A partnership between a brand and a marketing agency can offer tremendous potential for brand growth. However, the harsh reality is that many brands are unhappy with these partnerships. A 2023 study found that a staggering 55% of brands planned to leave their primary marketing agency within six months.
With such a high number of dissatisfied brands, there is a cause for alarm regarding the nature of these relationships. Surprisingly though, many of the pain points that brands express about working with agencies are not actually related to the work produced, but more connected to the fundamental pillars that hold up the relationship.
For example, relationships often break down because of mismatched expectations or disagreements over scope and budget rather than campaign results. In fact, many brands are happy with the strategies their agencies recommend but not so happy with the value.
Understanding these pain points will allow both sides to overcome them and enjoy a smoother agency collaboration. To maintain healthy partnerships, it’s important that both sides establish clear expectations up front and maintain consistent communication throughout the relationship to ensure that both sides remain aligned on value and output.
Many relationships between brands and agencies break down because of lack of clarity or disagreements around the terms of the relationship. Understanding the following pain points will equip brands and agencies with the tools to foster healthy partnerships.
A lack of clear objectives can lead to misalignment of expectations. For example, if an agency is unclear on whether a brand is looking to increase website traffic or drive new sales, it could focus its energy in the wrong direction, producing a campaign or initiative that leaves the brand completely dissatisfied. To avoid these hiccups, it’s important that clear and specific objectives are discussed from the start.
When starting work with an agency, it’s crucial that brands have clear marketing objectives ready to bring to the table. To foster a successful relationship, teams should work together to develop their goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) before they even reach out to an agency. This cohesion is helpful in minimizing any confusion about expectations when they finally sit down with the right agency.
From there, the key is ensuring clarity on these objectives between both sides. Brands should take the following steps to ensure alignment with their goals:
Poor communication can break down any relationship, and that between agencies and brands is no different. Regular communication between brands and agencies can be difficult, especially when the standard is virtual communication.
Agencies and brands must be intentional about staying in touch and remaining aligned on partnership objectives. Regular communication ensures common ground on target goals, outstanding tasks, ongoing projects, and upcoming deadlines.
Ineffective communication could cause hang-ups on both ends that could strain the relationship. For example, a brand may not provide timely feedback on work that an agency delivers, resulting in the agency viewing the brand as uncooperative. Meanwhile, if the agency doesn’t receive and implement timely feedback, the brand may view the work as lower quality.
Altogether, it’s crucial that both sides establish consistent check-ins to stay aligned on objectives, upcoming tasks, and more. Some ways to do this include:
When a brand hires an agency, they normally do so with a specific intention in mind. For example, this could include supporting with website content to boost organic traffic or managing paid ad campaigns.
However, as the relationship carries on, it can be common for brands to ask for support in areas outside of the initial scope of the arrangement. For example, let’s say an agency is contracted to focus only on SEO, but they end up helping with some website development tasks here and there. Often, these tasks slowly add up until they go well beyond the parameters of the initial agreement.
As the scope creeps, expectations change, making it harder for the agency to keep up with the initial requests—altogether, this can raise uncertainty around budget, goals, and responsibilities. If an agency begins to juggle multiple tasks, it can take effort away from the initial pillars of the project and affect the quality of work the brand receives, hindering their satisfaction.
To avoid scope creep, agencies and brands can take the following steps in their relationship:
Budget constraints are a frequent source of disagreement for brands and agencies—the budget is fundamental to what an agency can accomplish, but brands want the best possible value. Both parties are responsible for ensuring that budget expectations are clear so that there is no confusion or misunderstanding around the extent of the working relationship and what can be accomplished throughout the partnership.
Brands should clearly communicate their budget limitations while agencies should clearly communicate what they can accomplish within those limitations, as well as what budget they need to accomplish certain tasks.
Finding a compromise between these two areas is crucial for maintaining a healthy relationship. If agencies can’t be transparent about their limitations and capabilities with a budget, then brands may have mismatched expectations and develop concerns over the quality of the work produced.
Some agencies find that brands are hesitant to share their budget for the sake of maintaining privacy, minimizing unwanted sales pressure, and avoiding being overcharged. However, this transparency is important for giving brands better context around their options for bringing results.
Some ways for agencies and brands to circumvent budget constraints in their relationship include:
Working with an agency can offer a variety of benefits, but it’s important to avoid the common pitfalls so that the relationship is sustainable long-term. An improper foundation can lead to a breakdown in the relationship, which is why brands and agencies need to establish clear expectations and maintain regular communication.
At PETERMAYER, our values are geared toward fostering healthy relationships with our clients and bringing results that drive traffic and engagement. Using data and analytics-based methods, we’ll unleash the inherent joy that exists in your brand and use it to build lasting relationships with your target audience.
Learn more about our approach to understand the value we provide our clients. If you’re looking for a new agency, contact us today to discuss what you’re looking for in an agency partnership.
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