In this episode of the Growth Minded Marketing Podcast, hosts Annie Laurie Walters and Steve Phipps dive into the first step of the GUIDE™ Marketing Framework—Generate Your Story and Strategy.

If you're a B2B business leader relying on random tactics, referrals, or sheer hope to grow, this episode is your wake-up call. You’ll learn how to build a real marketing strategy that drives clarity, alignment, and measurable growth.

🔑 In This Episode:

Steve and Annie Laurie walk through six strategic guideposts that every B2B company should use to build a solid foundation for marketing:

Guidepost 1: Do you have clear marketing and sales goals for the next 12 months?
→ Break revenue goals into actionable marketing and sales benchmarks.

Guidepost 2: Do you have a written marketing strategy that aligns with your business goals?
→ Define your audience, messaging, value prop, and primary tactics. Get it out of your head and onto paper.

Guidepost 3: Are you mapping your marketing to each stage of the buyer’s journey?
→ Learn how to align content and tactics to top, middle, and bottom of funnel questions.

Guidepost 4: Do you have a clear description of your ideal client persona?
→ Specificity is key. Without clarity on your target customer, you're wasting budget and missing opportunities.

Guidepost 5: Have you talked to your customers lately?
→ Your best messaging and insight come from the people who already buy from you.

Guidepost 6: Is your marketing aligned with your internal team or external partners?
→ Whether you have a freelancer, agency, or in-house marketer, strategy gaps lead to execution gaps.

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction
00:28 – Hope vs. Strategy
00:53 – GUIDE Framework Recap
03:34 – Guidepost 1: Set Clear Goals
05:33 – Guidepost 2: Write Down the Strategy
07:54 – Guidepost 3: Map the Buyer’s Journey
12:22 – Guidepost 4: Define Your Ideal Client
15:47 – Guidepost 5: Talk to Your Customers
18:29 – Guidepost 6: Align Your Team or Partners
20:55 – What’s at Stake if You Skip This Step
23:14 – Next Episode Preview: Upgrade Your Online Presence

✅ Resources Mentioned:

🎯 Take the free GUIDE™ Marketing Assessment
📚 Explore the Wayfind Learning Center
🔧 Learn about EOS and the Vision/Traction Organizer (VTO)

🚀 Take Action:

• Block one hour a week to work on your marketing strategy
• Revisit your customer personas or draft your value proposition
• Share this episode with a colleague or friend who leads marketing
• Subscribe so you don’t miss the next step in the GUIDE framework: Upgrade Your Online Presence
  
  

Follow Your Hosts on LinkedIn:

Steve Phips
AnnieLaurie Walters