Before You Fire Your Agency, Make Sure the Agency Is the Problem

We parted ways with our contractor halfway through our kitchen renovation.

It was the right call, but it still cost us more money. The new contractor had to learn the job, re-check everything the last crew had done, and fix what they'd left behind. We paid for all of that on top of what we'd already spent.

Parting ways with a partner mid-project is sometimes necessary. It's never cheap. So before a brand parts ways with its agency, make sure the agency is the problem.

A failing agency, or a setup that stopped working?

I've sat on both sides of this table. More often than you'd think, what looks like a failing agency is a setup that stopped working. And there's usually a good reason behind each part of it:

• The direction shifts after the work starts. Often because the business question was still being settled when the brief went out.
• Many people weigh in. Communications, product, sales, legal and finance all have a real stake. I wrote recently about how the same idea has to survive several rooms. The fix is bringing those rooms in at the brief, not the final review.
• Everything is urgent, but approvals take time. The business moves fast, and approvals have to move through real process.
• The scope grows while budget and timing stay fixed. The business changes mid-project. The scope just has to change with it.
• The agency is hired to think, then given a tight brief. Usually to reduce risk. But if you want fresh thinking, the brief has to make room for it.

None of those are anyone being difficult. But from the brand side, they can all look like a slow, expensive agency.

When it really has run its course

Sometimes a relationship really is over. The same mistakes keep coming back. The team keeps changing. Every request turns into a change order.

That was my contractor. The radiator pipe was just the mistake that flooded the basement and became the final straw.

The agency is often the last to know

From the agency side, I've seen this too. When a client calls a review, the agency is often the last to know there was a problem. Frustration builds on one side of the table, and nobody says it out loud.

That gap is the real problem, because a review is expensive. It usually takes two to three months: an RFI, intro calls, reviewing responses, a shortlist, an RFP, Q&A and briefings, chemistry meetings, internal alignment and scoring, pitches, negotiation, and then onboarding a new team that knows nothing about your business.

Try a reset conversation first

A reset conversation takes an afternoon:

1. Go back to the business goals. Is everyone still working toward the same result?
2. Look at the working model. Who briefs, who approves, and how fast do decisions get made?
3. Give honest feedback in both directions. The agency should be able to tell you what's getting in the way on your side, too.

Agencies: check in every quarter

Don't wait for that moment. Survey your clients every quarter with three simple questions: How is the work? How is the team? How is the relationship? It catches small problems while they're still small.

A review costs months. A reset costs an afternoon. A quarterly check-in costs 30 minutes.

Start with the 30 minutes.

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When should a brand fire its agency?

When the relationship has run its course: the same mistakes keep repeating, the team keeps changing, every request becomes a change order, and it no longer feels like a partnership. Before that, try a reset conversation to see whether the setup, not the agency, is the problem.

Why do agency relationships break down?

Often because of the setup around the work rather than the agency itself: direction that changes after work starts, many stakeholders weighing in late, slow approvals, scope that grows without budget or timing changing, and briefs too tight to leave room for the agency's thinking.

How long does an agency review take?

A full agency review usually takes two to three months, covering an RFI, a shortlist, an RFP, chemistry meetings, pitches, negotiation and onboarding. The new agency then has to learn your business from scratch.

What is an agency reset conversation?

A meeting to realign before calling a review. Revisit the business goals, look at how briefing and approvals actually work, and give honest feedback in both directions.

How can agencies prevent client relationships from breaking down?

Check in regularly. A short quarterly conversation or survey about the work, the team and the relationship catches small problems before they become reasons to leave.

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