I find organizations are struggling with differentiating between driving and credentializing marketing activities and why it even matters. With modest marketing budgets and fleeting moments of potential prospects’ interest, you want to use your time and money wisely. 

If you are not clear between the two and how they connect, your targets are going to be more confused with a haphazard barrage of messages. That is why it is important to take stock of which activities are credentializing and which are driving. 

Let’s take a moment to unpack the difference between the two. 



Credentializing activities prove you are who you say you are. They quickly identify you, what you are offering, and to whom. Stake your claim and make sure your materials, website, value proposition all foot with this message. If not, your targets will get confused and lose interest, oftentimes moving on to a seemingly more trustworthy provider. Credentializing, done right, removes confusion for the buyer. 

Potential Credentializing Activities

• Website
• Brand & logos
• LinkedIn profiles
• Company materials
• Mission 
• Thought leadership

Driving activities pique the interested targets and help them visualize a better way to solve their problem. These activities bring targets to you. They focus on where your targets are, clearly articulate the pain they are experiencing and display potential solutions to their problems to draw them into your organization as a solutions provider. 

Potential Driving Activities

• Sales outreach
• Email marketing
• Networking
• Advertising
• Thought leadership 
• Social media / SEO
• Event activities

Many times, I see clients focused first on the driving activities, only to realize that their credentializing activities are misaligned. Imagine using a map to get to a destination, only to land in a location you weren’t expecting and don’t need. This confusion hurts the sales process. Confusion causes inertia and sidesteps buyers from the purchasing journey. 

Taking stock of this, periodically, is vital to ensuring your current strategy matches your assets, brand, and image. In fact, the older your company is, the harder it can be to ensure your credentializing activities are working to your advantage and not against it.