If you’ve ever hired an Internet marketing agency to do some work for you, chances are you’ve also thought about firing them as well.

According to a report from the Agency Management Institute, nearly half of companies who use an Internet marketing agency have fired and hired another agency in the last two years. Does this mean that using an online marketing agency is a bad thing? Not at all! But, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be guaranteed success either.

1. Your Company Doesn’t See Any Results

The Agency Management Institute has noted that 46% of businesses will let an agency go because they do not see any results. Sounds like a good reason to let any agency go, right? If you’re paying to see results and are not getting any, why should you keep them around, right?

It’s not always that simple. There are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you decide the agency is at fault:

WAS I CLEAR ABOUT MY EXPECTATIONS?

Many times, a marketing director doesn’t know the appearance of a successful agency relationship. They tend to have a vague idea of what they’re looking for, but they need a clear expectation to see success come to fruition. With an unclear expectation – doesn’t matter if it’s you or the agency – your agency isn’t going to meet what you want.

This will leave you feeling aggravated, and the agency aggravated, even if they know they can do exactly what you need them to do.

A change in agencies isn’t going to help. Your problem is the lack of clarity. Make sure to line up some straightforward, unambiguous goals and objectives to get the results you want. Get together with the agency and talk about the business matters that are important to you. Create some reasonable expectations and then learn if the agency can meet them.

If they surpass the goals, you know the problem has been addressed. If they’re still failing, it’s time to fire the agency and hire one that can assist you.

ARE MY EXPECTATIONS REASONABLE AND REALISTIC?

Once you’ve laid out your expectations, you need to know if they’re realistic. If you expect to spend $1,500 a month on Google ads and want to see a revenue of $150,000 a month, the agency won’t even have a chance to succeed. Too many companies think an agency has the power to wield high returns of them, but that’s not always the case.

A reputable agency like Ege marketing is going to let you know what goals you have are attainable and which ones are not. If your agency informs you that you have unreasonable expectations, don’t fire the agency. They’re just letting you know that you have expectations that can’t be attained.

However, if the agency and you both believe your company’s expectation are attainable and they’re not giving you any results, it’s time to go looking for a new agency.

2. There’s No Relationship Between You

While results are important, so is the relationship between you and the agency. If you’d rather go get dental work done over talking to the account manager, then even the results you get may not be enough to continue working with the agency.

Of course, before you decide enough is enough, you should ask yourself the following:

WHAT IS THE ACTUAL PROBLEM?

Here’s the reality – your company and the agency are two different entities. You have your own goals, values and success metrics. Your account manager and you also have your own metrics. The differences you have can interfere with your relationship; but, if you work together, you can attain better results.

For instance, you may be focused on getting traffic to the website. Your account manager, however, wants to put attention on conversions. When this happens, the traffic will drop but the conversions will increase. You may feel disappointed whereas the account manager is excited about the matter.

All you need to do here is talk to the account manager about the goals you have – to ensure you’re both on the same page. They may also offer advice on why they think their idea is just as good. By the time the talk is done, your account manager will know what results matter to you more. And, you may even be swayed to their line of thinking.

But, when it all boils down – you are the client. Your input is what the agency needs to be focused on. If they can’t do that, then you need to fire them and hire an agency that is focused on attaining your goals.