Project rescue: what to do when the relationship with your digital agency isn’t working

The relationship between your business and your digital agency is a crucial one. We use the word 'relationship' deliberately—because working with a client should be a true partnership. At Brew Digital, we believe this bond should grow over time, making us feel like a natural extension of your in-house team, where both sides are comfortable being open, honest, and collaborative.

After all, you employ an agency to deeply understand your business and present it effectively to the outside world. They need to grasp who you are, what you do, and what you stand for. To do your brand justice, your agency needs to be on the same wavelength—both responsive to your needs and proactively anticipating them.

That’s why, when the partnership isn’t working, the consequences can be significant. It can affect team morale, complicate decision-making, and, at its worst, damage your revenue through misaligned marketing.

This guide outlines the practical steps you can take if you find yourself unhappy with your agency’s performance.

Communicate clearly

Like all good relationships, clear communication is at the core. If issues are only just beginning to surface, a simple catch-up with your account manager to flag your concerns is often enough to get things back on track. This is especially true during the campaign conception phase if you feel the ideas aren’t hitting the mark. Don’t hesitate to share your own ideas—your vision is a crucial part of the process.

Ideally, this conversation can serve as a reset point for the partnership.

Review the contract

If the problems are more structural, your first step is to review your contract.

Look through your agreement and your scope of work document to find any discrepancies between what was agreed and what’s being delivered. Is work that was promised not happening? Is it consistently delivered late? Were you quoted one price and charged another? Is the quality not meeting the expected standard?

Compile a list of your issues, including any previous attempts to raise them, and organise a meeting. Although it might be frustrating, enter the meeting with the goal of a constructive conversation and a clear idea of your desired outcome. If you can agree on a path forward, ensure that all actions are documented, a key person is named responsible for delivery, and clear timeframes are agreed upon. In an ideal world, you don’t want to terminate the contract—but rather to ensure you receive the service you signed up for.

What to do if the initial meeting isn’t productive

Sometimes, even with the best intentions, it’s not possible to find common ground, and a different approach is required. For example, the meeting may reveal a fundamental miscommunication or that the agency can no longer meet your needs as anticipated.

We are unable to provide legal advice in this article, and every situation will be different depending on your initial contract. We always encourage you to refer back to it—and seek legal advice if necessary.

Generally speaking, you may be able to renegotiate the contract with adjusted KPIs to continue working together. However, if you cannot reach an agreement that meets your business needs, you may have to terminate the contract. The details of that process are contextual, but there are some things you will want to consider.

A key consideration is how accounts will be settled. Your contract might be based on a fixed cost or an ongoing time-and-materials basis, and you could be liable to pay for any completed work. If you are happy to pay and walk away, the process is straightforward. It becomes more complicated if you enter a dispute.

Planning your next steps

After parting ways with an agency, businesses often fall into one of two camps: either they swear off partnerships or they rush straight into another one. We encourage you to pause and reflect on the experience.

Every situation is a learning opportunity. Examining the previous relationship will undoubtedly uncover what you want to see in your next one. Were the issues down to poor communication or a vague brief? Perhaps there was a simple misalignment of expectations. Whatever caused the breakdown, there will be identifiable lessons you can apply to your next agency search.

When you feel ready, be upfront with potential new agencies about what happened, without being disparaging. Talk about the communication issues or misalignment of expectations respectfully—it’s a surprisingly small industry, and it’s always best to present yourself with grace.

How Brew Digital can help

As a full-service digital marketing agency, we handle everything from creative and web design through to digital marketing and growth strategies.

Our philosophy is to work with you, not just for you. We build genuine partnerships founded on transparency and trust, creating an environment where both parties feel comfortable having difficult conversations with candour. We work in a transparent and agile way, so you always know what is expected from us—and what we expect from you. We aren’t a team of ‘yes-men’ and will speak up if we think your approach can be improved. After all, we share the same goal: to get the best results.

If you are sceptical of agencies following a bad experience, we’ll take the time to answer your questions and walk you through our process so you feel in control at all times. Once a project is underway, there will be frequent check-ins, and we can even build custom dashboards so you can see the progress for yourself.

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We understand that choosing a new agency after a negative experience is a significant decision. We invite you to see how a partnership with an attentive, agile agency that prioritises clear communication can transform your digital marketing.

We offer a free, no-obligation discovery workshop to explore how we can help your business stand out and scale. Reach out to schedule a conversation.