My last agency experience wasn’t good
What to Do After a Bad Experience with a Marketing Agency
As a small business owner, you’ve likely felt the sting of a bad experience with a marketing agency. You invested hard-earned money expecting results, only to be left with empty promises, vague metrics like “impressions,” and no real growth to show for it. It’s frustrating, disheartening, and can make you hesitant to try digital marketing again. I get it—I’ve been on both sides of the table, working in agencies and as a client. That dual perspective shapes my approach to helping small businesses like yours recover, rebuild trust, and achieve real results.
Many marketing agencies operate with a one-size-fits-all mindset. They focus on covering overhead, pushing flashy campaigns that work better for big brands with massive budgets than for local businesses serving their communities. Their approach often starts big, burning through your budget on broad strategies before making adjustments. The result? You’re left with a lot of “impressions” but no tangible growth in customers, calls, or revenue.
I’ve seen the inner workings of agencies, and I understand why this happens. But I also know it doesn’t work for small businesses. You don’t need a nationwide campaign with millions of impressions. You need clicks, calls, and form fills—real metrics that translate into new customers walking through your door or contacting your business.
A Better Approach: Start Small, Test, and Scale
My philosophy is simple: impressions don’t impress me much. What matters is results. How many new customers did your strategy bring in? That’s the question I focus on. Unlike agencies that start with a big splash, I believe in starting small, testing our efforts, and ensuring we’re reaching the right audience before scaling up. This approach minimizes risk and maximizes your return on investment.
Here’s how we do it:
Understand Your Customers First: I take the time to get to know your customer base. Who are they? Where do they spend their time online? What motivates them to choose your business? Only then do we decide on the best advertising methods. Using the wrong tool—like a screwdriver to change a tire—wastes time and money. We pick the right tool for the job.
Build a Strong Foundation: Your website is the heart of your digital presence. All roads—whether from ads, social media, or Google Maps—should lead back to it. Is your website easy to navigate? Does it provide the information customers need to take action? If not, we fix that first. A well-built website is your foundation; everything else is icing on the cake.
Get Found Where It Matters: Customers often start their search on platforms like Google Maps. Are you properly listed and optimized there? I ensure your business is visible and accurate across the platforms your customers use most.
Test and Optimize: We start with small, targeted campaigns to test what works. We track real metrics—clicks, calls, form fills—and adjust based on what delivers results. Once we’ve found the winning formula, we scale up strategically.
Don’t Let a Bad Experience Hold You Back
If a past experience with a marketing agency left a bad taste in your mouth, it’s okay to be skeptical. You don’t have to dive in headfirst. Let’s start with a 30-minute conversation to discuss your past challenges, your business goals, and how we can rebuild your trust. We’ll take it slow, focus on small wins, and grow from there.
Unlike agencies focused on their own bottom line, I’m obsessed with your results. You don’t need a one-size-fits-all solution or a third-party platform that owns your data. You need a tailored strategy that drives real customers to a website you control. Let’s work together to make digital marketing work for your business—without the frustration.
Ready to try again? Fill out the form below for a no-pressure chat. Let’s get some wins on the board and move forward together.
Request a 30 minute phone call
Ready to boost your business’s online presence? Start by claiming your Google Business Profile and building a website optimized for local SEO. Need help? Hire me, relax, and take advantage of 25 years of experience.
