Switching marketing agencies: process, checklist, pitfalls

Switch marketing agencies in this order: first secure ownership and access, then give notice, then hand over with an overlap. If you give notice first and ask for access afterwards, you negotiate from the weakest position. This article shows how to tell whether a switch makes sense, what has to belong to you, how the handover works in seven steps and where data gets lost along the way. How to vet your next agency is covered in the article Choosing a performance marketing agency.

In short

• Order: inventory and access, then notice, then handover.
• The accounts belong to you: ad accounts, tracking, domain and website are in your company's name; the agency gets access.
• The new agency works in the existing accounts. A new account starts without history and without learning data.
• The most common gap is tracking, because it often runs through the old agency's tools.
• A switch does not solve a problem that lies in the offer, the website or sales.

When a switch makes sense

A switch makes sense when the collaboration is structurally wrong, not when one month was weak. These signs point to it:

• There is no agreed metric by which you measure the work.
• You cannot check the reported figures in the account yourself.
• The same ads have been running for months, and there are no new tests.
• Contacts keep changing, and each one starts from scratch.
• You have no admin access to your own ad accounts.

Seasonal fluctuations or a single mistake that was openly addressed and fixed are not good reasons. Check your own side too: if enquiries come in and are left lying, or the margin cannot carry the ad costs, a new agency changes little. Whether a team of your own is the better answer is shown in the comparison Marketing agency or in-house team.

Who owns what? The inventory before giving notice

The inventory clarifies for every building block who is the owner and who has admin rights. Do it while the collaboration is still running.

Two platform rules help you here. On Google Ads, according to Google's help pages, the owner of the client account remains the owner of its data and can end a manager account's access by removing the link. On Meta, you grant access to ad account, Page and pixel as partner access from your business portfolio and can remove it there again.

It gets difficult if the agency created accounts in its own name. If your Meta ad account sits in the agency's portfolio, it usually cannot simply be moved into your own portfolio. In the worst case, you then start with a new account. Clarify this before giving notice.

The switch in 7 steps

1. Take inventory and secure access. Request any missing admin rights now, factually and in writing.
2. Read the contract. Term, notice period, handover, usage rights. If it says nothing about the handover, agree on it in writing now, not after giving notice.
3. Choose the new agency. Give the candidates read access for an audit. Whoever has seen your account talks more concretely than any presentation.
4. Give notice, with a handover plan. Record in writing by when which files, access and documentation will be handed over.
5. Hand over with an overlap. The new agency gets access to the existing accounts before the old one loses it. Running campaigns stay on until the replacement is ready.
6. Check the tracking. After the handover, do the account, Analytics and your CRM still count the same enquiries? Is the data still being fed back?
7. Clean up. Remove the old agency's access, check payment methods, two-factor sign-in for all administrators.

Before the switch, record the figures for the last twelve months, per channel and month. They are the benchmark for the new agency and protect you from flattering before-and-after comparisons, in both directions.

Where things get lost during a switch

Most people underestimate the tracking gap. If qualified enquiries were sent to Meta and Google through a tool of the old agency, the campaigns optimise blind after the cut-off date. How this path is set up is described in the article Sending leads back to Meta and Google.

How we take over accounts at ad.boutique

At ad.boutique, a takeover starts with an audit with read access, not with a proposal. We keep working in your accounts, you usually pay the ad budget directly to the platforms, and you see every figure live in the live dashboard. The starting point is a 12-week proof of concept at a fixed price with a metric agreed in advance; after that, you decide based on the numbers. The models are under Pricing and models, the approach on the page Performance Marketing.

Sometimes the result of the audit is that a switch would change nothing, because the cause lies in the landing page or in how enquiries are handled. Then we say so. The online marketing check with seven questions is a quick self-test for your setup.

Checklist for switching agencies

• ☐ Admin rights for Google Ads, Meta, Analytics and Tag Manager are with your company
• ☐ Domain, hosting and website are in your name
• ☐ Contract read: notice period, handover, usage rights
• ☐ Figures for the last twelve months saved per channel
• ☐ The new agency reviewed the account before starting
• ☐ Handover plan with dates agreed in writing
• ☐ Tracking and data feedback tested after the handover
• ☐ The old agency's access removed

This article is not legal advice. ad.boutique is a performance marketing agency in Vienna and Zurich. If you are about to switch, book an intro call and we will look at your account first.