A Strategic Guide to the Agency-Client Relationship

A successful agency-client partnership is built on a foundation of clear communication, aligned goals, and transparent processes. To achieve exceptional results, both parties must work in sync, ensuring that strategic objectives are clearly defined and performance is measured against shared KPIs. This guide outlines the essential practices for fostering a collaborative and effective relationship, from streamlining creative requests and establishing reporting cadences to ensuring the agency has the visibility and information needed to drive campaign success.

What is the most effective way for our team to provide feedback on campaign performance?

The most effective feedback is timely, data-driven, and connected to business outcomes. While direct CRM access (e.g., Salesforce) is ideal for providing the agency with real-time visibility into lead quality and pipeline progression, security protocols often make this challenging. In these cases, the client should provide the agency with regular performance reports. Alternatively, setting up a shared, automated dashboard or providing a single, temporary guest profile can also work. For this process to be effective, the client must clearly define and share the criteria for each stage of the sales funnel (e.g., MQL, SAL, SQL) so the agency can optimize campaigns for high-quality conversions that align with sales goals.

How can we streamline the creative request process using tools like Asana?

Utilize a centralized project management tool like Asana to manage the creative workflow from start to finish. Create dedicated boards for each platform (e.g., Google, LinkedIn) with columns that track the campaign status, such as 'Planning,' 'In Progress,' and 'Launched.' When submitting a request, provide a comprehensive brief that includes the campaign name, target audience, key messaging, goals, and specific assets required. This ensures the agency has all necessary information upfront. Assigning tasks and tagging team members for approvals within the platform keeps all communication and deliverables in one place, preventing delays and ensuring alignment.

What's the ideal cadence for our performance review calls (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly)?

A bi-weekly meeting cadence is an effective starting point for most agency-client relationships. This frequency allows enough time for meaningful data to accumulate while ensuring both teams remain aligned on performance and upcoming priorities. For critical periods, such as a new campaign launch or a major rebranding, switching to weekly calls can provide necessary real-time feedback and adjustments. Once campaigns are stable and running smoothly, a monthly check-in may be sufficient. The key is to establish a consistent rhythm that facilitates productive, data-driven conversations.

How do we set clear, measurable goals and KPIs with our agency at the start of a quarter?

Begin by defining the primary business objective for the quarter (e.g., increase pipeline from a specific region). From there, work with the agency to identify the marketing activities that directly influence that outcome. This involves setting clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are measurable and directly tied to your goals, rather than focusing on vanity metrics. For lead generation, primary KPIs could be form submissions, demo requests, or content downloads that signify high intent. It's also valuable to establish secondary KPIs, or 'micro-conversions,' such as time spent on a page or visits to the homepage after an initial landing, to measure audience engagement and brand awareness.

What information does our agency need from us to build the most effective strategy?

To build a robust strategy, an agency requires a deep understanding of your business. Key information includes a clearly defined Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), including job titles, seniority, and company size (revenue and employee count). Provide access to any relevant audience-building tools like 6sense and share updated target account lists. The agency also needs a clear understanding of your brand voice, key value propositions, and competitive landscape. Sharing insights from your sales team about customer pain points, feedback, and common objections can be invaluable for crafting resonant messaging.

How do we ensure our internal brand and product marketing teams are aligned with our agency's efforts?

Establish a clear internal process where a designated point of contact, often a project or marketing manager, is responsible for liaising between internal teams and the agency. This person should consolidate feedback from product marketing managers (PMMs) and brand teams on copy, landing pages, and messaging before it is sent to the agency. When the agency provides new campaign structures, ad copy, or keyword lists, the internal contact should circulate them for review with the relevant stakeholders to ensure they align with product positioning and brand guidelines. This prevents conflicting feedback and ensures a unified strategy.

What's the best way to handle urgent requests or campaign changes?

The best way to handle urgent requests is to have a formal, centralized process. Use a designated Slack channel or a project management tool like Asana for all requests, rather than relying on scattered emails or direct messages. This ensures that all communication is visible and tracked. For urgent needs, clearly communicate the scope, timeline, and priority. While agencies can often accommodate quick turnarounds, it's important to recognize that last-minute changes can impact planned work and may require reprioritization.

How much lead time does an agency typically need for new creative or landing pages?

The lead time for new assets depends on their complexity and the clarity of the initial request. A simple landing page, where the client provides all copy and images, might be turned around in a few days. However, a fully new landing page or a set of campaign creatives that require copywriting, design, and development will take longer, often several weeks. The process typically involves an initial design review, feedback rounds, and final implementation. To expedite the process, provide the agency with a detailed creative brief and ensure internal stakeholders are available to give timely feedback.

How can we provide our agency with better visibility into our sales pipeline and lead quality?

Providing visibility into the sales pipeline is crucial for an agency to optimize for high-quality leads and demonstrate ROI. The ideal solution is to grant the agency read-only access to a dedicated dashboard in your CRM (e.g., Salesforce). If security policies restrict direct access, the next best option is to create an automated report or dashboard that is shared on a regular (weekly or bi-weekly) basis. Another approach is to sync your CRM with the ad platforms (like Google Ads and LinkedIn) to import conversion data, allowing the agency to see which campaigns are driving leads that progress through the sales funnel. This requires a clear definition of lead stages (MQL, SAL, SQL) and their corresponding properties in the CRM to ensure the data is meaningful.