A business owner spends nearly $55,000 with a marketing company and receives zero qualified leads. How does that happen — and why is the client still locked into the agreement?

In this episode, Mike and I talk about one of the biggest problems in digital marketing: agencies that get paid regardless of whether they're actually producing results.

We discuss:

The danger of long-term vendor lock-in
Why leads and qualified leads are completely different things
Why Google Ads and Meta Ads are often better starting points than cold outbound
The importance of connecting marketing data to actual customers and revenue
Why business owners need an ongoing feedback loop with their agency
How inexperienced marketers can burn through enormous advertising budgets
Why good agencies sometimes need to tell a client, “This isn't working”
The questions every business owner should ask before hiring a marketing company

Marketing doesn't always work perfectly. Campaigns need time, testing and iteration.

But there is a major difference between working through a campaign that needs improvement and continuing to collect money while delivering no meaningful outcome.

If you're spending thousands of dollars per month on digital marketing, your agency should be accountable for what happens next.

Learn more about Sage Digital Agency and how we approach website design, Google Ads, Meta advertising and digital strategy.