Your agency isn't the problem. Your brief is.
Updated: 7 hours ago
Short answer: most disappointing agency results go back to a brief that never said who the work is for, what the one goal is, and how success will be measured. Without those, any agency or freelancer has to guess, and you end up judging their guesses. Change the brief before you change the supplier.
The cycle is familiar. You hire an agency or a freelancer, and the first weeks feel promising. Then the results come in vague. Some posts did well, the ads got clicks, but sales didn't move and nobody can say why. You lose patience, blame the supplier and switch.
The new team starts with the same brief, sometimes just an email and a call. A few months later, you're in the same place, with less money and less trust in marketing.
Signs the brief is the problem
If three or more of these sound familiar, look at your brief before you look for a new supplier:
They keep asking questions you thought were obvious.
The work is good, but it "doesn't feel like us".
Their reports show activity (posts, clicks, reach), not results.
Every supplier you've tried ends up recommending more budget.
You can't say what success would have looked like at the start.
Different people in your team would describe the goal differently.
Signs it really is the supplier
Sometimes the agency is the problem. Look for these:
They miss deadlines without warning.
They ignore what the brief asks for and do what they usually do.
They don't report, or report only when you ask.
The senior people who pitched disappear after you sign, and juniors do the work.
They can't explain why they made a decision.
If these are true and you gave them a clear brief, change suppliers. If you didn't, fix the brief first, or the next one will fail too.
How to brief a marketing agency: what you decide, and what they decide
A good brief doesn't tell the agency what to do. It tells them what to achieve, and leaves the how to them. That's what you're paying them for.
You decide | They decide |
Who the work is for | Which channels reach those people |
Why those people should pick you | How to say it in each channel |
The one goal and the numbers that show it | The tactics and the creative work |
The budget and the deadline | How to split the budget across channels |
What must and mustn't happen | How to test and what to try next |
The most common mistake is briefing the tactic instead of the outcome. "We need to be on TikTok" or "we need a new website" isn't a brief. It's a solution you've already picked, and the agency will deliver it whether or not it solves anything.
The one-page brief
Copy these ten questions into a document and answer each one in two or three sentences. If it runs past one page, you're explaining instead of deciding.
The business in one sentence. What you sell, and to whom.
Who it's for. The specific customer this work should reach, in their situation, not "everyone interested in X".
The one goal. One. If there are three, the agency will pick the easiest.
Three or four numbers. What you'll count to know it's working, and where you'll count it.
What we already know. What's worked before, what hasn't, and what you suspect but haven't tested.
The message and the proof. Why customers should pick you, and what backs it up.
Must-dos and must-nots. Brand rules, tone, legal limits, things you never want to see.
Budget and timing. How much, over what period, and the dates that matter.
Who decides, and how fast. One person who approves, and how long approvals take.
How and when they report. What you want to see, how often, and in what form.
Weak answers and strong answers
The difference between a brief that works and one that doesn't is usually in the detail. The answers below are invented for illustration.
Field | Weak answer | Strong answer |
Who it's for | Small businesses | Owners of service businesses with 5–20 staff who still handle sales themselves |
The one goal | More awareness and more leads | More qualified enquiries from the website in the next three months |
The numbers | Engagement, followers, traffic | Enquiries per month, share that become proposals, cost per enquiry |
The message | Quality service, great team | Projects delivered on a fixed price, with no surprise invoices |
What we already know | We tried ads, it didn't work | Search ads brought enquiries but too many were too small to serve |
Reporting | Send us updates | A one-page report every two weeks on the three numbers, with what changes next |
Each weak answer leaves the agency guessing. Each strong answer gives them something to aim at and something to be judged on.
The first 30 days
Even with a good brief, judge the work at agreed points rather than on feel.
Kickoff. Go through the brief together. Ask them to explain it back to you in their own words. Gaps show up fast.
Two weeks in. Check early signs against the numbers you agreed. It's too soon for results, but not too soon to see if the work is pointed the right way.
Thirty days in. Review the numbers, what they've learned, and what they'll change. Decide then, not before.
When you can't fill in the brief
If some of the ten questions stop you, that's useful. The gaps tell you what's actually missing, and it isn't a new agency.
You can't say who it's for, or why they'd pick you. That's a positioning gap. Read Your logo is the last thing you need. This is the work my Foundation Blueprint project does.
You can't name one goal, the numbers, or where people drop off. That's a growth plan gap. Read The fix is not a website redesign. This is the work my Growth Gameplan project does.
Any agency, however good, will struggle to fix either of these for you, because they're decisions only the business can make.
Where I fit
I don't run your ads or build your website. In The Long Game, I'm the person on your side of the table: I write the briefs, coordinate your agency and freelancers, check their work against the plan and the numbers we agreed, and adjust the direction as results come in. If you don't have those people yet, I can find, recruit and set them up with you, sized to your budget.
The bottom line
Before you fire your agency, rewrite the brief and give them a fair month against it. If the results still don't come, you'll know it's them. If you can't write the brief, you'll know it isn't.
Not sure whether it's the brief or the agency? Book a fit call. I'll tell you honestly what fits your stage, even if the answer isn't me.
