What do you think is the first problem when working with an agency? Take a wild guess. It’s not talent, effort, or even budget. It’s misaligned expectations. You walk away from the pitch deck energized, convinced you’ve found the perfect partner. Then reality sets in, and the results look different from what you imagined. Here’s the bitter, uncomfortable truth: the issue isn’t always the agency. Most of the time, it’s the partnership itself.
Here’s what we’ve learned working with 250+ clients over the last 10 years, from both sides of the table.
The Real Problem
Brands treat agencies like vendors. Agencies treat brands like portfolio pieces. There is no win here. It is just lose-lose.
In reality, the best outcomes happen when there’s actual collaboration, not just contracted deliverables.
Three Things That Make or Break Agency Partnerships
1. Share the full picture, not the polished version
Agencies can’t solve problems they don’t know exist.
If your sales are down, say it. If internal teams are stretched thin, mention it. If budget approvals take three weeks, flag it upfront.
We’ve seen campaigns stall because brands shared the goal but not the constraints. The strategy looked great, but couldn’t be executed within their actual reality.
The fix: A 30-minute honest conversation saves three months of misaligned work.
2. Define success before the campaign starts
“We want more engagement” isn’t a goal. It’s a direction. Being vague helps nobody. What is success according to you?
Is it 10,000 new followers? A 15% increase in website traffic? 50 qualified leads per month?
Without specific metrics, both sides are guessing what “good” looks like.
At Socialee, we push clients to get concrete during onboarding. Not to be difficult. Because we know vague goals lead to vague results.
The fix: Pick 2-3 metrics that actually matter to your business. Make them measurable. Review them monthly.
3. Let the agency do what you hired them for
You hired specialists. Let them specialize. As simple as that.
Micromanaging creative edits, second-guessing platform strategy, or demanding last-minute changes because “the founder prefers blue”, these kill momentum.
We’ve built in-house studios and specialized departments specifically so we can move fast and maintain quality. But that only works when there’s trust in the process.
The takeaway: If you don’t trust the agency’s judgment, you hired the wrong agency. If you do trust them, let them work.
What Good Collaboration Looks Like
The brands that get the best results from us share three traits:
- They respond quickly. Approvals don’t take two weeks. Feedback comes within 48 hours.
- They share data. We see their analytics, CRM numbers, and internal performance tracking.
- They’re honest when something isn’t working. They don’t wait for quarterly reviews to say, “this isn’t moving the needle.”
It’s not complicated. It’s just intentional.
The One Thing to Remember
An agency partnership isn’t a transaction. It’s a collaboration. You’re not buying ads or posts or campaigns. You’re partnering with people who understand platforms, audience behaviour, and performance mechanics.
The more context they have, the better decisions they make. The clearer the goals, the faster you both get there. And the stronger the trust, the better the work.
If you’re working with an agency, or thinking about it, start here:
One honest conversation about what’s actually happening in your business will do more than ten strategy decks.