needs to be tweaked, shifted, or rethought, like a marketing strategy would not need another long meeting, as the product mission statement would clearly state the criteria.

Product Strategy Pyramid

Examples of Product Mission Statements

  • InvisionApp: Question Assumptions. Think Deeply. Iterate as a Lifestyle. Details, Details. Design is Everywhere. Integrity.
  • Cradles to Crayons: Provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play.
  • Universal Health Services, Inc.: To provide superior quality healthcare services that: PATIENTS recommend to family and friends, PHYSICIANS prefer for their patients, PURCHASERS select for their clients, EMPLOYEES are proud of, and INVESTORS seek for long-term returns.
  • Invisible Children: To end violence and exploitation facing our world’s most isolated and vulnerable communities.

Tips to develop a good Product Mission

Here are some tips to help you develop a strong product mission:

  1. Focus on the problem

Start by identifying the problem your product solves. What pain point does it address for your customers? Your product mission should clearly articulate how your product solves this problem.

  1. Make it clear and concise

Avoid vague or jargon terms that may be unfamiliar to your target audience. Instead, use simple language and be specific about what your product does and who it’s for. Aim for a statement that is one or two sentences at most. This will help ensure that your message is clear and memorable.

  1.  Test and refine

Once you have a draft product mission statement, test it with your target audience and solicit feedback. Refine your statement based on this feedback until you have a clear, compelling, and memorable product mission.

  1. Revisit it regularly

 Your product mission statement should be reviewed and updated regularly as your product evolves and changes over time. Make sure it continues to accurately reflect your product’s right message.

Product Vision versus Product Mission

Product Vision Statement versus Product Mission Statement

Product Vision and Mission Statements of Top Companies

Google Product vision and mission statements

Bottom-line

Product vision and mission statements most often can make or break an organization.

This is because passionate people are more driven by purpose rather than money.

Plus, there is always a ceiling to how much one can be compensated.

But, there is no endpoint to everything that can be done for the greater good.

Unless you make use of these, it’d be hard to have your employees feel connected to each other or the product that they are building. 

This lack of personal connection always affects productivity.

Don’t let that happen. Start framing your product vision statement right away.

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Amrit Manthan

I love metaphors and similes. I feel at home with them, just as how the claws of a bird easily cling to a branch.

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