Working with an advertising agency can be a great way to grow your business, tackle your marketing goals, and tap into outside creative ideas. But just like any partnership, things work best when you step back now and then to check on how it's going. If you're spending time and money on ads, you want to know you're getting results worth the effort. That's where keeping tabs on your agency relationship becomes important. Does your team feel like they understand your goals? Have the results felt worth the investment? These are the kinds of questions worth asking regularly.

Taking a look at how well your agency fits with your business is something that pays off long-term. It helps you see what’s working, what needs to change, and where new energy might help. Partnerships that run on autopilot tend to lose focus, and businesses can drift away from what they originally set out to do. Keeping things tuned up helps build a clearer path forward and keeps everyone moving in the same direction.

Setting Clear Goals And Expectations

Every good partnership starts with a clear purpose. If you don’t know exactly what you’re working toward, it’s hard to tell whether you’re making progress. That’s why it’s so important to start out with strong goals and shared expectations. This doesn’t have to be complex. It just needs to be honest and specific.

Here are some things you and your agency should align on:

- What message are you trying to send?

- Who is your main audience?

- What are the most important outcomes: leads, sales, brand awareness, or something else?

- What timeline are you working with?

- How will you track success?

One example: say your main goal is to get more people to fill out a contact form. Your agency might suggest a campaign with a catchy call to action and strong landing pages. But if they’re mostly focusing on raising awareness without a clear funnel that leads people to that form, you won’t get what you need. That kind of mix-up happens when clear goals aren’t spelled out, and it leads to confusion fast.

Clarity at the beginning of the relationship helps everyone do better work. And if things shift, circle back to your updated expectations. Goals can change, and having open conversations about those changes is how you stay on track.

Analyzing Performance Metrics

All the planning in the world doesn't mean much if you can't see the results. Once your campaign is running, that’s when the real checking begins. Keeping a close eye on what’s happening is the only way to tell if your agency is delivering what they promised.

Look at these performance markers to get a clear picture:

- Return on ad spend (how much you're making back vs. spending)

- Click-through rates (how often people click on your ads)

- Conversion rates (how many of those clicks turn into real action)

- Engagement levels (how your audience interacts with your content)

Numbers don’t lie, but they don’t always tell the full story either. That’s where interpretation matters. If an ad has a decent click rate but a low conversion, that could mean the ad is grabbing attention but the landing page needs work. Or, if lots of people are engaging but not purchasing, your messaging may need to be more direct.

You don’t need to dig into every stat yourself. But you should be able to ask questions, get honest answers, and understand how the agency connects these numbers to your goals. Campaigns evolve, and part of measuring success is knowing when to pivot. Trends change, audiences shift, and results can dip. Good tracking helps you stay in control.

Regular Communication And Feedback

Even the best strategies can fall short without clear communication. If you’re working with an ad agency, regular check-ins help make sure everyone stays informed, focused, and on the same page. Waiting too long to speak up when something’s off will almost always lead to missed chances or mistakes that could’ve been caught earlier.

Keep communication open with simple, consistent check-ins. These can be every week, every two weeks, or monthly — what matters most is that both sides know when updates will happen. Here are a few signs that communication might need work:

- You rarely hear updates unless you reach out first

- Feedback seems to be ignored or brushed off

- The agency keeps making the same mistakes after you've brought them up

- Your concerns are met with vague answers or delays

That kind of disconnect doesn’t always mean the partnership is broken, but it does mean it’s time to reset expectations. Set a clearer process for how feedback gets shared, when updates happen, and how adjustments get made. Having a shared content calendar or project tracker can also help keep efforts aligned.

Try using review meetings not just for problems, but to review what’s working. Compliments go a long way when you're also offering criticism. A productive review meeting might have less to do with campaign numbers and more to do with how both sides are showing up. Are deadlines being met? Is there enthusiasm around the work? Sometimes, those signals are just as important.

Evaluating Creativity And Innovation

Success with ads doesn’t just come from targeting the right audience and watching metrics — it also comes from creativity. You want people to remember your message. That means your agency needs to offer ideas that are fresh, smart, and matched to your audience.

This part can be harder to measure, but try asking questions like:

- Are they offering new concepts for each campaign?

- Do the ideas feel custom to your brand?

- Are they pushing for thoughtful ways to stand out?

- Have they tried something new when results flatlined?

One example might be this: you’ve been running paid social ads with lifestyle photos, but engagement has dropped. A creative agency might come back with a suggestion to switch to motion graphics or quick video spots with snappy hooks. These changes might feel bold, but thinking outside the box is what you're paying for. When your agency is reusing the same tactics over and over, the results usually fade over time.

Collaboration helps here, too. If something feels off-brand or gimmicky, speak up. Strong creative ideas aren't just trendy — they need to support your message and reflect your voice. Agencies do their best work when clients engage with the creative process, not just step back and wait for finished ads to show up. The more shared input, the better the output.

Deciding On The Future Of The Partnership

At some point, you’ll need to look at the big picture. Is the relationship with your agency helping your business grow? Does it save you time, reduce your stress, and deliver the outcomes you expected? If the answer isn’t clear, then it may be time to evaluate what comes next.

Here’s a way to break down that decision:

1. Look at the goals and whether progress was made

2. Check how reliable and responsive the agency has been

3. Think about how creative and relevant their ideas have stayed

4. Reflect on how easy (or hard) the communication has been

5. Review whether they managed budgets and time frames well

Sometimes the right move is making small adjustments, like resetting goals or tightening up timelines. Other times, the better choice may be to look around. Either way, choosing to be honest about what’s working helps your business make smarter marketing choices. You're not judging people — you're reviewing a process.

Clear boundaries, renewed expectations, or even a fresh start can breathe new energy into your overall strategy. No partnership is perfect, and the goal is never perfection. The goal is progress and trust.

Keeping the Partnership Working for You


Maintaining a strong relationship with your ad agency isn’t one big decision. It’s a bunch of small ones over time. Regular check-ins, open feedback, and a clear look at goals and outcomes help keep your marketing plans focused. When expectations are clear and you’re both leaning into the process, campaigns become more than one-offs — they become growth tools.

Taking time to reassess how and why your partnership works gives you control. It reminds you that you’re not stuck in a set plan forever. Goals can adjust, strategies can shift, and ideas can evolve. That flexibility is what often separates good campaigns from great ones.

Strong agency relationships stay steady when both sides keep showing up and putting in the work. When your business stays engaged and the agency stays open to feedback, it builds a rhythm that leads to better results and stronger trust down the road. Keep it honest. Keep it consistent. That’s how long-term success gets built.

Building a strong partnership with an advertising agency takes time and ongoing effort. By focusing on clarity, creativity, and communication, you can forge a relationship that truly supports your business goals. If you're looking for expert guidance from an advertising agency that gets how to grow with you, Oddball Creative is ready to help you move forward.