How to Hold Your Marketing Agency Accountable
By Jonathan Molina, Fractional CMO ·
Short answer
Hold a marketing agency accountable by agreeing four things in writing: the business objective the work serves, the exact scope being delivered, the metrics performance will be judged on, and the reporting format and cadence. Then run a consistent monthly review and a formal quarterly performance review against those agreements.
When an agency relationship goes wrong, the post-mortem usually blames the agency. In my experience, most of these relationships were set up to fail on day one — unclear objectives, a vague scope, no agreed measures and a reporting format the agency chose for itself.
Accountability is something you build into the relationship, not something you apply once you're unhappy.
The seven things to put in writing
- 1.Objective — the business outcome this work serves, in one sentence, in business language.
- 2.Scope — what is being delivered each month, specifically. Hours, deliverables, channels, exclusions.
- 3.KPIs — the two or three measures performance will be judged on, with a baseline.
- 4.Reporting — the exact format, the metrics included and the date it arrives each month.
- 5.Meetings — a fixed monthly review and a quarterly performance review, with an agenda.
- 6.Transparency — you own the ad accounts, the analytics, the domain and the data. No exceptions.
- 7.Ownership — one named person at the agency and one at your company responsible for the relationship.
What a monthly review should look like
| Agenda item | Time | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Performance vs. agreed KPIs | 10 min | On track / off track |
| What changed and why | 10 min | Understanding, not excuses |
| Spend and pacing | 5 min | Budget confirmed or adjusted |
| Next 30 days | 15 min | Named actions with dates |
| Blockers from our side | 10 min | Commitments from your team |
The quarterly performance review
Once a quarter, step out of campaign detail and assess the relationship itself: results against objectives, quality of work, responsiveness, proactivity, whether the scope still matches the priority, and whether the investment is justified compared with alternatives. Score it, share the score, and be specific about what needs to improve.
Signals worth acting on
- Reporting emphasises impressions and activity rather than leads and revenue.
- The senior people who sold the work are no longer in the meetings.
- Recommendations always require more budget in the agency's own specialty.
- You learn about problems only after you ask.
- Scope creep runs in both directions and nobody can say what's actually being delivered.
My perspective
Having run an agency, I'll say this plainly: agencies perform better for clients who lead them. Clear objectives, quick decisions, honest feedback and a consistent review rhythm get you the good team. Vague direction and irregular contact get you whoever is available. Most agency underperformance I've seen was a leadership vacuum on the client side, not incompetence on the agency side.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should we give a new agency before judging results?
One quarter for setup and early signal, two quarters for meaningful performance in most considered-purchase businesses. Judge process quality immediately.
Should KPIs be written into the contract?
Objectives and reporting standards should be. Hard performance guarantees are usually a red flag — factors outside the agency's control affect outcomes.
Who should manage the agency internally?
One named person with the authority to make decisions. Managing an agency by committee is the fastest way to slow work down.
When is it right to change agencies?
When the same issues appear across two consecutive quarterly reviews after being raised clearly and in writing.
Written by
Jonathan Molina, Fractional CMO
Jonathan Molina is a Fractional CMO and marketing advisor with more than two decades of senior marketing experience. Through twenty two., his fractional CMO practice, he provides marketing leadership to owner-operated and growing companies across Canada and the United States — from professional services and trades to sports, technology and consumer brands.
His work covers marketing strategy and planning, brand positioning and messaging, demand generation, website and content strategy, marketing team and agency leadership, and the marketing systems, AI workflows and reporting that keep it all accountable. He works with owners who need clear direction and better marketing decisions — not more activity.
