When to Walk Away – Don’t Take it Personally

Finding the best marketing agency that fits your needs is important. And, just like any relationship, you hope to find someone who’s compatible and has your best interest at heart. It’s great when you find a match, but sometimes, it just doesn’t work out.

How can you tell when it’s time to call it quits? Here are a few tell-tale signs:

Non-Responsive

Communication is crucial for a marketing campaign, and timely communication is an absolute must.

If emails go unanswered on a regular basis, calls don’t get returned, or your agency is chronically uncommunicative, it’s a red flag that you’re heading for trouble. If you can’t get them to respond in a timelier manner, it could be time to look for another agency.

Unrealistic Expectations

This is something both agencies and clients need to be careful of. Every business wants to succeed and reach as many customers as possible, and every agency wants to succeed and help as many clients as possible. But, sometimes, it’s not possible. Agencies may overextend themselves, taking on too much (and shortchanging their current clients), and business owners might be expecting too much from a marketing campaign.

If expectations on both sides can’t be managed to more realistic levels, it might be time to part ways.

Missed Deadlines

Deadlines are a way of life in marketing — printing dates, events, campaign launches, etc. — and a good agency will do its best to meet them.

Occasional missed deadlines due to unforeseen factors, illness, delays, etc., are understandable — and forgivable — but chronic lateness points to a time-management problem and is unacceptable. Missed deadlines can have a big impact on your business (and cash flow).

Budget Blues 

We all need to watch our pennies (and dollars), and if your agency keeps going over budget on projects, and talking to them doesn’t seem to work, it’s another sign that you should find an agency that will keep a better eye on the bottom line.

Don’t Play the Blame Game

Your agency might be guilty of one or more of the sins listed above, but it doesn’t help to blame them — or yourself —  for the problems. Be professional and part amicably. The match might not currently work, but management changes could improve an agency and you might cross paths in the future, so don’t unnecessarily close any doors.

When to Stay

Everyone has bad days, and agencies and clients can all be guilty of poor communication, missed deadlines and other ills — at least occasionally. If the problems are just bumps in the road (as opposed to the whole road), it’s probably better to try and work it out rather than run. You and your agency have built up trust, and, like any relationship, trust takes time.

You can trust Farmhouse Creative to help with your marketing needs. Feel free to contact us!