How to Own Your Marketing in 5 Simple Steps as a Local Business

I sat down with Marko S. Sipilä, founder of CoatingLaunch and a powerhouse when it comes to helping local businesses grow through digital marketing.

Marko and I have worked together on projects that serve businesses and agencies alike, and I’ve watched him lead from the front when it comes to transparency, strategy, and real-world execution.

In this conversation, we shared what every local business owner needs to know to take back control of their marketing.

1. Get Access to All of Your Assets

Before you can fix anything, you have to know what you actually own. Too many business owners are flying blind when it comes to their digital presence. You might have a website, a Facebook page, some Google Ads running, maybe even a domain registrar account you haven’t touched in years.

But do you know who has access to what?

Do you know which emails are tied to your business manager or your ad accounts?

“The first step to all of this is awareness,” Marko said. “Being aware of what platforms you’re on and ensuring you have the right access.”

Agencies will often give you a login to a third-party dashboard they control. It might look slick, but unless you have ADMIN access to the actual accounts—Google Ads, Facebook Business Manager, your website CMS—then you don’t own your marketing.

Google and Facebook have both published guidelines saying you, the business owner, must have admin access. If an agency refuses, that’s a red flag.

I’ve seen it too often—agencies cutting off access or threatening to take down a website when a business owner decides to part ways. Some agencies claim they “own” the assets they helped create, even though it’s your business, your money, and your customers at stake.

When access is lost—whether it’s to your website, Google Business Profile, or call tracking—your business can go dark. Customers can’t reach you. Leads stop coming in, and the recovery is often messy and expensive.

This is exactly why owning your assets is non-negotiable. Administrator access is your insurance policy against situations like this. Don’t wait until something breaks to realize you don’t have control.

2. Do a Preliminary Audit: Look at Ad Spend and Change History

When we audited a cosmetic surgeon’s account, the agency claimed $27,000 in Facebook ad spend for a month. We logged in. The actual spend? $5,000. Not only that, but zero changes had been made to the ad account in over 90 days. That’s unacceptable.

I saw an account, I’m not going to name it, but it’s a Fortune 500 company. They make beer. And no one had touched their ads in over a year. The agency was billing millions. And I said, Carl, you know no one’s optimized the ads in a year? Your quality score went down to one. Your CPCs have skyrocketed because the ads have burned out.

You don’t need to be an expert. Go into your ad account, click ‘Campaigns,’ look at the spend over the last 30-90 days. Then go to ‘Change History’ and see what’s actually been done.

No changes = no strategy. Tweaking a bid here or changing a budget by $5 is not optimization.

Marko put it well: “Typically, the accounts that are working well are the ones with consistent change history.”

Yes, automation like Performance Max or Advantage+ might reduce human touches. But someone should still be monitoring.

3. Establish MAA Performance Reporting (Metrics, Analysis, Action)

Now that you’ve got access and can see what’s been done, it’s time to demand real reporting.

Most agencies will send you canned reports filled with impressions, click-through rates, and other vanity metrics. That’s not enough.

We use a simple framework called MAA:

• Metrics – Hard data from source systems. How many calls? How much revenue?
• Analysis – Human insight. Why is one campaign working better than another? What’s the insight?
• Action – What changes were actually made in response?

If your agency can’t show all three, you’re not getting value. And if they say it’s all proprietary or behind a dashboard, that’s a smokescreen.

As Marko emphasized, “This isn’t to antagonize agencies. It’s about making your marketing more effective.”

For example, below is an MAA we have done for our client, Litsey Heating and Air, which is an HVAC in Louisville, KY.

4. Ensure Clear Functional SOPs (The Content Factory)

Whether you’re working with an agency, a VA, or doing it in-house, you need clear Standard Operating Procedures.

We use the Content Factory model to scale our marketing efforts across clients and verticals. That means checklists, defined roles, processes that span across content, ads, website, SEO, and more.

Your marketing should not rely on heroics or memory. It should run like your operations do: clean handoffs, documented expectations, and repeatable systems.

For example, one of the ways local businesses can improve their SEO is by filming videos while doing the work. These videos can be processed and published on YouTube using our checklist.

“If you’re a pilot, you go through a preflight checklist every time,” I told Marko. “Even if you’ve flown for 20 years. Your marketing should be the same.”

5. Staff Up Functions with VAs and/or Agencies

Once your processes are clear, it’s time to staff accordingly.

Agencies are helpful once you cross the $1M/year threshold. Below that, the math is tight. Small businesses often can’t afford to pay both agency retainers and ad spend. That’s where Virtual Assistants shine.

For less than the cost of one full-time hire, you can build an execution team. We recommend starting with:

• A VA to handle basic page updates, video editing, or social posting.
• A part-time specialist for Google Ads or LSA setup.
• A coach or strategist to review performance monthly.

You don’t need to master marketing, but to control who does what and when.

Final Thoughts

Don’t wait until you’re burned to start asking the right questions. These five steps are designed to give you visibility, control, and ultimately, better ROI.

Marko said it best: “You just need to be 1% more aware than the average business owner. That puts you in the top tier.”

If you’re not sure where to begin, book a quick audit with a strategist. We’ll walk you through it and give you a plan you can own.