People do. And people fire agencies every day for a wide variety of reasons.

why your ad agency was fired

“You’re fired!”

They justify their decisions in a variety of ways. In numerous industry studies, researchers have noted that agencies got fired because the client’s management changed, and the old agency was out of step with the “new broom.”

Agencies got fired because they were too big for the client, and the client felt lost. Or the agency was too small, and the client felt more important and wanted new and better services. Or the creative product was judged by the client not to be “creative enough.”

Agency dishonesty, or really loss of trust in the agency’s business practices, was another prime reason for agency dismissal. Often the agency changed personnel and the client couldn’t adjust to the agency’s new look which caused the client to leave. And lastly, clients often perceived they were being neglected. And they walked.

Look at that list of excuses. The reasons represent a full range of human emotions. Fear of change. Loss of trust. Pride. Poor chemistry. Misunderstandings. Neglect.

Firing an agency is not a business decision but a human decision made because of human emotions. 

Understand this, and you are well on the way to a position of never losing another client.

We Call This Client Chemistry.

For an agency, chemistry is about managing client expectations. Basically the agency has failed to first understand the expectations of specific clients from a relationship point of view. And then the agency has not had the skills or versatility to move in that direction to match those expectations.

In situations like this, a strange event occurs. Clients basically feel you don’t like them, and you have mentally left them. They internalize it all as you really aren’t interested in their business and they leave. And crazy as it may seem, they’re often shocked you get upset when you’re fired. But they quickly blame the firing on something concrete you will hopefully understand.

Here’s what you can do quickly to control this situation. We can show your management team and your account handlers how to manage client expectations and reshape the agency’s relationships with clients. The program is called HighGear and it’s designed to create an agency environment where clients not only stick, but also are thrilled to be working with your agency.

If that’s a condition you want to create at your agency right away, get in touch with us immediately to discuss how you can change your agency’s client retention destiny.