Builders and Drivers
When we consider working with a client and when someone considers their marketing resources, using two categories, builders and drivers, is helpful. Builders are pieces of marketing that are “evergreen.” “Evergreen” is a marketing term that means, like an evergreen tree, it doesn’t go out of season. It also has a long shelf life and, much like your house, it is a fairly permanent fixture. Drivers are more temporary and like sunflowers, they are only good for a season (sunflowers are an annual plant, I am told.) This a concept we are borrowing from Paul Roetzer and PR 20/20. https://www.pr2020.com/
Builders: Builders are great places to start when thinking about marketing. Builders require some investment but allow your team to be successful for a long time. A Website is a builder; it’s evergreen . A hero video is a builder, if done properly. We want to have builders because it helps establish yours as a business worth working with. Builders will provide value for a long time – they are an investment. Examples of builders:
Website,
hero video,
Email marketing system,
value providing ebook,
sales deck,
branding elements,
business cards,
brochure.
Drivers are what help motivate people to go to your builders. Examples of drivers:
Facebook social media content,
digital ads,
tv ads,
blog post,
PR piece.
Investing in drivers without having good builders in place is where lots of customers want to start, but it’s a short-sighted strategy. If you drive someone to a low-quality builder, you are likely going to put a customer off. Invest in builders first, then create drivers to continue to help build a business.
This blog post is a portion of Attention and Action. The book walks you through the marketing process that Adelsberger Marketing follows with its clients. You can read this book for free as a blog on the Adelsberger Marketing website or purchase on Amazon.com.
