Investing in Marketing for Future Sales with Dan & Debbie’s Creamery
In this week's episode, Janelle meets with Josie Rozum from Dan & Debbie's Creamery in Iowa. With a marketing background on a 3rd generation dairy Farm, learn how Josie thinks about investing in marketing today for future sales, and how to streamline marketing efforts in just one hourly ‘meeting’ a week.
Learn how Barn2Door can help support your Farm marketing efforts and more: http://barn2door.com/resources
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[00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to the Independent Farmer Podcast, the go to podcast for do it yourself farmers who are taking control of their own business, skipping the middleman and selling direct to local consumer and wholesale buyers. This podcast is hosted by Barn2Door, the number one business tool for independent farmers to manage their business, promote their brand and sell online and in person.
Let's dive in to today's Independent Farmer Podcast.
Janelle Maiocco: Welcome to the Independent Farmer Podcast.
I'm Janelle, CEO of Barn2Door and your host for today's episode. I'm happy to speak with Josie Rozum from Dan and Debbie's Creamery in Iowa, today. I'm excited to talk to you about how you have successfully promoted your farm's brand in [00:01:00] person and online, which is key when you're selling direct. I think sometimes people forget that if you're a farmer who wants to remove the middleman and sell direct, you take on the responsibility and need to promote your farm and farm products directly to existing and potential buyers, and ongoing, obviously. I'm excited to talk to Josie about all the different ways she promotes Dan and Debbie's brand. Welcome, Josie.
Josie Rozum: Thank you. I'm so happy to be here today.
Janelle Maiocco: Thank you so much for this time.
As we're diving in, it's great to talk about farm brand. There's so many nuances and pieces and moving parts to it, and I want farms listening today to feel like, okay, I've got another idea for how to continue to or better promote my brand or promote it in a new way. So, excited to dig in.
But, before we do, why don't we grab a little bit of a history of your farm?
Josie Rozum: Sure. So, my parents are Dan and Debbie, who the Creamery is named after, and they are first generation dairy farmers. They started milking [00:02:00] over 25 years ago, and I had the luxury of growing up on the dairy farm. Growing up on it, I swore I would never, ever come back.
I wanted to get as far away from the farm as possible. But I think like many other farm kids, we realize it's not so bad once we grow up. And so, I kind of realized I wanted to come back to the farm. And, I'm one of six kids, and four out of six of us are involved in the operation.
Janelle Maiocco: Wow.
Josie Rozum: So, seven years ago, we actually opened up the creamery, and that's when we started taking the milk from our family farm and turning it into different dairy products.
So we make ice cream, cheese, butter, and then we do bottled milk as well. So we've been at it for seven years, approaching eight.
Janelle Maiocco: Wow.
Josie Rozum: Definitely learned a lot in the process, but it's been really, really fun to connect with consumers and be able to sell directly to them.
Janelle Maiocco: What's your main responsibility if you're one of four siblings manning the farm?
And that's a great story, by the way. I love it.
Josie Rozum: Yeah, so I [00:03:00] actually oversee all of the marketing, sales, and operations at the Creamery. So just making sure we're selling product that we're making and, making sure everybody knows what they need to do each week. That's kind of my role.
I actually went to school for Marketing. I've always had a passion for marketing and stuff like that. And so, to be able to come back to my family's farm and tell their story has been just the ultimate dream job for me.
Janelle Maiocco: Wow. That's great. I'm really excited then for today's listeners. You literally have gone to school for this.
You grew up on the farm. And then, you added a creamery seven years ago. Is there a why behind why you added the creamery seven years ago?
Josie Rozum: Yeah, so I think it's really just been all about sustainability for us. Anybody who knows anything about the dairy industry, it's kind of a roller coaster to be a dairy farmer.
And really any farmer, to not have control over your sales is really challenging. And so, my dad, really had the dream of [00:04:00] let's try to take control over all aspects of our business and, really develop a product that we're really proud of and that we can stand behind. So, sustainability for us is our why, for sure.
Janelle Maiocco: Wow, that's awesome. So, when you opened up the Creamery, it sounds like you also then opened up a store on your farm. Is that correct?
Josie Rozum: Yeah. So, our Creamery is actually four miles from our family farm. We are located in rural Iowa, and our farm is basically out in the middle of nowhere, like many other farms.
And so, it was really important for us to have an accessible location where customers could come and shop with us. So, our production facility where we make all of the dairy products actually has a storefront as well. So, people can come in and shop not only our products, we also sell a lot of other local goods, honey, jam, other frozen meats.
So, we partner with a lot of other local farmers and we're really just trying to celebrate all of the things that farmers are trying to do to [00:05:00] sell direct to consumer and stuff like that. So the location thing in town is really, really great. We love being able to have a storefront where we can see customers come in every day.
Janelle Maiocco: Okay, so the creamery is actually in town?
Josie Rozum: Yep. Yep.
Janelle Maiocco: Got it. Okay. Fantastic. I was going to say rural is common, honestly, among many farmers, obviously, and for different distances from any given town. Some are very close, some are further away, but regardless, it is probably top of mind to get the word out locally into your community.
Like, hey, we exist, first of all, right? And here's our brand. Here's what we're about. And then to essentially grow a customer base, because not only, obviously, do you need to get the word out, but then you need to keep people coming back for more. So that's constant engagement, which I know that you have been working on for years now.
So, if I am one of your buyers, just so the folks out listening know, the options for me to buy from your farm [00:06:00] are the store, the creamery in town. And how else do I hear about or purchase your items from your farm?
Josie Rozum: So, four years ago we rolled out a home delivery service.
So, we primarily use Barn2Door for that platform. It handles and manages all of our home deliveries. We deliver three days a week to different customers and we deliver to anywhere from, Oh, 50 to a hundred customers every single week. And then, obviously we have our storefront and then we also deliver to businesses.
So, some of our larger customers are coffee shops who need milk and cream in their beverages. We partner with a great deal of restaurants, using our fresh dairy in their kitchens, and then local grocery stores. We deliver to those each week. So, there's lots of ways to get Dan and Debbie's if you're in Eastern Iowa, for sure.
Janelle Maiocco: That is great. Okay. So, you are delivering to wholesale and retail, it sounds like. And when you say deliveries, you're talking door to door [00:07:00] to consumers, then obviously all of those wholesale accounts. Do you, I have asked, so do you have a van like with your logo on the side?
Josie Rozum: Yeah.
Janelle Maiocco: It's a bigger deal than people realize.
Do you want to speak to that? I feel like it's like a branding machine driving around.
Josie Rozum: For sure. Our vehicles are definitely an extension of our brand. It's really important that people, first of all, know who we are when we pull up, but then also, our branding on our vehicles, very simple, not bright and colorful, like a lot of dairy industry vehicles.
It's black and white. And that's meant to bring back that nostalgic milkman. So again, when we're talking about brand today, everything from the color of our branding to just the way things look, the simplicity is really what we're trying to exude to our customers.
And I think a lot of people see that in our delivery vehicles.
Janelle Maiocco: Got it. And then, how long have you had an online presence? Because all of those consumers who are receiving direct deliveries are ordering online, [00:08:00] correct?
Josie Rozum: Yeah, so we wouldn't have been able to even wrap our brains around how to do home delivery, if it weren't for Barn2Door.
Just because spreadsheets would not have worked for us, because we've already got a wholesale business. We've already got our retail store. We needed something that was really gonna just be easy. And so, four years ago is when we dabbled into rolling out several zip codes. Now, we deliver to about 18 different zip codes.
Janelle Maiocco: Wow.
Josie Rozum: In our area. And we have plans to grow that. And, we're really, really excited. It has taken off over the last few years. I thought maybe it was gonna die after Covid.
Janelle Maiocco: Mm-Hmm.
Josie Rozum: But, it's still going strong. People are still very excited to support local and engage in the milkman.
Janelle Maiocco: Oh, I love it. That is great. I have a thousand questions in my brain. But, let's back up a little bit. Let me just get to the basics of how would you describe your brand? Obviously as a marketer, and as part of somebody who owns that dairy business, before you talk about your brand or [00:09:00] promote it, visually or with messages, you have to actually define it, wouldn't you say?
You have to know what you're going to say consistently.
Josie Rozum: Yeah, for sure. So, I think first and foremost, our brand at the Creamery is really rooted in farming and it's one that's really, truly dedicated to crafting an exceptional dairy experience. So, from how we care about our cows, the things that we're doing, that's unique to raise and grow our animals to our simple approach in how we craft our products at the creamery, I think that every step from our farm to table process really just reflects our commitment to the tradition of wholesome dairy products, the quality dairy, and then really just the sustainability, like I mentioned before, we're looking for a way, a business that can last for generations and I think being able to do everything from farm to table is really, really important and I think our brand[00:10:00] really exudes all of those things.
Janelle Maiocco: Yeah. And then, how do you communicate that, right? Here's the brand story.
Here are the sort of key values that we're trying to communicate out to the market, with a variety of customers. Where are you communicating that and how are you communicating that? Those are two sort of big questions, so maybe where?
Josie Rozum: Yeah. Yeah.
Janelle Maiocco: To start.
Josie Rozum: So, in terms of where do we share our story, share our brand, social media is probably the most common place.
We focus heavily on Instagram and Facebook, just because those are the two most widely used platforms out there and they're user friendly. Even farmers can use those, and have great success. And so, when we're talking about online presence, email is also a huge thing for us. We do a lot of email marketing and in all of our email marketing, you'll see our brand come through, whether that be the colors, or our [00:11:00] voice or tone, things like that are all really important.
But there's also our in person brand, we're doing deliveries multiple days a week and how our drivers present themselves, how they talk, the experience people get when they're ordering, it all falls under kind of that traditional, sustainable, family oriented business. Which are really, really important.
And then, of course our store. The brand in our store, you'll see the similar colors to what represents our brand. So, our brand bleeds through every sort of medium that we touch.
Janelle Maiocco: How important do you think that visual consistency is, right? I think you touched on it already. You've touched on there's a visual aspect, that you're really intentional, sort of the nostalgia, the black and white.
And then, obviously you're sending out emails so that people are seeing. And then, the next one is obviously the message and the story. And then, the third one that you actually mentioned, which we can dig into, is the experience of your brand. But, let's start a little bit on the visual [00:12:00] side.
Like how important is that? And when you say visual, maybe you should explain what does even that mean to people?
Josie Rozum: Yeah, so I mean, you can take McDonald's or Pepsi or any huge massive brands and you can look at their logo and you don't need to see Pepsi or McDonald's associated with either of those logos yet, you know it's Pepsi.
I think there's a board game actually out there where you can play the logo game and you have to guess what the logo is. People, they remember, especially kids. So, when you're trying to build a brand, you have to have something that people are going to remember. And part of that is design, part of that is color, part of that is just the overall fonts and things like that.
They're very important in not only drawing people in, but making people feel something. So, our logo is actually a boy and a girl, a little boy and a girl. The girl is holding a bucket, the boy has an ice cream [00:13:00] cone. It's a flat image, it's not 2D or 3D. It's just very, very simple. But when people look at that, they sort of feel simpler times.
And that's something that we're trying to have everybody who eats our products feel. We want them to feel like they're just getting an ice cream cone and life is good and our problems and worries go away. And so, your logo, just in the most simple form, you want that to speak, how you want people to feel when they experience your products.
Janelle Maiocco: I love it. Thank you for that example. Yeah, the look and the feel. And you've touched on okay, sure, if you're online, you're going to have a website and your store and your logo and social media is going to have the same look and feel. So, they have that experience even when they're purchasing online and to your point, if they're getting emails or newsletters.
So, you have this consistent brand look and feel with logos and colors. Talk to me about what that looks like offline. So certainly they have the truck, but then beyond that, where are the opportunities from a look and [00:14:00] feel perspective for your brand to be recognized, which is, it sounds to me like, a very trusted brand in the community.
Josie Rozum: Yeah, for sure. I think one mistake that especially is fairly common amongst farmers is we Forget about our branding opportunities through packaging.
Janelle Maiocco: I like that. Yeah. I love the branding opportunities. I love that. Go ahead.
Josie Rozum: Yeah. So our packaging sometimes, we're just throwing everything together and putting it out there where we don't really think about how do we get that logo on there or how do we incorporate some of our colors?
Because everybody knows when we go in the store, our eyes lock into something that's more eye catching versus something that's more simple. And so, I think it's really important that we use those opportunities through our product packaging to really exude our brand, whether that be having your logo on there or whether that be incorporating some of those colors.
I think that's going to be really, really important for customers to be able to [00:15:00] see and identify this is a Dan and Debbie's product.
Janelle Maiocco: Love it. I appreciate that. Do you have shirts and hats and stickers and all of the works too?
Josie Rozum: We do. We had so many requests early on. We're like, we've got to do it.
So we've got hats, shirts.
Janelle Maiocco: That's great.
Josie Rozum: I'm also big, I don't like, I don't love tchotchke items that people are going to toss, but I do try to get branded things that work really nicely with our products. So, the latest product that we just got branded was an ice cream spade. So, a scoop and it's got our Dan and Debbie's logo on it and that fits with our ice cream.
So yeah.
Janelle Maiocco: And then, they put it in their kitchen drawer and then every time they use it voila Oh, I love that. Very smart. Okay. And then you also mentioned, and again, this is just sort of brand talk, if you will, that in your store, and I suspect maybe on your deliveries, I'm not sure you'll have to answer that.
You do incorporate some partner items, I think you said honey. So in addition to Dan and Debbie's [00:16:00] products, you will sometimes pull in other farmers, producers, artisans in the community and some of their products. Do you care about their brand?
Josie Rozum: Yeah, I think we care less about their brands, because I understand not every farmer is at a point where they feel like they can invest or have the knowledge to invest in their brand.
I'm here telling everybody, I think they should invest in their brand because it's good, but they've got to come across this podcast to know that, they've got to come across a website or another podcast is going to give them the, okay, this really is an important step in my business. What I do care about businesses that we select is their values.
And creating a good brand starts with, what are your core values as a business? What's important to you? What do you stand for? So, I look more at that. And, I know that those businesses who understand what's important to them and what they stand for and who they are, their brand is going to come naturally [00:17:00] and they'll develop.
Because when we first started, our brand wasn't perfect. But, I've been able to hone in on my skills. I've been able to gain confidence in who we are as a business and as a family. And I feel like I've been able to do a much better job. And I believe that all of the products that we bring into our store are going to get that, as well.
Janelle Maiocco: You know, I love that. So, it sounds to me like when you're bringing in other farms, regardless of their look and feel part of their brand, it's about the values and the messaging. And if that is a shared, if you're sharing values and messaging, you're like, check the box. That's wonderful.
Josie Rozum: Yeah, Janelle, that for me is the foundation for a good brand.
If you don't understand your values, it's hard to build a brand off of that. So, you've got to start from the base and you've got to build what's important to you, what you stand for, what you want your voice, how you want people to feel about you, because that's just going to allow you to really develop an [00:18:00] authentic brand that people are going to resonate with and want to support.
Janelle Maiocco: If I'm a new farmer, this one's always coming your way, right? If I'm a new farmer and I'm like, I have to figure out my core values of my brand, first of all, is that you're saying that's the first thing they should do, right? Before even the look, the feel, before you even put pen to paper. So how do you, what would you recommend to farmers who are, either A, just getting started, or B, they're obviously weighted into it, they've been a farmer for a while, like you said, but maybe they haven't had the time, to focus on their brand, but they're like, you know what, I think it's time to upgrade our logo, our look and feel, our website. But, before we do that, let's boil it down to what we're about. How would they go about doing that?
Josie Rozum: Yeah, I think the simplest thing would be to start by working on a mission statement and a vision statement, and then list out your core values. And, core values don't have to be [00:19:00] complicated.
It's what's important to you. It's not what's important to other people. This is what is important to you as a farmer. What's important for your farm. Because, consumers are going to come and go. You're going to gain consumers, you're going to lose a few throughout, but why you're doing what you're doing is always going to be there.
And you're the one who has to show up every day. So, I think if you can start with those three things, you're really going to be able to start to identify some really cool things. I heard this quote from Simon Sinek and I just love Simon Sinek. I, he's just the best. But, one of his quotes was people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
Janelle Maiocco: Yeah.
Josie Rozum: And that is a quote that I have up in my office, I think about daily. Every post I create, I'm thinking about sharing our why somehow. Even if it's the silliest post, I want to make sure that it has emotion behind the post because people connect with [00:20:00] emotion and that's ultimately what drives people's buying habits.
Janelle Maiocco: I love it, yes. Simon Sinek, I think his book that's most famous is The Power of Why or Know Your Why, one of those, right?
Josie Rozum: Yep, yep, yep.
Janelle Maiocco: Very good point. So, I don't want to put you on the spot, but not every farmer will know, like if you say mission and vision, those are often used as two different things.
And I know as a marketer, you're more familiar with those terms. So, if I'm a farmer trying to identify a mission versus a vision, do you have pointers for them on what those two different things might be and why they're both important? And I think why, right?
It feeds into the why. Yeah.
Josie Rozum: Yeah. So a mission statement is gonna be Basically, why you're doing what you're doing. It is our mission to provide our region with farm fresh dairy products, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Right? I mean, you're answering a question.
Janelle Maiocco: Yeah.
Josie Rozum: A vision statement is what is your long term vision for the [00:21:00] future?
So as a dairy farmer, we are looking for the ability to be able to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You see where I'm saying you're answering different questions. One is more long term, one is more our why. In terms of core values, again, those are just the things that you stand for. So, we stand for animal care.
We stand for honesty, integrity, natural products. Those are all things that can be really, really important. My recommendation would be to select three...
Janelle Maiocco: I was going to ask you that next. Like, do you do three?
Do you do five? And would you say, because, what you said was, animal care, what was the other one that you said?
Josie Rozum: Sustainability would be another one.
Janelle Maiocco: Okay. And then, these are nouns. A lot of times I know when I'm interviewing somebody, I'm like, hey, what are three adjectives to describe you, right? And I think maybe an exercise for farms are, hey, what are three adjectives that might describe your farm?
Can you [00:22:00] get away with it being either, or? Adjective, noun, whatever, but you're really looking for three keywords.
Josie Rozum: For sure, yes. You can definitely go either, or. Again, each one is individual and it's based on what's important to you because I think a lot of just entrepreneurs in general, we lose sight of why we started what we started.
And so, to be able to have a solid mission statement, vision statement, and those core values to refer back to, I think are going to be really important, especially when you get to the point where you're growing and you're becoming so successful and you're like, do I want to embark on this next step, this growth step, you can refer to your core values and does this still support the reason why I started this?
And I think that's really important.
Janelle Maiocco: So, it really becomes a decision making Matrix, if you will. So, it keeps it honest.
Josie Rozum: Yep.
Janelle Maiocco: Yeah, I appreciate that. Okay. So, hopefully that's quite helpful. I suspect it will be to folks. If you were to list off the top of your head five or six, not [00:23:00] necessarily Dan and Debbie's, but if I'm a farmer, maybe I'm a grass fed beef farmer, maybe I'm doing farm fresh eggs, maybe I'm doing produce.
What are some examples of words that I might choose?
Josie Rozum: Yeah. Fresh, I think that's a really, really popular, like we are never going to sacrifice products. We want them to be fresh and that's something you stand for and you will always stand by. It's a core value of yours that your products are fresh.
I think stewardship, whether that be animal stewardship or land stewardship or just being a good steward of your job, your career, is really important. I think that's a good one. We have that in our core values because we want customers to know that we're doing everything we can to care for the things that were given to us in terms of land and animals and things like that. And that really resonates with people.
Janelle Maiocco: Yes.
Josie Rozum: Other ones might be trust. A core value could be trust, [00:24:00] whether that be internal as a team or external as, we want our customers to trust us. Integrity is another one. Teamwork, I think is a great one. Consumers, too, value businesses that have great teams.
They really, really do, and they want to support those. And so, I think teamwork could ultimately be an outside the box, you might not think of it in terms of a consumer wanting that, but it really does, and it makes the world go around. Right? Cause we need a team to be able to do what we do.
Janelle Maiocco: Absolutely.
Josie Rozum: Yeah. So, I think that's important too.
Janelle Maiocco: Oh, those are such good answers. Thank you. In fact, when you mentioned, it was a stewardship, and then fresh. I love that because I feel like, those are also a springboard to your messaging, right? If you're looking at those core values before you're writing down a newsletter or social media post or providing customer service, right?
You're thinking about the values that you're committed to, and they sometimes require the extra step or going the extra mile. [00:25:00]
Josie Rozum: Yeah. Well, and that's exactly what a brand is, is when you look at those core values and you can all of a sudden start to see them bleed into an email or a social media post. Going back to the teamwork example, we love posting pictures of our team at work doing different things.
I mean, and again, it's a core value. So, as you sit down and start to develop those things that we talked about, start to like, see them come to life in different posts, because this is where it starts to get fun because all of the things that are really important to you, you now get to share with consumers.
Janelle Maiocco: I love it. We have core values at Barn2Door, and we also have sort of themes that we focus on. And one of the recent ones we did was human. It's the same thing. It's sort of like, hey, businesses are human too, you know? People trying to help people is really at the end of the day, what, like our company, we're trying to help farmers.
And so, we show human posts, we call them, but it is of our team. Like we're over here working hard [00:26:00] and we're people too. And it's just such a good reminder because we value those relationships, right? And we value the opportunity to help in one-on-one opportunities even with farmers.
I love that. So, before I forget, can you please say out loud your Instagram and Facebook handles so that people can go look them up to see great examples. Share those, and then we can repeat them again at the end.
Josie Rozum: Yeah. So ours is just, @DanandDebbiesCreamery for Instagram and Facebook.
So pretty straightforward.
Janelle Maiocco: Okay. Dan and Debbie's Creamery spelled out. Okay. People look that up. Do you remember a few of the recent posts that you've done on either Instagram or Facebook that you can share?
Josie Rozum: Yeah.
Janelle Maiocco: Cause you were saying you just remind yourself, you're literally like, I'm trying to keep in front of your mind.
The brand, the messaging, and what you stand for and want to eschew to your customers. So what are some good recent examples?
Josie Rozum: Yeah, one thing that we've done over the last year is we've tried to do some more longer form content, and [00:27:00] we've really tried to grow our blog and our recipes. So, a lot of the traditional, nostalgic, old time, old fashioned feel that we're trying to put out, we're trying to incorporate into our content as well.
And so, we've incorporated, a weekly recipe that we put into a reel, and that's been really, really fun and really well received. So, usually they're like recipes that grandma would make, like it's not super modern. And I think it, it really hits people in a spot where they're just like, I got to make that cause I'm missing grams.
And, just things like that, which is really, really special. So, I love those posts. We post a lot about our animals, just pictures of them. Cows are adorable. So, anytime we can do that, we do. But, today, we actually posted, a new ice cream flavor. We love announcing new ice cream flavors.
And that is peanut butter and chocolate, and it is just delicious.
Janelle Maiocco: That's [00:28:00] amazing!
Josie Rozum: Yes, yep. It's awesome.
Janelle Maiocco: Is that chunky or creamy? I kind of need to know now.
Josie Rozum: It's actually a creamy chocolate ice cream with this crunchy peanut butter, not crunchy like peanuts, it just hardens in there.
It is absolutely delicious.
Janelle Maiocco: I love a good texture in an ice cream. That sounds amazing.
Josie Rozum: For sure.
Janelle Maiocco: Very fun. That's great. So, different things on your social media. I love the reels. It's like you're committed to that and you keep talking about the nostalgia. piece, right? And trying to weave that into your story, which is fantastic. And then, have you found successful ways through your social media to engage customers, like any tips there?
Josie Rozum: For sure, for sure. I think one thing that's important for anybody's brand, especially if you're in the farming industry and you're selling direct to consumer, is to build a relationship. Your goal should always be to build a relationship.
And I give this analogy every once in a while where, if you go out on a date and you [00:29:00] text the person after the date, like, had so much fun, can't wait till next time, and they don't respond to you. How does that make you feel? You're like super bummed out, right? Well, people kind of expect that response on social media.
So, if your customers or audience are asking questions in the comments, or they're sending you direct messages, it's really, really important, the best thing you can do to engage with them is to respond. Otherwise they feel a little ghosted, if you will. And so, I think to boost engagement, you want to respond because that's going to build relationships.
People are going to feel like they have a personal connection with you, which is then going to encourage them to buy things. I also find that some of my most successful posts are posts that include call to actions, which are basically posts that are asking something of the person reading it. So, it might ask them a question, it might say, what's your favorite ice cream flavor?
Monster [00:30:00] cookie or cookies and cream. And so, I'm asking them to respond. It might also be read the blog. I'm asking them to act on this link and go and read my blog. Call to actions are really great ways to encourage people to basically take another step with you. Again, it's that relationship, that new relationship that you're in with them, if you will.
Janelle Maiocco: I love that. I think, a lot of times, I would say there's certainly some farms we work with that just would like an email list of customers and then not have to think about it again, but that's not the reality when you sell direct. You have to keep engaging and like you said, even build relationships with those customers.
How do you think about that and include in your answer how often you are on social media, sending emails, what is your strategy around continual engagement? Because part of that is, at the end of the day, about sales.
Josie Rozum: Yep. Couple of different thoughts. First and [00:31:00] foremost, I think social media is something that everybody should be doing.
First of all, how often and how much time you dedicate to it is totally up to each person. You could hire a full time person and spend 40 hours a week doing it, but I think a reasonable amount for farmers would be to dedicate a couple of hours every week to this. This is ultimately, not only is it going to generate sales, but it builds loyalty among customers.
And in the long run, it makes it that much easier to sell in future years. It's like investing in cover crops. We do that because we're investing in the future. Investing time in our marketing is really about building relationships and getting those loyal customers to make it easier in the future for us.
And so, I think a couple hours a week dedicated to social media is really important. In terms of email marketing, we usually send out one to two emails a week. And we've actually gone from sending it to our [00:32:00] mass list to really targeting some of our audiences. And again, I don't want to keep talking about relationships, but that's really what brand is all about.
If you want to build a relationship, you have to target your message. So it really hits them in a place where they're like, I want to support this business, or I want to buy from them, or I'm going to choose this local farm over that grocery store meat. That's what's super important. And what I think a lot of people, they're just like, I'll get to it when I get to it.
I'll get to that email next week, I'll skip this week, and it doesn't work that way. You've got to put in the time week after week in order to see the benefit down the road.
Janelle Maiocco: I think that's great advice. And I love your analogy of it's like a cover crop. You're doing this as a gift to build up your soil essentially for future harvests, and the same way engaging customers today is future sales and future loyalty. There was one farm I spoke to recently and she was like, sometimes it's more important that I sit down and write [00:33:00] a newsletter than go do weeding. Like literally, which is, I think, for some farms that just sounds upside down.
Josie Rozum: Yeah, yeah, and I think to a lot of farmers, marketing and branding and all of this stuff doesn't necessarily come easy to them. So, they find themselves going and doing what they know, which is the pulling of the weeds and milking of the cow and all of those things. But, not doing marketing isn't going to solve any of their problems down the road.
You have to just start and you have to commit because it gets easier over time. Practice. You will develop a voice in your brand and in your marketing.
Janelle Maiocco: That's so neat.
Josie Rozum: And then, all of a sudden things just flow. Words and captions flow out of your fingertips as you're typing them, where I know early on I would struggle.
How do I even find the words? I can't even think of a tasteful phrase or whatever. But, as you practice and as you talk and develop things more, the words start [00:34:00] to come out of you and you're just speaking from a really authentic place, and that really hits home to a lot of customers.
Janelle Maiocco: That is wonderful to hear.
It's nice to hear that it gets easier as you practice. I guess it's like any skill, isn't it? If you're spending a few hours a week, especially thinking about social media and newsletters, do you plan ahead? Like, how much do you accomplish or is it always like for tomorrow or for today?
Josie Rozum: Yeah, so what's really important for me, because I wear many different hats in our organization, is I schedule an hour on my calendar every Friday, and it's a meeting with myself, I do marketing, and I'm not going to cancel on myself, because I wouldn't cancel on any other business meeting, and so I just make it a point to, every Friday, knock out whatever I need for Saturday through the following Friday, so I work on a week basis. Now, I also schedule [00:35:00] some time, about 30 to 45 minutes monthly to look at the month as a whole, so I can start to wrap my brain around do we have any holidays coming up? Are there any large events? Are there any products that I really need to hammer and promote? I also use that as an opportunity to take photos in advance, so that way I'm not...
Janelle Maiocco: Ooh, we haven't talked about photos yet!
Josie Rozum: I know, I know.
Janelle Maiocco: Yes! Oh, I'm glad you brought that up.
Josie Rozum: Yeah, I just don't want to get to a point where I'm like, uh, I need to talk about this, I don't have a photo and I'm scrounging and then I'm wasting more time. So, I think setting time aside actually is more efficient than just trying to fly by the seat of your pants.
Again, you want to be proactive with your marketing and your branding strategy instead of reacting to whatever's happening throughout the day.
Janelle Maiocco: Okay. So, how often do you post on social and how often do you send an email or newsletter?
Josie Rozum: Yep, so we try to create at least one post a day.
Janelle Maiocco: Okay.
Josie Rozum: I would say out of the seven days in the week, we [00:36:00] try to have six of those scheduled, at least six of those scheduled. And then, we still do authentic, in the moment posts throughout the week as well, because I can't schedule when a cow is going to have a calf, and I want to get that picture. You need to have those really organic moments throughout the week, but I try to schedule like my sales posts and my posts that I can do in advance.
So, once a day, and then in terms of email, we're sending about two emails a week, but to different targeted audiences. So, nobody's getting two emails a week from us. It's usually a very small segment. So, of our 2,700 emails that we have, one email might just go to 250, and it's very targeted.
Janelle Maiocco: And then, typically you'll have once a week, like if I'm your customer, I'm going to get a reminder of you and your existence and all your amazing products about once a week.
Josie Rozum: Yep, yep, exactly.
Janelle Maiocco: And then, because you used the word targeted, I can't help myself. So, when you're writing [00:37:00] targeted emails, can you give some examples of that and why you do that?
Josie Rozum: Yeah, so we actually did a fun exercise, if you will, with our team. And we talked about buyer personas. So, we basically named this person Local Lover Lily, was her name. And we dove into all of her demographics. So, she's a middle aged woman with a younger family. She likes to support local, she always looks for local when she can. All of these different things. And so, when I created those buyer personas, when I'm drafting a targeted email, I write it as though I'm talking to Lily, and it makes it a lot easier for me, because I feel like I can be more conversational in my writing, when I have somebody that I know that's going to receive my emails.
So, that helps me feel a little bit less like I'm a robot just sending an email to whoever. I think that's really, really helpful.
Janelle Maiocco: And then, when you're sending it to just part of your [00:38:00] email list, is it a different email or are you just rotating through to make sure everybody gets one once a week?
Josie Rozum: Yeah. So, a lot of times we choose segments that are very, very different, and once we've already sent one, we usually make sure we deduct them. You can automatically take anybody that you sent from a previous campaign that week, which is really awesome about MailChimp. So, we're making sure we also space them out enough to where if a customer did get two, they're not back to back. It's spaced out enough to where they wouldn't care.
And the really cool thing about email is everybody has subscribed to get your stuff, which means they want to get your stuff. And so, generally they're not going to be too upset if they got those two emails that week as long as the content is really, really good and you're not just sending repeat things out.
I haven't had anybody complain about it, so.
Janelle Maiocco: Yeah, I'm hearing it a pretty common theme of one to two emails a week, which I think is highly valuable. I heard somebody [00:39:00] once explain, I actually love this, explain people's inbox like a Twitter feed. If it pops to the top and you just sent an email, great, but once it sinks below, like forget it, they're not going to open it.
So, don't worry about sending too many emails because honestly their inbox is treated today much more like a Twitter feed than anything else. And also, if they know and love your firm and buy from you regularly, they know that they're going to get another one.
So if they miss one, it's not the end of the world, right? You are their reminder, right? To purchase from them.
Josie Rozum: Yep. And a lot of our content that we use, whether it be an email or social media, we are like integrating like a spiderweb, so a lot of the stuff that's going out in our newsletter is also going out in a different form on our social media page and also posted on our website in a different way, so, recipes: it's a video on our social media, it's a link in the newsletter and it goes in the recipe page on the [00:40:00] website. So, recycled content is really good.
Janelle Maiocco: Recycled content.
Josie Rozum: So, that way if they don't get that email or if it falls to their spam or wherever, they're still able to see stuff in different mediums because everybody receives things differently.
Janelle Maiocco: Yeah, and I think that's something a lot of people don't talk about is, your customers are going to have a favorite place to consume information. They might hate email and love Instagram, right? Or they might only open newsletters and not even have Facebook, right? And so, there's different ways that people consume information, but digital sure is a great way to stay top of mind.
Josie Rozum: Yeah. There's no shortage of mediums, that's for sure.
Janelle Maiocco: Yeah, and it's good to hit them all, including in person. I think that one's really, really important. So, we need to circle back to photos, because you mentioned photos. I love that you schedule meetings for yourself that you keep, to make sure that you're ahead of the game in terms of the social media and the email newsletters that you're sending out.
But when do you [00:41:00] take photos? And then, how do you keep them organized?
Josie Rozum: Yeah, so I learned this very early on that if you want to post frequently, you really need to make sure you have a stockpile of photographs. And so, when I am down in the production room and they're making cheese, I'm taking 25 to 30 pictures all on the same day that I'm using throughout the year.
In fact, you probably will still see pictures on my social media that I took a few years ago, that are still applicable. I obviously don't want them to be outdated to the point where they're not even making that product anymore and I'm posting it. But, I do make sure that I have a lot of photos stockpiled so that way when I do sit down on Fridays, I'm able to actually start to apply what I need to, to the next week. So, in terms of how I organize my photos, I actually keep most of them on my phone, I also use Dropbox. So, [00:42:00] on my phone, I have different folders, that I sort by kind of category. So cows, production, field stuff, products, all of those different things. So that way, when I'm looking for something, I can find it a lot better, or a lot quicker.
I also have a Dropbox where I put a lot of other high resolution photos. So, if farms have it in their budget to hire a professional photographer, even if it's just for two hours to go out there and take pictures, I think...
Janelle Maiocco: That's not a bad idea, honestly.
Josie Rozum: No, because then they have photos for the year, and you can likely find a high school person who's in a photography class that can still take really great pictures, or perhaps there's some kind of a trade that you could do.
That is another great way. If you're like, photos aren't my thing, or if you don't have a modern phone and you're still using the flip phones, which I know some people still have, and that's totally fine. This would be a great way to at least get some photographs, so that [00:43:00] way you can do your due diligence in marketing, because photos are what draw them in.
And so, it is really important that we have photographs that represent our business in a really good light, represent our brand in a really good light.
Janelle Maiocco: I love that suggestion because I do feel like some farmers would say, I am not a photographer. It might even be intimidating or they take photos and it's just not there.
It's just not their skill, and that's okay, but I love your idea of an inexpensive local photographer, or even one or two, to kind of, just to set you up. Even like, I just need that to get me started, so it's not overwhelming, and then still keep practicing taking your own, right? Because when the, like you said, especially the authentic, in the real time moments of, wow, the cow is getting out or making the cutest face, or, we have a new ice cream flavor, then you're going to want to take those yourself, but to have your own quote unquote stockpile is certainly important.
Josie Rozum: Yeah.
Think [00:44:00] creatively, think outside the box. Maybe there's a local 4 H chapter that would be willing to come take photos. Young kids, they take it with their phone, but maybe that could be a project. Don't be afraid to find a local organization that you could maybe partner with, 4 H groups are always looking for projects, and I think that would be a great way for farmers to connect with their local 4 H chapters, too.
Janelle Maiocco: Well, and if you were eight or 10 or 12 year old in a 4 H class and you won the best photo of the day, how good would you feel?
Josie Rozum: Right. Right. For sure. Yeah.
Janelle Maiocco: That's great. I love that idea. And then, there's this one other thing I want to talk about and that is the brand experience.
So your customers, they experience your brand. It's not just visual. It's not what they see, it's not just what they hear, but it's truly what they experience. I think this is where farms have a huge leg up in terms of building loyalty from a taste the product perspective, but let's walk through, if I'm a customer of yours, all the different ways[00:45:00] that I experience your brand.
And then we can land on how good the quality of the food is and how that's just a game changer. But, if I'm gonna buy from you, from the second I decide I want to buy from your farm, what is my experience of Dan and Debbie's Creamery, all the way through getting your items into my mouth, basically?
Josie Rozum: Yeah, we're like walking through the sales funnel, right?
First it starts with, like, Janelle, if you lived in Iowa and you're trying to figure out, I really want to support local farmers, I'm looking for a dairy producer, you're probably going to go to Google and start searching, and your first experience is going to be going to our website, or going to our Facebook page.
And so, people are going to go there and they're going to see that we do everything from farm to table. They're going to start to see our mission statement, our vision. They're going to be able to read about our family's story, why we started. I go back to the people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
So, our website has that, then they might want to see [00:46:00] more information about you. They go to your Facebook page to see what's happening in the now, and they're able to see your new flavors. Oh, I really want that peanut butter and chocolate ice cream, I've got to head over there.
And then, they learn where you're located, they head to your store, and they're still gonna walk in and they're gonna see that small town charm that you've explained on your website.
Janelle Maiocco: Curated, maybe.
Josie Rozum: Yeah, exactly.
Janelle Maiocco: Yeah, curated.
Josie Rozum: Curated. I like that word. Yeah, they're going to be able to experience the quality of our products, which was talked about on our website, which was showcased on our social media through the pictures.
The pictures look like quality ice cream. So, when they come in and taste it, they're going to get that same experience. Just with how we train our staff, for those farmers that are getting ready to hire people, it's really important that in those interviews, you're asking questions to understand what their values are as well, and to see if they can [00:47:00] represent you and your brand and your business in a really positive light.
And so, when we hire people, we want to make sure they exude the kindness that we do and the appreciation that we do. And so, you walk into our store, you get our ice cream, you're greeted with that small town smile, that charm from the employee really asking if you need anything, and then you get to see all of the local products.
So, in our store, other branded things that we have are our signage. So, our signage is that black and white. Our pricing, our packaging, it all breathes the Dan and Debbie's brand.
Janelle Maiocco: Amazing. That was actually a really good summary of people experiencing your brand. And my favorite too, when you're talking about locally produced, obviously sustainably raised and cared for food, whether that's animals or produce or anything else, the flavor is just, it's just a game changer.
One of my favorite things is [00:48:00] when we have farms that we work with, and their customers get to taste those tomatoes or that grass fed beef for the first time. Compared to the grocery store and, no offense to grocery stores, but like the personal connection and the quality difference is remarkable when people are buying direct from farmers.
And, I feel like it just builds positively, it's like a net positive for Farmer's brand.
Josie Rozum: Yeah. I think, the one thing that all of us farmers have on our side is the ability to be able to connect with consumers again, because for so long the processor was doing that, which is totally fine, but when you really want people to understand why you're doing things and what you stand for, you've got to build that connection with them and you've got to bridge that gap and you've got to let them know how and why you raise certain things and all of the practices that you're implementing. And, I just feel like [00:49:00] social media is such a great tool, you just got to make sure every post breathes out your brand.
I always say when somebody looks at a picture, I want them to know it's Dan and Debbie's photo without even seeing our name on it. So, that might be just the style of the photo, it might be the angle, it might have to do with if you start to incorporate your logo into some graphics, and I know Barn2Door does a great job with this, you know a Barn2Door post when you see it, because it has their color scheme, and that's how we can start to incorporate more branding and messaging and stuff into our posts.
Janelle Maiocco: Amazing. It's interesting, you were mentioning people first discovering Dan and Debbie's Creamery and coming to your website, right, because they're going to search. Our designers, I don't know if people listening know this, but our designers build websites for farmers as part of helping farmers create and promote their brand, who are independent farmers, obviously selling direct.
And the website really matters, and I wish I [00:50:00] had read a recent study, but I think it's less than four seconds, I believe, when somebody comes to your website and makes a decision whether they're going to stay or not. And these are the kind of things that our designers think about when they're creating a site for a farmer, right, which is like the draw you in photo that screams the brand, you know, as sort of that landing photo, and then makes them want to just click on the about us and learn more and to your point, click over to social media.
But, that experience, like it or not, people are making very quick decisions online on social and in websites. That's sort of the catch. That's where you sort of hook the attention and draw them into your story, into your product. And then, that social media is so wonderful because then you can build those relationships too, right?
Social media and email are so good for relationship building. So, I love that you said that. And I also want to just shout out that you're an independent Dairy farmer, that is not an easy task. This is kind of an interesting time for [00:51:00] dairy farmers in general, and I think a lot of dairy farmers struggle if they're in the commodity side of business.
I don't know if you want to give any advice or anything to folks doing that, but, would you trade it?
Josie Rozum: Our farm probably wouldn't still exist. My parents are first generation, so they started from nothing. They had to buy all of the land, all of the cows, put in the facilities.
And so, we're still working to pay off that original debt that a lot of third generation may have had it paid off. And I'm not trying to put down anybody, dairy farmers are like the most amazing people ever, and they're so dedicated and devout and it's just, they're remarkable. So, for us to be able to have the Creamery, it's been such a blessing because our farm has been able to survive the rocky times, which is really, really great.
And I would encourage anybody who's kind of considering, do I sell direct to consumer? Do I explore the creamery mindset? I think it's worth [00:52:00] anybody exploring, if they have the passion. As long as you have the passion and the drive, I think, this is a really good path forward.
It's no easy task, it's a lot of work. And anybody, any farmer who's trying to do it all, sell their product, grow their product, it's hard work, but I think everybody who does what we do, they're so passionate. It's like a burning passion that I can't even explain, to where they just want to see their farm be successful and do what they love and they're likely thinking about this in terms of generations.
I want to give my kids something and their kids something and that's really, really special.
Janelle Maiocco: I have so much affection for dairy farmers. My grandfather was a dairy farmer, so I spent a ton of time in the milk parlor, and on the farm, and people tease me that I am used to all the smells of the farm too, right?
Because, you have affection for all of that. So, very appreciative. And also, dairy farming, you can't just take holidays necessarily either, like [00:53:00] you're in it. Those cows are milking every single day. I'm hoping you have some good backup, thanks to your family being all involved, so you can cover for each other.
But, would you say there's a sense of beyond all the passion and obviously vision to make it as a dairy farm, is there a sense through all of that hard work of some freedom of being your own business owners?
Josie Rozum: Oh yeah, for us, I can't speak to other dairy farmers, but for us, the milk was getting picked up by a truck and it was so long, and that was it.
And so, for us to be able to see the product through the entire process is really, really cool. And, it also has given us a voice as dairy farmers to better educate consumers. Our slogan is Spilled Milk You'd Cry Over.
Janelle Maiocco: I love that. I'm so glad you shared that.
Josie Rozum: Yeah, and it really is because we work so hard for our milk that any that gets wasted we're tearful about because,[00:54:00] we put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into making everything happen and we're doing this all to help feed our community.
And just being able to have that drive us is really, really cool, and it gives us a little bit more freedom to do unique things. We also feel more confident about the revenue streams and stuff coming in. We're not dictated by market prices so much, so we don't worry. Now, we have the risk of if we don't sell our products, we're kind of in trouble, but as a family, we all trust each other and we're really supportive of each other.
And we know that together as a family, we can do anything. And so that's kind of our mindset, and that's what pushes us through every day.
Janelle Maiocco: I love it. Thank you so much for all that you're doing and hopefully inspiring other dairy farmers out there, right? Hey, we can do it because I know there are dairy farmers out there who are like, I want to shift to what you are doing and sell direct and own those relationships and own the pricing.[00:55:00]
I'm hoping you have some subscriptions too, because that can give you some peace of mind of people who are in the bucket of recurring sales from your farm. I know that's a big one for a lot of dairies we work with. It's a big deal and it's been great to talk to you about all of the branding exercise, but I love that you boiled it down into a very digestible few hours a week to really put the effort in for those near term and long term sales.
Any final words of advice on just branding? I know we've covered so much, so it's probably not fair to say that, but anything else top of mind, outside of your amazing tagline that we should share out to the world and to the farmers listening today?
Josie Rozum: You know, I think the one thing I'll just add is, for farmers, I think so many of them are just humble individuals that talking about themselves on social media or celebrating all of their accomplishments or [00:56:00] telling consumers pick mine over this one is very hard for them.
But, I think that with a really well built brand, you can still be humble and sell your products and get your messages across and that's gonna just speak volumes to consumers. They just have to realize consumers want to support all of the humble farmers out there, they just need to share their story.
And, I think that anybody who wants to do direct to consumer sales is going to be really successful.
Janelle Maiocco: I love it. I'm actually really glad you said that, it's almost like permission to take photos of yourself or share a little more of yourself. I did food blogging for about 10 years back when blogging became a thing.
That was a long time ago in my opinion, but it was before I was doing that sharing recipes and tips and tricks from the kitchen, but it was about seven years into it, I hadn't even posted a photo of myself. So I [00:57:00] relate to, I don't want to be in front of the camera, this isn't about me, I'm just trying to share recipes.
And, I remember going to some food blogger conferences, they were like, no, you are the brand. That's why they follow. That's why they do your recipes. They love your voice. You have to put your face on the screen. And, it took me probably another year to get up the courage to be like, okay, fine, but they were right.
Which is, at the end of the day, you're like, I don't want it to be about me, but it's more that your customers actually want to see who they're building a relationship with, because it's back to what you said, it is a relationship. And so it's not like, okay, you're putting your face on the screen, you're creating your brand. You're just putting a face to the messages, to the products. And you're bringing it back to the human factor of relatable, and it doesn't reduce the humility. It doesn't mean that you're being prideful or anything like that.
It's the relationship building [00:58:00] aspect, there's the warmth, people in photos are just warmer than a picture of a field. It just is what it is. And so, that's a great reminder to not be afraid to bring your own self and other people on the farm who are comfortable, into the relationship even through newsletters and social media, et cetera.
So good, good reminder. Thank you for that.
I want to extend a big thank you to Josie for joining us on today's Independent Farmer Podcast episode. You can check out more of Dan and Debbie's farm brand on their Instagram.
Please pause and listen, @DanandDebbiesCreamery, on Instagram and Facebook. Get some good ideas on how she's showcasing her brand and values on social media. And frankly, probably subscribe to your newsletter if they can, because they'll get good ideas that way, too.
If you're an independent farmer who is just getting started or transitioning to selling direct, or if you've been at it a while and want help creating and promoting your brand, selling online and in person, or you're looking to save time managing your business, [00:59:00] it's pain free to take a few minutes to go to barn2door.com/learn-more. Thank you for tuning in today. We look forward to joining you next time on the Independent Farmer Podcast. Thank you so much, Josie. It was great hanging out with you today and for all of your rich advice to the many farmers out there.
Thank you for joining us on the Independent Farmer Podcast. At Barn2Door, we are passionate about empowering independent farmers to build a thriving business. To all the farmers out there, thank you for all you do to grow amazing food, care for the soil, and serve your local communities. You are the backbone of our country.
For free farm resources, or to listen to prior podcasts, go to barn2door. com backslash resources. We hope you join us again and subscribe to the Independent Farmer Podcast wherever you stream your podcasts. Until next time.[01:00:00]