Companies that are looking to grow and scale their business, or are wanting support so that they can focus on other aspects of their business typically look to bring in a marketing specialist or agency. This investment should provide support and relief and feel like an investment in growth. At the same time, however, businesses should have clear expectations of the relationship between client and agency, and look to evaluate this frequently to make sure the partnership is meeting the mark. If you start to feel like you are not aligned with your marketing partner or it is draining your budget with little results, it may be time to re-evaluate.
Knowing when to cancel your marketing company can be the difference between stagnant performance and measurable growth and success. Read more to learn how you can identify red flags, evaluate your relationship with your current agency, and what to do if it is time for you to switch to a new marketing company.
What Are The Red Flags That It Is Time To Cancel Your Marketing Agency?
It is important to evaluate the relationship and performance of your marketing partners consistently. If you have any doubts, recognizing common red flags can help solidify those concerns and ensure you dig deeper and find solutions.
Red flags of a marketing agency concern include the following:
- – Lack of transparency
- – Poor communication and follow up
- – No clear KPIs tracked
- – Lack of customized strategy
- – Consistent internal turnover
If your current marketing agency isn’t providing clear reporting on performance metrics or cannot explain where your budget is being spent, you should consider changing partners. You should not be in the dark when it comes to the results your money is generating. Similarly, unanswered emails or canceled meetings should indicate a need for a change. A reliable marketing agency is proactive in setting up meetings and communicating so that you feel comfortable with the services provided.
Another common challenge business owners face is feeling as though their marketing agency never brings them new ideas or changes in strategy. Your agency should understand what makes your business unique as well as what is trending in the marketing landscape, and consistently bring new ideas to the table. And if you have changed account managers several times in the past few months, you should think about finding a company with a more stable internal team. Instability and frequent changes of your representatives could indicate a struggle behind the scenes that leads to a lack of strategy implementation and inconsistent results.
What If Your Marketing Is Not Working?
The top reason business owners typically change marketing companies is due to poor performance. But first, you must understand what constitutes poor performance. You don’t want to leave an agency and then experience the exact same thing with another marketing firm. So you must be able to look at the data and determine if it is poor performance due to improper marketing efforts, just a slow start, or an even deeper issue. Some questions you may want to ask include the following:
- – Is your website traffic flat or declining?
- – Are you getting leads, but they aren’t qualified?
- – Has your conversion rate dropped despite increased spending?
The timeframe of how long your marketing efforts have been in effect is something important to consider. If you have only been with your current agency for a few months and are not seeing results that you deem tangible or strong, it is worth the conversation to ensure you understand the strategy and have clear expectations. Many agencies will state that “marketing takes time”, but what this means for SEO services is very different from the time it takes for paid marketing to produce results. So make sure you have clear communication with your account manager and are both speaking the same language when it comes to results and the timeline around success management.
Is Your Marketing Agency Providing Personalized Service?
If you are a business owner then you know that the client is your first priority. Well for a marketing agency, the business owner is the client. And so, relationship building is very important for a successful partnership. You should never feel like just an account number or that your marketing partner doesn’t have time for you. If you are treated like a checklist, it may be time to re-evaluate your marketing team and find one that you feel genuinely cares about your brand and can establish a higher level of trust. Some signs that your marketing agency is lacking personalization includes the following:
- – Minimal strategy adjustments despite you communicating your business goals
- – Campaigns that do not align with your brand’s voice or audience
- – Generic content or ad creatives being used across multiple industries and platforms
A truly great partner will always act as an extension of your team and should provide consistent insights and suggestions that are specific to your industry and your consumer.
Steps to Take Before Leaving Your Marketing Company
If you have taken the time to let your marketing efforts show results, but still are not getting what you expect and also do not feel confident in your relationship with your marketing specialists, it may be time to pull the plug. However, before you do that make sure you have taken the following steps for a smooth transition.
Request a performance review
Ask your agency for a performance audit. Make sure that they cover KPIs, benchmarks and actionable insights. The performance audit can help you to understand if the concern is around poor strategy development, lack of execution, or just overall communication.
Fully review the signed contract or scope of work
You should understand what you signed. Knowing the terms of your agreement, including cancellation policies and how much notice you have to give is critical. Also make sure you understand ownership of assets and data.
Give them a chance to improve
If this is the first time you have had a concern with your marketing, you may want to give the agency a chance to course-correct. If you haven’t previously shared concerns, they may not have known that they were off base in their efforts. A good agency and marketing partner will listen to concerns and take feedback seriously, putting a plan in place to improve, resolve issues and repair relationships.
Take the time to vet out alternatives
If it is truly time to go, before fully canceling you should look for other marketing partners and explore their services and processes. This can help you to feel more confident in where your money is being spent, and to employ a company that is more aligned with your vision and values.
Make a Smart Switch with a Smooth Transition
Don’t go radio silent. A smooth transition will benefit your business. Prepare in advance the following:
- Back up all assets – Make sure you have access to your Google Analytics, Ads accounts, social profiles, email platforms, and any creative assets.
- Create a transition plan – This includes setting clear timelines, identifying a new agency, and onboarding them with past performance data.
- Avoid downtime – Keep your marketing efforts running during the transition to avoid losing momentum in SEO, paid campaigns, or social media engagement.
Trust Your Instincts and Use the Data
Most times your gut instinct is correct. If you are not comfortable in the relationship with your marketing agency, and the data is not showing performance growth after a set period of time, then finding one you can trust is a smart and strategic decision.
Your marketing partner should be helping you grow and moving you forward, not holding you back. If it’s time to cancel your partnership and find an agency that truly cares, give HardPart Media a call. We are a boutique agency that takes pride in finding customized solutions for unique brands. Contact our team today to learn how we can be the best extension of your team and help you grow!