CBS: Diagnose Before You Design: A Better Way to Buy Marketing

Written By Karen Larson

After a long stretch off the mic, we're back — and we've got something new.

We didn't just take a break. We took our own advice. Between the two of us we've spent 40+ years in graphic design and marketing, and last year we hit a wall. Personally. Professionally. Creatively. So we did the thing we'd been telling our clients to do for years: we stopped, stepped back, and audited ourselves.

What came out of it is a system we're calling One Clear Path — a four-phase approach to buying and building marketing that actually works: Clarify, Build, Grow, Sustain. It's not a huge departure from how we've always worked. We just finally put words to it.

In this episode we get into:

  • Why last year broke us a little (and why that turned out to be a gift)

  • The four phases every business moves through, whether they know it or not

  • Diagnose before you design — why we now refuse to quote a project without understanding what's actually broken

  • A real client story: how we turned a blind website RFP into a brand audit that saved everyone time, money, and a lot of regret

  • Why "we need to be on LinkedIn" is almost always the wrong place to start

  • The DIY problem (yes, we're talking about Canva, ChatGPT, and the LinkedIn bros)

  • Our new Diagnose Yourself tool on the site — and how to use it

If you're a small or mid-size business owner who's been throwing money at tactics and not seeing results, this episode is the pep talk (and the reality check) you need.

Listen in, then head to the site and try the Diagnose Yourself tool. It's free, it's fun, and it might save you a whole lot of money.

  • [00:01] We're back — why we paused the podcast, and what a tough year taught us

  • [00:04] The realization that changed everything: we were restarting from scratch with every single client

  • [00:07] Introducing One Clear Path: Clarify → Build → Grow → Sustain

  • [00:09] The DIY marketing trap (and why AI isn't the shortcut you think it is)

  • [00:10] Real client story: why we pitched a brand audit instead of a blind website quote

  • [00:16] "There's a better way to buy marketing" — what that actually means

  • [00:17] The house metaphor: foundation first, or the whole thing crumbles

  • [00:18] Our honest take on LinkedIn bros, Canva-only marketing, and quick-fix agencies

  • [00:21] Why the "menu of services" model is failing small and mid-size businesses

  • [00:22] Awareness marketing, ROI, and the stuff no one wants to hear

  • [00:24] Diagnose before you design — our new operating principle

  • [00:25] How to use the Diagnose Yourself tool on our website

  • [00:27] What drives us: showing clients the numbers that prove it's working

Links & Resources:

Karen Larson
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CBS 05: Special Guest: Barbie Munoz