Are agencies from Mars, marketers from Venus?

As long as there have been agencies and clients, there has been discussion about how to narrow the divide between the two. Both parties want the best outcome for their people and their business. But when things hit rough spots, the friction affects both. While the people feel the tension, the business pays the price. High staff turnover, increased costs and inefficiency and lower ROI on campaigns can all be the hidden costs.

While it can sometimes feel like clients are from Mars, agencies are from Venus (or insert your favourite planets here), the one common factor to that’s critical to both is trust. There are a few perceptions that must be monitored to ensure trust isn’t eroded.

When marketers feel unheard, undervalued, or that their agency is not delivering on its promises, trust diminishes. Similarly, when agencies feel micromanaged, face unrealistic demands, or encounter payment issues, their trust in the client can also erode. This damages the ability to collaborate and ultimately may lead to the termination of the partnership. And this seems to be more common than ever.  Agency-client relationships have slipped from on average 7.2 years to around 3.2 years over the past decade according to a 2024 study published in Forbes magazine.

Check out the 7 commonly held beliefs of marketers and agencies. If your teams are struggling with any of these, you are probably churning hours, missing opportunities and producing sub-optimal work. Neither Mars nor Venus can afford that these days.

I’d love to hear from agency leaders or marketers. Am I in the right orbit?