Have you ever signed a contract with an agency partner only to be disappointed with the outcome? Maybe you felt the agency didn’t deliver on what they promised, or your organization had a leadership change that shifted priorities, or the point of contact from your company left and the project floundered.
It might not even be that you chose the wrong agency partner. Issues often stem from poor communication and misalignment - which can quickly snowball into confusing feedback, missed deadlines, and eventually mistrust.
The good news is these breakdowns are completely preventable. We’ve pulled from our own experiences working with client partners and put together 6 tips on how to get everyone on the same page - leading to strong relationships and great results.
1. Communicate Clearly and Often
We’ve all heard the phrase “communication is key to success”, and it holds true for working with your agency team. You want both parties to understand expectations, timelines, and project goals - which means developing thoughtful communication processes and guardrails. Below are a few of our top tips for quality comms.
Set a Primary Point of Contact
Too many cooks spoil the broth, as the saying goes. Idioms aside, it’s important to establish a point person to streamline feedback and ensure nothing gets lost in translation (or in the broth).
A primary contact who represents your business serves both your team and the agency by:
- Synthesizing feedback from multiple voices to avoid unnecessary confusion
- Acting as a central hub that provides clearer direction and prioritizes what’s essential
- Streamlining communications so the agency knows exactly who to turn to for answers, and the client team knows who is responsible for keeping communication consistent
In short, a primary point of contact creates efficiency, clarity, and momentum - three ingredients critical for a strong partnership.
Build Trust with Transparency
Open, honest communication helps your agency team anticipate challenges and adapt quickly, instead of being caught off guard. Be transparent about all relevant project details, including goals, budgets, internal roadblocks, and shifting priorities.
Being open and honest means you:
- Share context early – If internal priorities or budgets change, let your agency know right away so they can pivot effectively
- Discuss challenges – Name potential roadblocks (such as project delays or internal approval hurdles) so your agency can plan around them
- Clarify expectations – Outline what success looks like from your perspective to avoid misalignment down the line
Designating a primary contact and prioritizing transparency will help solidify your agency partner’s role as a trusted ally.
2. Be Intentional about Goals and Priorities
In the words of the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "a goal without a plan is just a wish." Agencies can't hit nonexistent or moving targets, so it's essential to create straightforward goals and map out how you plan to track them.
Measurement Matters
In his blog post The ABCs of Marketing Measurement: A Future Ready Framework, Seer’s Vice President of Analytics John Lovett states that a staggering 77% of marketers aren’t confident they’re tracking the right key performance indicators (KPIs) - and that most marketers are measuring what’s easy, not what’s important.
As John recommends in his blog, you might consider a framework like the ABCs of Marketing Measurement that better maps to different stages of customer behaviors.
Regardless of what methodology you choose, you and your agency partner should both understand the goals of your engagement - and the specific KPIs by which you plan to measure them.
Align on a Project Plan and Timeline
Whether it’s a quick-turnaround campaign or a year-long website build, you want to be sure everyone is working toward the same milestones. Keep everyone accountable by building a roadmap that sets expectations around deliverables, responsibilities, and deadlines. A coordinated plan also provides a shared reference point in case priorities shift or questions arise in the future.
When building your roadmap, make sure you:
- Define key milestones upfront – Break large projects into manageable phases with specific deliverables at each stage
- Set realistic timelines – Build in buffer time for reviews, approvals, and unexpected delays
- Assign ownership – Outline who is responsible for each task or deliverable on both the client and agency side
- Schedule regular check-ins – Use weekly or bi-weekly touchpoints to monitor progress, flag risks, and adjust timelines if needed
- Document and share the plan – Keep the project roadmap in a shared space so everyone can reference it
3. Respect the Process (and Trust the Experts)
It’s worth repeating that your agency partner is your ally. While there may be a learning curve as you adapt to new tools and processes from your agency partner, we promise it’s not without reason.
A great example is using the communication tools and protocols established by your agency partner. If your agency partner requests you communicate using a third-party tool like Basecamp, Wrike, or Slack, they’re doing so for the sake of efficiency, transparency, and alignment. (We know some companies have strict policies regarding third-party tools, so exceptions may apply here.)
Using the same tools and processes offers numerous benefits to you and your agency partner:
- Ensures visibility across teams – Everyone has access to the same conversations, files, and updates, reducing the risk of miscommunication
- Creates a single source of truth – Centralized communication makes it easy to reference past decisions, feedback, or approvals
- Supports accountability – Documented threads make it obvious who is responsible for next steps and when they’re due
- Streamlines workflows – Integrations with task management tools, file storage, and calendars reduce the need to juggle multiple systems
- Improves response time – Real-time messaging and notifications keep momentum moving compared to slower, scattered email chains
- Provides continuity – If someone is out of office or leaves the project, new team members can quickly get up to speed by reviewing the history in one place
4. Give Constructive, Actionable Feedback
We know we’re not perfect, and we don’t expect our client partners to be either. But a part of communicating clearly is avoiding vague, emotional feedback. Focusing instead on constructive, actionable comments helps your agency team move forward productively.
Here are some examples of how to offer actionable feedback:
- Instead of “I don’t like this,” try: “This isn’t the direction I was hoping to see. Can you adjust it so it better aligns with our brand guidelines and voice/tone?
- Instead of “I hate the colors,” try: “These colors feel a bit off from our palette. Could you explore options that align with our brand’s primary and secondary colors?”
- Instead of “This copy doesn’t work,” try: “The copy feels too formal for our audience. Can we make it more conversational while still keeping it professional?”
- Instead of “This isn’t engaging,” try: “I’d love to see a stronger hook in the first sentence to grab attention right away.”
5. Respect Time and Resources
At the end of the day, you’re paying for the time and work your agency partner is putting into the project. Both parties want the same outcome - for your project to succeed. Missed meetings, late feedback, and scope creep can strain those partnerships, so we recommend doing your best to avoid those.
Treat Your Agency Like Your Team
The strongest partnerships happen when clients view their agency as an extension of their internal team rather than an outside vendor. Treat your agency partners with the same consideration you would give your own colleagues - sharing information openly, collaborating thoughtfully, and valuing their time.
6. Celebrate Wins Together
Agencies thrive on their clients’ successes. We love hearing that you’ve exceeded last year’s lead goals, your new blog post was cited in an industry publication, or revenue is up 120% YoY. It means our work is making an impact on YOUR business. When you tell us you’re happy with our work, we share those wins with the rest of our team!
And speaking of success stories, agencies are also always eager for case studies they can share with prospective clients. Whether you’re celebrating a top-performing paid media campaign, a new website that launched on schedule, or saw incredible SEO growth in your first year with a new agency, don’t be surprised if your agency team asks to write a case study on this win.
Strong Partnerships = Stronger Results
Being a great agency partner is about more than signing a contract - you have to show up with clarity, trust, and collaboration. When clients build a strong foundation with their agency, projects run more smoothly and the quality of work increases significantly. Great partnerships aren’t built overnight, but with mutual respect and commitment, they can fuel long-term success for both sides.
If you’re ready to get the most out of your agency partnership, start by looking at how you show up as a client. Small changes in communication, transparency, and collaboration can have a huge impact on your relationship.
And if you’re searching for an agency partner who values open, honest relationships, we’d love to talk - let’s build something great together.
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