S4:E2 Building Your Brand Online and In Your Community

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Download a printable Brand Questions sheet to get started! 
 

Show Notes

Whether you are an individual employee, a farmer or the owner of another business, you have a brand. How would you describe your brand? In Series 4 Episode 2 with Laurel Mann, Ceres Solutions Brand Manager, and Callie Curley, Digital Marketing & Communications Manager, we cover everything you need to know to get started with developing your brand with intentionality.

While everyone has a brand, memorable brands take some thought and effort. When we discuss branding we don’t lead with a logo and brand colors like many might think. Rather, we lead with the company’s or person’s mission for being in business. This includes having a discussion with everyone who represents the brand to share those values.

“It has to be authentic and bubble up from the people who work for you and with you,” shared Laurel. ”To me, it’s so important that the people involved in representing the brand have buy-in.”

Here are some guiding questions to walk you through this conversation with your family or team.

1- What is our WHY for being in business?

2- What problem do we solve?

3- Who do we serve?

4- What makes us unique from our competition?

5- What do we want our customers, employees, and community to say about us when we’re not in the room? (and a bonus Q here): How do we make them feel?

Once you have walked through those questions and you feel confident in your answers, you will be well on your way to establishing your brand identity. Next comes maintenance which requires you to live out that mission every day. Which revolves around being true to your brand.

"Being authentic, being consistent. That's the power couple there. If you can tell a true story, tell it often and tell it in ways that resonate with the people that you're trying to communicate with, you're going to win every time." Callie said.

Be consistent and authentic to make your brand feel more memorable. Hold yourself accountable for living up to your mission and keep your mission simple so the directive is very clear. To learn more about branding and marketing, check out our entire series here.

 

Transcription

Morgan Seger (00:02):
Every day we rely on food, fuel, and fiber. But how much do you know about these industries we depend on? In this podcast, we dive deep into the production and processes of these everyday essentials. This is field points and original podcast production from Ceres Solutions. Welcome to Field Points. I'm your host, Morgan Seger. This is our second episode of our fourth series, and the series is focused on marketing, branding and living out your brand. I'm joined again by my co-host, drew Garretson, who is the chief marketing officer with Ceres Solutions. Throughout our conversation today, we will be talking about establishing a brand, what goes into that, and some of the legwork it takes to maintain that brand. When you leave today, you will be walking away with very actionable steps on how to create and maintain a brand. There's a principle PDF available for you to walk through the guiding questions that are shared on today's episode, and I really encourage you to check that out. It's available at ceres dot co-op. Now let's meet our first guest, Laurel Mann.
Laurel Mann (01:09):
Hi Morgan. Thanks for having us today. The marketing team is glad to be here on Field Points. I'm Laurel Mann and I have worked in the central office of CeresSolutions for about 10 years. I came to this role probably because I have been a lifelong word nerd and I've worked in communications and designed for many businesses largely in the farm cooperative and ag space. So about 10 years ago, our CEO was noticing more and more there's a connection between your people and the perception and image that you have in public. So it was a great opportunity. He created a role and I have been able to influence what was referred to as the soft side of HR and bring in some of the components of communication and marketing so that the Ceres Solutions employee group and the culture at Ceres Solutions was really my area of focus.
(02:10):
Since that time, we have added several talented people to our HR team. So I've been able to focus strictly on marketing communications. I think it's really pertinent that we're talking about this today because I think the business owners that we serve as customers of ours, they are experiencing the same thing that our CEO saw. They know that there's a connection between their people and their reputation and the way that the community might look at their business, and there's potential for harnessing that into what we believe helps them be a stronger business. And that's why we're going to talk about branding today. And in particular, I want to encourage our listeners to consider either reevaluating the brand or the logo that they currently use for their business or kind of doing the homework behind the scenes to create an effective, consistent, unique brand that will help differentiate them in the marketplace.
Morgan Seger (03:08):
In this episode, we'll be joined by two guests. Next up is Callie Curley.
Callie Curley (03:13):
My name is Callie Curley. I join the Ceres team as digital marketing and communications manager in September of 2022. I am a Pennsylvania girl originally, grew up in a dairy farm family in northeastern pa and I studied communications at Penn State. I spent about two and a half years living in South Dakota for a different role, and I'm new to Indiana as of this past summer. My work experience is a variety of PR and corporate communications and social media roles in a few different segments of the food and agriculture industries. I'm just really happy to be on a great team here at Sir. When I was looking for a new role, I was most excited about Ceres from the beginning because I loved what I saw of the brand, I loved the mission statement, the values, the people who align to themselves with the company. I've only been here a few months, but everything is really holding true and I think that that's why I'm so excited about our topic today. I just really believe that taking the time to dig a little deeper on your brand as a small business or even just as an individual can pay huge dividends in finding a deeper purpose, connecting with the right people and building a reputation that's truly going to stand the test of time. I really hope that the tips we share today will be of value to our listeners and that they'll start considering their brand on maybe a little deeper level.
Drew Garretson (04:38):
Laurel, One thing that you've taught me is how to live the brand purpose, the identity of the brand, and this is who we are. And this is not about the logo, it's really about the people that brand represents. Talk to me about how do you build that purpose and like you're talking about a business of ours, a local farmer, a local trucking company, how do they start the building of that purpose?
Laurel Mann (05:03):
Well, I think when you're listening to this podcast and you're thinking about you want to maybe consider developing a brand for your company one of the first things you do is you well share this podcast with the people that are on your team, your leadership group, and then maybe even your employee group because it has to be authentic. It has to bubble up from the people who work for you and with you. It, you know, need to think about what makes us different in the marketplace, what do we already do well where we can leverage that as a strength in a brand that's recognizable in our community. So to me it has, it's so important that the people involved in representing the brand have buy-in. And that's why when people say, I'm the brand manager of Ceres Solutions, I'm not the brand manager, there are 800 brand managers out there wearing a logo on their shirt, and I just have the privilege of being behind them and trying to influence them in certain ways.
(05:56):
So it's the same thing for a local business or a local farmer. If you want to be known as a certain kind of an organization or a certain kind of a company, every single person who represents your farm, everybody who works for you, everybody who interacts with you should have a consistent predictable experience with you. And that to me helps you cultivate a really strong brand. And for me and for our customers, I think a strong brand has value because when you talk about your stewardship goals and it's all internal and it's all between you and your partners, that's a great story. You might want to tell that story in a little bit more of a public way. You either using social media or having a website or some of the documentation that you have prepared to prove your stewardship efforts on your farm that really matters to future landowners who might want you to take over their operation or their ground.
(06:49):
They care that you care about the legacy of the land. So when you have your brand established as a certain, you do business a certain way, people can expect a certain thing. I always say consistency breeds predictability. Predictability breeds trust, and people will trust you when they begin to see over time, this is how you show up, this is how you're going to do business, and this is how you're going to treat the land or the employee or whatever asset you're talking about. The brand is an intangible asset that grows. It's living, it's your people, it's changing. You have to be adaptable. And to me it's authentic is the word of the day. Because if it's true and then your employees believe it, you believe it, the customers can believe it and trust it. And in agriculture particularly, we have a great opportunity. They are the 1% that know an awful lot that the 99% either don't know or find fascinating. The day-to-day that a farmer and his family experience, and we've learned this through the centered on you campaign where we showcase certain families that are local families, people loved and shared every video that we were able to put out because it was so appealing to them, things that were unfamiliar to a lot of residents in the same local community because they're not farmers.
Drew Garretson (08:12):
The storytelling aspect, the ability to connect your brand in your purpose of your brand to our owners and our customers has been something that we've realized as an organization is extremely important for the future of the
Laurel Mann (08:28):
Brand. And Drew, you bring up a really good point because a couple of years ago, Ceres grew in size significantly, and we had a great opportunity to look at our messaging internally and our kind of purpose statement as we were coming together almost doubling our employee group size. And what we decided was we'd like to really keep it simple, what do we do? And so the very simple answer to that came out of employees because we talked to employees, we did what we call stay interviews so that we could spend extra time listening and we had some focus groups and what we defined that we actually do and we do well is we get to know you and we work to help you. That's why we show up every single day. And that may seem too simple. It's not something that we need to have 70 words describing a lot of different features of the company.
(09:17):
If you work here or if you interact with us, we hope you feel like we take the time to get to know you, we ask questions, we listen, and then we work to help you. That's all we do all day. And I believe it's been effective as well internally because when we recruit people, that's what, and Callie, you were recently recruited, we can say this is what we talked about in the interview is that we actually invest in the employee and we care and it's genuine and I hope you have felt that as a new employee, we hope all our employees feel that through the onboarding process.
Callie Curley (09:50):
Absolutely. I would say that people go home for the holidays, family's asking, how's the new job going? And I just keep saying I love it and I'm so happy here because every step of the way it's been consistent and true. When I first found the job posting and checked out the website, click, click it says, we get to know you and work to help you go to the first interview, everyone around the table saying, we want to get to know you and see how you can fit into our team, get the job offer. They want to know, okay, how can we help you be successful here? I felt it at every step of the way from everyone I've interacted with in the business and then that makes me an advocate for the company because I'm saying, this is such a great place to work. The people that I work with every day love what they do, they're energized by what they do, and we all have that shared purpose and vision for what the ideal workplace or the ideal future of the company looks like.
(10:47):
And that's possible in businesses of all sizes. You don't have to have 800 employees to get to know your people and work to help your people, but you don't also don't have to take our mission and make it yours. You need to work with those people and figure out what is true about what we do now. What are our strengths and what's the story that our people are already telling about us? Because maybe you'll say that's where it is. That's the nugget, that's what our purpose is. And maybe you'll say we need to take a step back and reconsider how we're sending our greatest advocates out into the community, especially in a small town, everyone knows each other, we're all connected. So it's okay if the first conversation about building your brand is, here's some things we want to do differently or do better or we want to get more specific about. There's no right or wrong place to start, but making sure that your employees are experiencing what you're posting on Facebook that they're experiencing is so important. It has to be true, it has to be genuine.
Drew Garretson (11:47):
I want to ask Callie a question around digital tools specifically. The ability for, it's almost overwhelming sometimes to somebody who's kind of has their business and they're trying to figure out, well, where do I start from a digital perspective? Where's my audience at? How often should I be there? Maybe talk through some of your favorite ways to leveraging and utilizing digital tools and digital marketing.
Callie Curley (12:11):
So the first thing I would say is go right back to what we're talking about with Laurel before you get started. Set your direction, know where you're going, and have some of those guiding principles that you're asking yourself and you can refer back to as you want to make those kind of brand decisions. So we'll review, I think some questions at the end or part of this episode that you could ask yourself to get started. But let's say you've done all that and you're ready to dive into social media. The best plan is the one that you will stick to in my opinion. Don't get so caught up in needing to post on Facebook three times a day and perfect the Instagram algorithm because it's all going to change tomorrow. There's nothing consistent about social media, but when you're consistent and your audience knows where they can find you and they see that you're telling a story that they're interested in or you're featuring people that they know and they love, they're going to check in with you more often and you're going to feel the love right back from them.
(13:09):
So there's no, for every business, it's going to be different. There's no posts on Facebook at this time of day and on Instagram at this time of day. It's show up, be authentic and put your face out there. I know probably people listening are cringing. I cringe at that too. I have to make myself do things like that even on my personal platforms every now and then because it's hard if you're not used to putting your face out there and speaking into the camera. Those kind of things are uncomfortable, but that's what people want to see. They want to support your business and you are the face of your business. Just like you'd go to a community potluck or you'd go out to a meeting and present a scholarship at a four H event, you know, should be able to get on Facebook or get on Instagram and tell a little bit about what you're doing.
(13:58):
I also think the mode in which you tell your story can be different based on your preference too. If you are really comfortable typing something out and writing it and rereading it and making sure you're happy with it, you can do that. You can post a picture with a caption that you've really thought out and are comfortable with because maybe you don't love the risk or how it feels when you just start talking and you hit post. So if that's what you're comfortable with and that's what you'll stick with, do that and people will come to you because they like that. If you are really comfortable putting it in selfie mode and talking into the camera and hitting send and whatever happens happens, like that's okay too. Some people are really good off the cuff and they come off really genuine and authentic that way. If you don't feel that way, it's okay to practice it, but don't feel pressured to do one thing versus the other and you can try new things.
Morgan Seger (14:47):
Next, we're going to be walking through that homework that Callie alluded to. We will be covering the five questions that you should feel very confident in your answers before creating your brand.
Callie Curley (14:59):
So if you're listening and you aren't sure where to start, either pick up your pen and paper right now or head over to our show notes. You can copy and paste them from there. Here are the questions that are going to help you start thinking about your brand before you need to jump into the doing on social media, on a website, on telling your story. So here are the questions, what is our why for being in business? What problem do we solve? Who do we serve? What makes us unique from our competition? And what do we want our customers, our community, our employees to say about us when we aren't in the room? How do we make them feel? Those are the questions that are going to be a great starting point for you as an individual. And then take those to your team and ask them to think about them too and come together.
(15:52):
And you can create almost a Bible of your business that you refer to all the time. It's not enough to just think about it. You have to put it on paper and you have to do it in a way that's simple and easy for everybody on your team or as who's a part of your business to say right back to you. As you get into the jive of having a brand that you refer to, you want to make sure that everybody knows it and can say it easy. Just like we say, we get to know you and work to help you. That used to be a 70 word paragraph on who we are and what we do. Now. We simplified it down to we get to know you and work to help you. You can do the same thing for your business in a way that works for
Laurel Mann (16:32):
Your team. I think those are great and what I thought it through as well, and I thought, okay, how do we already go to market successfully? Because these are successful business owners And I think the thought of putting something on paper might feel awkward, but it is such time well spent when you realize the value that you gained back from it. So how do we already go to market? What are we already known for? Which is it shares your thought leverage those strengths in whatever brand we decide. But this we're talking about your culture for your company or your business. And so to me that's driven by values and it's driven by people. So everybody around the table should have a say about what everybody who's a partner or invested in the operation should have a say on what those shared values are going to be.
(17:18):
And boy, and we recommend this at Ceres and when we're working together, keep it simple because simple resonates with people. They can remember it, it's authentic, it's not complicated to repeat to someone else. We have a very simple mission and purpose statement at Ceres We have five shared values and we call it internally five simple truths. And these are the things that day after day you can count on us to show up this way and we hold ourselves accountable. And I believe our customers can expect these things from us. We're very predictable. I love it actually when someone says that's a Ceres thing, it's something that Ceres is known for and I just want to clap when they say that cause I'm like, yes, that means people are being consistent and they're being authentic out in public and they're living out our statement, our purpose statement of getting to know a customer and working to help 'em.
Drew Garretson (18:07):
My favorite serious thing is when you come to a meeting and you're 20 minutes early and you're the last person to get there, you're late. And I'm like, wait 20, 20 minutes. Still learning that. And it said well, that's a Ceres thing. That's a Ceres thing. Okay, well Drew's here now we can start. Thanks for being here. Not on time.
Laurel Mann (18:27):
So there's small unspoken things, but those are so valuable. Those are what differentiate you from any other company and we've had the privilege of working Drew, you've worked at other places and when you find a culture that fits you and it's authentic and it fits your personal values as well, you've struck goals because you know just really love it's, it sounds like a commercial, but you love to come to work. And when you believe in what you do and who you do it with, it makes the work so much more enjoyable.
Morgan Seger (18:54):
Once you have established your brand identity and that mission and the answers to those questions, next you have to sustain that brand and that takes some real effort. Laurel walks us through some of the steps we have to take to maintain that brand
Laurel Mann (19:09):
We have, and it's a one pager, but we have brand standards that we don't like a vendor or an employee or anyone to alter or change the visual identity of our brand. And there's standards around how the brand gets used and that might seem excessive, but you really want to protect what you create and what you have. And I have often said a brand is like a baby. You just want to pick it up and love it and take really good care of it. And you got to be consistent. And I think that when you're consistent and customers again can predict how it's going to be to interact with a person who wears the Ceres brand no matter what they hold us accountable and we hold ourselves accountable and that builds trust like crazy. And I think that's the best way a relationship can be kept and established through good times and hard times. The Ceres brand hasn't changed how we treat people when things are going great and when things are tough, we hope we show up the same way we show up earnestly trying to do the right thing for the customer, the best thing to help them. To me, you're right, I do always ask how is it being positioned or how is it being protected? But I really feel like a bulldog for our brand and that's my role is to do that.
Drew Garretson (20:22):
I think part of the evolution in this that I see from a really high level or the ability for brands to relate to people and personal people that have built their own personal brands, I think the reason that the Ceres brand exists in the way that it does is because of people, but people, I'll also build their own personal brands. And you think about it from a digital perspective and the process of people leveraging and utilizing platforms that exist today to build that brand. And then brands that are an actual brand of a company attach themselves now to these people that have these really strong personal brands to help market their products because they have such influence over that particular area. So I find that part really neat, but it still goes back and fits the same mission that you set up of being very consistent and showing up the same, being authentic in what you're sharing. The reason why those people build such great personal brands is because they're willing to take the time and the effort to do those kind of things.
Laurel Mann (21:27):
And it takes work, it takes work. And a lot of times and I'm thinking of the brand champions in our company who are just exceptional, and I won't go on and on about people who win awards here, but they do. And I just think it's something that they've done the homework, they've done the hard work and that is their brand is that's why they're quoted or that's why they're considered experts. And we have a lot of talent like that. And I know for a customer who is thinking about that, look around the table at the strengths of the people that you're going to be branding and make sure that you're showcasing and shining on let them shine for you and represent you and community. And I think that helps you retain them at your operation as well. So I think they feel satisfied that they're contributing to something greater than themselves. And I know we at Ceres always feel that way. We're always pulling together all part of something bigger than us and it just is very rewarding. So those personal champions, those brand champions, those people that people recognize and follow and they're influenced by it's because they're leaders. I loved it. Some of our employees have a following of people who really respect their opinion and are interested in what they're doing. We're lucky to have 'em
Morgan Seger (22:38):
While we're being diligent crafting our brand and messaging. It's important to think about our audience and our audience's perception of this message. Now this becomes a little tricky when many of our customers at Siri Solutions run a business that is commodity driven, meaning they don't always interact directly with the end consumer of the product that they are growing
Callie Curley (23:01):
In life. We talk about the importance of first impressions all the time. And your business is creating first impressions for people on way more levels than you even know about. So we talk about building a brand for your customers, but if you're listening and you think, oh, I don't have to worry about that, I don't have necessarily direct customers, there's so many other people that you should be thinking about. It's your employees and your future employees, your community, the families that are associated with your business. Those people are all important audiences for you, especially as a farm or a business, especially in a small community where word of mouth is so important and what people think and know about your business is so important. So don't be quick to dismiss the importance of a brand because you think I'm not marketing direct to consumers because so many people are watching and those are people who are going to contribute to the betterment of your business in the future if you just give them something that they can get behind the positive things that you are and that you want to accomplish in your business.
Drew Garretson (24:11):
As the industry gets more consolidated, Morgan, I think that the farmers of tomorrow will be continued to compete for access to land. And you start to think about the landowner transition that's happening in the market and one of the people who own the land are going to be particular about the farmers. They want farming it. And so they're going to go out of their way to find and understand what their values are and how well they're telling their story. So part of the competitive advantage for a future farmer, maybe having a website and having a brand and a mission and a purpose behind what they do, telling maybe that family story that Laurel talked about, maybe it's about how they tell their stewardship journey and the things they do to give back. Because I can think I see a day when the landowner of tomorrow, it puts demands back on farmers around implementing sustainability practices on their farm if they want to have access to farm that land. And what an awesome way to proactively tell your story through marketing and branding and leveraging digital tools, whether it be a website or social media to help tell your story as a farm for example.
Morgan Seger (25:31):
Next, Callie's going to walk us through how a brand can pivot. I know we are all at one place in our business and as that grows and develops or changes, say from being a commodity grower to going direct to consumer with some products, we need to think about how our brand is going to evolve with us
Callie Curley (25:49):
In my personal opinion and social media. Take your audience along for your journey. So if you've got a following who's been with you through this first stage of your business, I would absolutely not go back and erase years worth of work and devotion and stories that you put into this first phase of your business. If you can take this same audience along with you, post your smiling faces and say, we're so excited about this new opportunity or this new avenue that we're taking and we hope that you'll stick around with us. We appreciate your support next or follow along for what's next. If you're going for an entirely different audience and none of the people who've been following you for this specific product would be interested in this new product, maybe it's time for a new account and you can make your announcement on your existing account and then either archive that or close it and then start fresh with your new group. But if you're going to take that audience along with you, I say keep everything that you've done because it's such a great story of your journey and people love having that personal connection with you and they're going to cheer you on even more if they get to see you through all the different stages of what you do.
Laurel Mann (26:57):
It's like the next chapter,
Drew Garretson (26:59):
Why do they need to take the time to do it? Why is it important for them and customers, whether they own a trucking business or a multi-generational farm, they want to pass that legacy of that operation that they've literally put blood, sweat and tears on onto the next generation and the next generation after that. And they have a lot of pride around that. And I think if you can get in into that with this brand and the storytelling that's associated with that brand I think that's really important part of helping the local company or farmer uncover why they need to spend time doing this, right?
Laurel Mann (27:41):
Everybody has a brand, every business, every farm has a brand. They formally capturing it and utilizing it for their benefit because there is a brand and I tell the students, your brand is when you walk away from a group of six or eight people, what do those people standing left still there? What do they say and think and know about you? That's your brand and you're completely in control of it. And the great thing about agriculture is often the family is completely in control about what that brand is going to be. They have a lot of decision making power to make that whatever they want to be slightly aspirational or totally functional. And what I hope for them is they'll take the time because it's a business tool to use and differentiate yourself in the marketplace and strengthen it. And I just feel like it's something that we've talked about. It's something you pass on. A strong brand is an asset you pass on. And we always say it Ceres, we inherited it from people before us and we're going to live up to it because we're going to pass it on to people after us. So I believe it has a lot of potential for our customers to consider for themselves.
(28:54):
I know there's a lot of our employees do a lot of really important things, just heroic things all day long. And sometimes people think, is that a big deal? It is a big deal because again, we inherited this. It's a trusted brand. And same thing with families and communities. The public trusts farmers, they, they've been fed a lot of misinformation from various sources who aren't as well informed. So don't let somebody less informed tell your story or define your brand. You define your brand and you tell the public what they can expect from you and then you're consistent about it and they believe you. It's very, when it's authentic it just creates such a system of strength and trust in a local community. So I encourage them to do it. There
Callie Curley (29:38):
Is a Theodore Roosevelt quote, I'm not going to say the whole thing because it's super long, but it starts with, it's not the critic who counts. There are going to be times in this process, if you take the step, take the risk of building your brand and creating a presence online or in your community where someone might disagree with something you say or call to question some specific thing you post about. The more the better yourself and the better your brand and the more established it is, the easier it is for you to then say, okay, and pivot to what's going to happen next. You recognize it. We're not saying that building a brand is this warm fuzzy feeling and it's going to be wonderful and rainbows the entire time. Putting yourself out there does inherently have some challenges that come with it. But the better that you know yourself and your company and your brand, the better your employees know that story and the better your community knows that positive story. It's less of a risk and more of an insurance policy. Building your brand today in a positive way is such an investment in so many ways for your future. And sure there'll be small challenges along the way, but telling that positive story is only going to serve you tenfold in the future. If something unfortunate did happen, you'd have the tools you needed to pivot, do better in the future and kind of bring your people alongside you for
Laurel Mann (31:03):
That. And Callie, that is a great point and I think we can all think of circumstances where many years ago, Tylenol, but even in the more recent past unfortunate circumstances that have happened in our industry and the brands that were authentic and already had established a relationship of trust, we're able to step out in front own it was very personal and then move forward from it and overcome it. And so I think that that's your statement about using it for a almost, not insurance, but it's like an investment in your future. Absolutely. Success and trust because you've proven to be continually authentic and continually trustworthy and it there's a lot of, I think, good public will for that. And so we've seen two stories of that just in the last couple of years where people have been able to recover well from situations that were unfortunate. So great point. As
Morgan Seger (32:01):
We close out this conversation, Laurel and Callie wrap us up with a few final tips on creating and sustaining a personal or business brand.
Laurel Mann (32:13):
And I think we both would probably have different tips. And number one, we suggest that when you're going through this process, you keep it simple, you keep what you land on to be very simple. Number two, you would be very consistent in behavior and in actions and in communications and in what's posted. I think that makes it true. People can count on you to be true. And three is that we need to be accountable. We hold ourselves accountable. And when you establish a brand in big decisions and in small decisions, make sure they align and hold yourself accountable because I think that's what makes people trust you. So those would be suggestions for people who are thinking about having a brand for their own business. What would you add?
Callie Curley (32:57):
I think you covered it really well. Being authentic, being consistent. That's the power couple there. If you can tell a true story, tell it often and tell it in ways that resonate with the people that you're trying to communicate with. You're going to win every time. People are going to recognize you, they're going to come to know you for what you want to be known for and it's going to get easier over time when you think about your brand. So if you're listening right now and thinking, this is overwhelming, this is not for me. Take out a pencil or if you're driving, go to our show notes. Just copy down those questions that we talked about to get started. Jot down your notes, take it back to your team, say what do we think as a group? What do we think as individuals? Bring it together into something that is representative and true for you. Thanks for taking time. Thanks for having us on.
Morgan Seger (33:46):
Thank you so much for joining us as we discussed creating a brand and sustaining a brand. I love how Laurel so clearly put it, everyone has a brand. Also, she shared that we are in control of what that brand is. So if this is something you haven't invested time in or you think it's time for a refresh, I encourage you to go to our show notes at series dot co-op and download our principle pdf. It will walk you through those five questions so you will be well on your way to establishing your brand's purpose and mission and that will help the rest of these pieces fall into place. The show notes for this episode will be available at series dot c e r e s dot c oop. If you enjoyed this deeper dive, be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. Your review and feedback will help other listeners like you find our podcast and we are so thankful for that.