Most performance marketing engagements fail in week one, usually because the wrong questions got skipped during onboarding. Here are the twelve we always insist on.
Performance marketing is unforgiving. Either the numbers move or they do not. So when an engagement fails, it is rarely because the strategy was wrong. It is because the inputs were wrong, the expectations were misaligned, or the foundations were shaky.
Here is the 12-point checklist we walk every client through before we agree to take their account live.
Foundations
- Pixel and conversions API set up correctly, with deduplication
- UTM tagging discipline across all channels and creatives
- GA4 and GTM configured with at least three meaningful conversion events
- Server-side tagging for high-volume accounts
- Clean product feed with at least 95% inventory coverage
Strategy
- Defined target CAC and LTV (a real, recent calculation, not a guess)
- Funnel breakdown: what percentage of revenue should come from each stage
- Creative cadence: how many new creatives the brand can ship per week
- Defined attribution model and reporting cadence (we recommend weekly)
Operations
- A single point of contact on the brand side, with decision-making authority
- Slack or shared workspace for creative review (email is too slow)
- A 90-day plan with milestones, not just a 30-day plan with promises
If you cannot tick most of these, the issue is not your agency. It is upstream of your agency. Fix the foundations first.
#performance marketing agency#paid ads#roas optimisation
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