Who Really Owns Your Marketing Assets?
Stop Giving Away Control of Your Business
We’ve seen this more times than we can count. A new client comes on board, and we ask for backend access to their website. The response? “You’ll need to talk to our web developer. They handle that.”
Wait, what? Why does someone else have that control? And why don’t you?
Who Actually Owns Your Marketing Tools?
Think about your social media accounts, ad accounts, email platforms, and website. Who owns them? Who has admin access? For many small business owners, the answer is: not you. It’s often a past agency, a former freelancer, or even an ex-employee who set things up years ago.
This is a massive risk to your business, and too many owners don’t even realize it.
You Must Own Your Assets
We get it. It can feel like a hassle to create accounts and assign roles when you don't know the platforms well. It's tempting to just let someone else handle it. But convenience can turn into catastrophe when you lose control.
You need to own your:
- Domain and hosting
- Website admin access
- Social media business accounts
- Google Business Profile
- All ad accounts
- Email marketing platforms like Mailchimp or Klaviyo
- Any analytics or other tools that you are paying for that have connection to your business
Why It’s So Risky Not To
If someone else owns your tools, you’re exposed. What happens if they vanish, go out of business, or refuse to give you access? We’ve seen agencies hold ad accounts hostage. We’ve seen owners get locked out of their websites. We’ve seen email lists go dark because no one could log in anymore.
This is not just a minor inconvenience. It’s a critical liability.
Would You Hand Over Your Bank Account?
You wouldn’t give a contractor your bank login and say, “Just pay yourself when the work’s done.” But you’re doing the same thing when you let someone else control your digital platforms.
This is your business. Your livelihood. You need to protect it.
What You Should Do Right Now
- Check who owns your website domain and hosting account
- Log into your social media platforms and confirm you’re the admin
- Review your ad accounts and make sure you have full control
- Secure your email platform access with two-factor authentication
If someone else is the owner, get it changed. Immediately.
Final Thought
Sure, it can be a pain to have to manage these things, but they are incredibly important and not something you should be delegating easily and definitely not to contractors or people who don't even actually work for you. If you want your business to grow and avoid unnecessary risk, then take the time to secure your marketing systems. You don’t need to manage everything yourself, but you do need to control it.
Looking for more marketing clarity? Take our free Marketing Impact Scorecard to see how your strategy is performing across awareness, engagement, and conversion.
Want more? Read our post on why your marketing might not be working.
