You know marketing matters. You just don't have the hours to learn it well, and the agencies calling you are selling the same thing they sold the last business they called.
"We've spent money on marketing, and I still can't tell you what it's doing for us."
"We used to know exactly who we were. Now we're not sure how to say it."
"Every agency we talk to has a package. Not one of them asked about us."
"I know we need marketing. I just don't have time to figure it out."
Maybe you've said something like this.
sound familiar?
Somewhere along the way, things got blurry. The work outgrew the mission, or drifted from it. You still know why you exist. It's just gotten harder to say, and harder to reach the people who need to hear it.
IF YOU RUN A BUSINESS
if you lead a nonprofit
Most marketing gets sold before anyone has listened: A new website because you're due for one, a campaign because that's what the agency does, a package because it's easy to price.
Discernment is the slower work of listening long enough to know what will actually move you forward, and being honest when that's something neither of us expected to find.
What you need isn't always the quick, one-size-fits-all fix.
Why it's called Discern
Whatever we build comes from what we heard, so none of what you do rests on a guess.
Website assistants that answer like you would, workflows that lighten repetitive work, and AI training that keeps your voice intact.
AI tools
05
Brochures, sales sheets, donor and annual reports, signage, and the pieces you hand to people in person.
Print and materials
04
01
02
03
SEO, funnels, lead magnets, email sequences, Google and social ads, and the follow-up that turns interest into customers, donors, or volunteers.
Reaching the right people
Website strategy and copy, design and development, landing pages, and refreshes of the site you already have.
Websites
Brand messaging and positioning, your story, taglines, a mission and vision refresh, and talking points your team can actually use.
Identity and messaging
No two clients need the same thing. Depending on what comes out of listening, your work might include any of these solutions.
Every solution gets shaped by what we hear.
What we build
Positioning + Audience | Offers + Strategy | Messaging | Growth Levers | Rollout
Then we put it to work. We discern our way forward by deciding what matters, what stays, and what doesn’t, and build the positioning, messaging, and plan that carry it forward.
discern
04
We sit down together and I show you what I heard. This is the moment most founders recognize themselves. We refine it until the story being told is unmistakably yours, because it always was.
hand it back
03
Patterns + Gaps | Beliefs + values | Your story, in your words
I find the patterns underneath everything I’ve heard, including the gaps between what you believe and what your organization experiences, and put the truth of who you are into clear language.
name
02
We start with you, then widen the circle to your leaders, your team, and the clients you serve. I’m listening for what people repeat, what they avoid, and where the story changes from one person to the next.
listen
01
How the work actually happens
Founder Conversations | Leadership Team Interviews | Client Interviews | Research
"Lindsay was able to better communicate who we are and want to be than we have been able to over our two decades in business."
in their own words
The first conversation is just a conversation.
Tell me what you’re carrying. I’ll listen. And if I’m not the right fit, I’ll tell you.