🚩 The 7 Red Flags
1. 📊 Screenshots Instead of Dashboards
Cherry-picked screenshots mean they are hiding something. You should have live dashboard access.
2. 🐌 Creative Takes More Than 2 Weeks
Trends move in 48 hours. 3-4 week turnaround means you are always behind. Our standard: 5-7 business days.
3. 🎯 Cannot Tell You CPA by Channel
If they cannot answer “what was our CPA on TikTok vs Meta last month?” immediately, they are not optimizing.
4. 🔄 Same Ads Running 60+ Days
Creative fatigue is eating your budget. Good agencies refresh every 14-21 days minimum.
5. 💬 Account Manager Buffer
You are paying for middle management. Messages get relayed, nuance is lost, execution suffers.
6. 📈 Celebrating Vanity Metrics
“Impressions are up 150%!” Impressions do not pay rent. Focus on CPA, ROAS, and revenue.
7. 🤝 No Testing Framework
A serious agency shows what they are testing, why, and the hypotheses. “Let us try this” is not strategy.
If your current partner fails on 3+, book a confidential audit.