I can hear the answers now: “I am a seller of this thing…”, “I am the provider of this service…”, and even “I am in business to make money.” What I am about to say next will shock most and even more are going to disagree with me. Being a seller of a thing or a provider of a service is not the business that you are in. You are in the marketing business. Your title isn’t CEO but CMO – Chief Marketing Officer. Before you decide not to read any further, let me explain.

How can you be a seller of a thing or a provider of a service if you have no customers? You could have the best product or service, but if you have no customers/patients/clients then you have nothing! Too many business owners focus 80% of their energy (if not more) on non-income producing activities (i.e. activities that could be delegated to staff or outsourced). “But Ralph, I can just outsource my marketing.” Sure you can, but consider this: There are two things that should never be outsourced in a business, the thing that brings in the money (marketing) and the thing that distributes the money (accounting). Every business owner should have oversight over the flow of the money.

As Christians, God calls us to be good stewards over all that He has given us – our souls and the souls we have tied to us, the communities we have influence over, the bodies He has blessed us with, and His finances He has entrusted us with (Luke 16:1-13). God has given each of us a gift, an anointing. He expects a return on what He has given us…A return that should yield increase for the Kingdom of God (Matthew 25:14-28).

As a Christianpreneur, God is looking for a return on the business he has blessed you with. Outsourcing your marketing is a bad idea because no one knows your customers, your niche, and your product/service like you do. Effective marketing is less about telling your customers and prospects about your latest sale, product, or service and more about connecting people with what they need, want, or desire. Who is going to know that better than you – “the seller/provider of a thing”?

Now don’t hear what I didn’t say. Seeking help from copywriters, direct-marketing experts, and other professionals to assist you in building an effective marketing system is ok, in fact, recommended, but outsourcing your marketing is ill-advised. The ‘set it and forget it’ mentality is detrimental to your business, thus your marketing. Using that mentality, you would wake up one morning and wonder why your business is crumbling around you (Luke 16:2).

So the thing that you sell or the service that you provide isn’t what makes your business…it is the customers that you foster, through effective marketing.

Have you heard? R.E. Plaskett’s new book, Peculiar Marketing – The Christian Business Owners’ Guide to Effective Marketing, will soon be available to the public. You can get your copy for FREE by filling out a less-than-5-minute survey HERE. You might want to hurry though, because the FREE offer only applies to the first 200 people to fill out the survey!