Not long ago, I had a conversation with a potential new client. They had reached out to us, wanting to have us manage their Google Ads. As the conversation went on, it became clear they were “agency hopping.”

This is a term we use to describe the company or person who tries out a marketing agency and if things seemingly don’t work for them in a couple of months, they fire their current agency and move on to a new one. Then rinse-and-repeat.

This is a big red flag for me. It is a big indication that there is an underlying problem. It may seem at first glance that the client may have unrealistic expectations, but you know what? This usually isn’t the case in my experience.

Here is what typically causes a client to fire their marketing agency.

#1 Client Is Not ROI Positive

If a client is not receiving a positive rate of return on their Google Ads marketing dollars, and just as importantly, being shown what their ROI is in a simple spreadsheet, then they will quickly identify this venture as an expense and look to cut costs, and the agency will be shown the door.

I have this as #1 on my list for a reason.

Show a client like this breakeven or positive results—including the agency’s management fees—and in all likelihood there can be a great agency/client relationship. Negative ROI will cause this relationship to sour and won’t be viable for long.

#2 Poor Communication and Reporting

Every agency has made mistakes at least once by not communicating the results properly and tracking performance, including myself. Make sure each and every lead or sale is accounted for and provide the clearest picture possible that you can share with the client. Show total return after ad spend and management fees. It should be something the client can get excited about with tangible results.

Don’t assume the client knows all the industry terminology and how to read the reporting. Put together a screen video that talks about all the important details the client should be aware of and how to interact with the reporting.

#3 Grass Is Greener Syndrome

Too many people think there’s some magic trick towards cracking the code to online marketing. Unless you were around in the early days of Adwords, when average cost-per-clicks were .05 to .10 cents, there are no shortcuts anymore. Each new campaign has to be carefully planned and tracked to make sure every marketing dollar is accounted for and is producing results.

Yes, it’s still possible, otherwise, companies wouldn’t invest in it. But with much higher average click costs, there is less room for error.

#4 Agency Gets Lazy

An agency should always be trying to improve the results. Sure, there’s always a limit as to how much performance can be squeezed from a fixed ad spend budget. However, ideally, incremental improvements should be achieved by your agency trying to best their personal results.

#5 Your Business Isn’t Well-Suited for Google Ads

“It’s not us, it’s you” sounds harsh, but the truth is some businesses are better spent applying marketing dollars to other advertising channels. A good example of this is a product or service that most people have never heard of before or is so niche that there’s not enough search volume.

Google Ads works great at delivering high-quality leads for many or most businesses and industries, but not all.

Conclusion

The main takeaway is communication with the agency you’re working with.

The best type of communication is early communication and addressing expectations upfront. It might be hard to have an open and honest conversation about deliverables, but it will set you on the path to success when choosing an agency that knows how to get the results you need.