When to Fire Your Marketing Agency

Not every marketing relationship works. Knowing when to end one — and how — saves months of wasted budget and frustration.

Here are the signals that it's time to move on.

Clear Signs It's Time

1. No Results After Fair Timeline

Different channels have different timelines:

Channel	Reasonable Timeline	What to Expect
SEO	6-12 months	Rankings movement, traffic increase
Paid Search	30-90 days	Lead flow, conversion data
CTV	90+ days	Branded search lift, traffic
Social	60-90 days	Engagement, traffic signals

If you're past these timelines with adequate budget and seeing nothing, ask hard questions. If answers aren't satisfactory, it's a problem.

Important caveat: "No results" must account for:

• Adequate budget (undersized budgets fail regardless of agency)
• Realistic expectations (SEO won't 10x traffic in 3 months)
• Market factors (competitive markets take longer)
• Your contribution (did you provide what they needed?)

2. Communication Has Broken Down

Warning signs:

• Emails go unanswered for days
• Calls not returned
• Monthly reports stop arriving
• You have to chase for updates
• Questions get deflected or ignored

What healthy communication looks like:

• Regular scheduled check-ins
• Proactive updates (not just when asked)
• Quick response to questions
• Clear explanations of strategy and results
• Honest conversations about challenges

If getting a response feels like pulling teeth, the relationship is broken.

3. They Can't Explain What They're Doing

Ask: "What specifically are you doing this month?"

Red flag answers:

• "Ongoing optimization"
• "Working on your SEO"
• "Managing your campaigns"
• Technical jargon without substance
• Deflection to "proprietary methods"

Acceptable answers:

• "Publishing 4 blog posts targeting these keywords"
• "Building 8 backlinks from these types of sites"
• "Testing these ad variations against these audiences"
• "Fixing these technical issues on your site"

Agencies that can't articulate their work either aren't doing much or don't understand what they're doing.

4. Metrics Are Going Backward

Some fluctuation is normal. Sustained decline isn't.

Concerning patterns:

• Traffic down 20%+ over 3 months
• Lead volume declining quarter over quarter
• Rankings dropping with no explanation
• Cost per lead increasing significantly
• Conversion rates falling

Questions to ask before blaming agency:

• Did market competition increase?
• Were there algorithm updates?
• Did we change anything on our end?
• Is this seasonal?

If there's no external explanation and the agency can't fix it, they're not the right partner.

5. Trust Is Gone

Sometimes it's not about metrics — it's about the relationship.

Trust breakers:

• You've caught them in lies
• They've missed commitments repeatedly
• You suspect they're not doing the work
• They've blamed you unfairly for their failures
• You dread every interaction

Marketing requires partnership. If you can't trust your agency, no amount of potential future results justifies continuing.

Warning Signs Before Crisis

Early Indicators

Catch these before it gets bad:

Signal	What It Means
Turnover on your account	Institutional knowledge lost, you're not priority
Reports getting shorter/vaguer	Less work being done
Missed deadlines	Capacity issues or deprioritization
Strategy never evolves	Set-and-forget, not active management
They're always "on it"	But nothing changes

The "Everything Is Great" Problem

Agencies that never report problems are hiding them.

Marketing has challenges. Algorithms change. Competitors move. Creative fails sometimes. An agency that never surfaces issues isn't being transparent.

Healthy agencies say: "We tried X, it didn't work, here's what we're doing instead."

Before You Fire

Verify It's Actually Them

Run through this checklist:

Budget issues:

• Is budget adequate for the channel/market?
• Have you funded what was agreed?
• Are expectations aligned to budget?

Your side:

• Did you provide needed access/materials?
• Did you approve work in timely fashion?
• Have you been responsive to their requests?

Market factors:

• Has competition increased significantly?
• Were there major algorithm changes?
• Is the market just harder than expected?

If you've contributed to the problem, own it. But if the issues are on their end, proceed.

Secure Your Assets First

Before giving notice, confirm you have:

• Domain registrar login (YOU should own this)
• Hosting account access
• Google Analytics access (as admin)
• Google Search Console access
• Google Ads account access (as admin)
• Facebook/Meta account access
• All other platform logins
• Call tracking number portability
• Website source files
• Content and creative files
• Historical data exports

Do this quietly. Once you announce you're leaving, cooperation may decline.

Document Current State

Before transition, record:

• Current rankings for target keywords
• Current traffic levels
• Current lead volume and cost
• All active campaigns
• What's been done (content, links, etc.)
• What's in progress

This becomes your baseline for the next agency.

Review Your Contract

Know before you announce:

• Required notice period (typically 30-60 days)
• Cancellation penalties (if any)
• Asset ownership terms
• Data portability rights
• Transition requirements

Having the Conversation

Be Professional

Even if they've frustrated you, stay professional:

What to say: "We've decided to end our engagement effective [date per contract]. We appreciate the work you've done and want to ensure a smooth transition."

What not to say:

• Personal attacks
• Detailed grievances
• Threats or ultimatums
• Emotional venting

You may need their cooperation during transition. Don't burn bridges unnecessarily.

Request Transition Support

Ask for:

• All account access confirmed/transferred
• Final reports and data exports
• Documentation of work completed
• Handoff call with new agency (optional)
• Any assets in progress

Most contracts require reasonable transition support. Use it.

The Transition Period

Timeline

Week	Activities
1-2	Announce departure, verify access
2-3	Export data, document status
3-4	Brief new agency, begin overlap
4-6	Full transition to new agency

Common Transition Problems

Access denied: "We need to verify identity before granting access." Solution: Reference contract terms. Escalate if needed.

Work disappears: "That content was on our servers." Solution: This is why you secure assets BEFORE announcing.

Sabotage: Unlikely but possible — changes made to hurt performance. Solution: Document everything. Have new agency review immediately.

Knowledge gaps: New agency doesn't know what old one did. Solution: Thorough documentation before transition.

What to Take With You

Essential Assets

• Website (domain, hosting, code, content)
• All analytics data (export historical)
• Ad accounts and history
• Call tracking data
• Lead/conversion records
• Creative assets
• Brand guidelines they used
• Any research or strategy documents

What May Stay With Them

• Proprietary tools or platforms
• Their methodology documentation
• Relationships with vendors
• Team knowledge (you can't take people)

Finding the Next Agency

Learn From This Experience

Before hiring again, identify:

• What specifically went wrong?
• What did you need that you didn't get?
• What will you do differently?
• What questions should you have asked?

Better Vetting This Time

• More reference checks
• Clearer deliverable expectations
• Better contract terms
• Shorter initial commitment
• More explicit success metrics

Consider Alternatives

Maybe you don't need a full-service agency:

• Specialist for one channel
• Fractional CMO for strategy
• In-house for some functions
• Different agency structure

The Bottom Line

Fire your agency when:

• Results aren't coming after fair timeline
• Communication has broken down
• They can't explain their work
• Metrics are declining without explanation
• Trust is gone

Before firing:

• Verify it's them, not budget/market
• Secure all assets and access
• Document current state
• Review contract terms

During transition:

• Be professional
• Get transition support
• Overlap with new agency
• Expect 30-60 day adjustment

Bad agency relationships waste time, money, and opportunity cost. Once you've determined it's not working, moving on is the right business decision.

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Evaluating your current agency relationship? Let's talk through it — objective perspective, no pitch.