Last week one of our clients reached out to his current web provider to let them know we would be rebuilding their site. It was a straightforward, professional courtesy call.
The provider hung up on him.
It’s never fun to lose a client. But none of that changes the standard of professionalism our industry should operate under. Agencies lose clients for a wide range of reasons; budgets shift, leadership changes, strategic priorities evolve. Sometimes a business just needs a different type of partner for its next phase of growth.
When a client decides to move on, that decision does not erase the responsibility an agency has to handle the transition with maturity and integrity. In fact, that moment often reveals more about an agency’s values than years of ongoing work ever could.
At DARCI, we care deeply about the businesses we support. If a client ever decides to leave, we do everything in our power to ensure a smooth transition. We may ask for feedback and reflect internally on what we could improve, but we will never allow emotion to interfere with a smooth transition. Our job is to support the organization, even if we are no longer partners.
And that level of professionalism and respect goes both ways; agencies and businesses should strive for a true partnership.
Agencies Should Provide Smooth Onboarding and Offboarding
Strong agencies invest in a thoughtful onboarding process because they know clarity, strong communication, and defined structure sets the tone for a successful partnership. Expectations are defined. Access is organized. Assets are documented. Roles are established. Everyone understands who owns what and how decisions will be made.
That same level of care should exist when a relationship ends.
A smooth offboarding process protects the client, protects the agency’s reputation, and protects the industry as a whole. As a business, what should you expect from your agency during offboarding?
- Clear documentation of accounts and access.
- Timely transfer of credentials and administrative rights.
- Cooperation with new partners when needed.
Agencies that resist transitions, withhold access, or behave defensively reveal something important: they were relying on control instead of value.
Clients should want to keep the partnership because of results, trust, and alignment, and not because leaving feels risky or complicated.
When we onboard a client, we build systems that are clean, transparent, and structured. When we offboard a client, we make sure they leave organized. And that’s not us going above and beyond; it’s baseline professionalism.
If you’re a business interviewing agencies, ask the question about what offboarding looks like. If they say, “We don’t have a clearly defined process because we don’t lose clients very often” or “The creative assets I create for you (and you pay me for) belong to me”, hire someone else.
Businesses – Take Control of Your Assets
This situation also highlights something equally important: organizations need to ensure their digital assets actually belong to them.
Far too often, we see businesses whose domains are registered under an agency’s account, whose website is inaccessible to internal leadership, or whose social channels are owned by a former employee’s personal login. Sometimes analytics platforms, ad accounts, and email marketing systems are all tied to outside accounts that the organization does not control.
This creates unnecessary risk for your business. You spend time and money building these platforms and need to ensure they are fully and completely yours.
No agency should ever be the permanent owner of a client’s core assets. Agencies should be administrators and partners, not gatekeepers.
If you are a business owner or organizational leader, here is what you should be reviewing:
Website Assets
- Your domain name should be registered under an account owned by your organization, not your agency. You should have primary login credentials and billing control.
- Your website CMS (WordPress, Squarespace, etc.) should have at least one primary admin user tied to your company email address.
- Your DNS settings should be accessible to your internal team, not locked inside an external provider’s environment.
Google Assets
- Your Google Analytics and Google Search Console accounts should be created under a company-owned Google account, with agencies added as Admin users.
- Your Google Ads account should be owned by your organization’s Google account, not created inside an agency’s manager account without shared ownership.
Social Media Assets
- Your Meta Business Manager should belong to your company, with your agency added as a partner. And if you don’t have a Meta Business Manager, you need to create one.
- Your LinkedIn Company Page should have multiple internal super admins, not just an outside partner.
Email / CRM
- Your email marketing platform (Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo, etc.) should be billed to and owned by your organization.
- Your CRM should be under your company’s control with clearly documented admin access.
None of this means you should micromanage your agency. It simply means your organization should retain ownership of its foundation. The right agency will welcome that transparency or even drive these processes for you. They will build systems that are clean and transferable because they are confident in the value they provide.
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Losing clients is part of running an agency. How we handle it defines our character.
If an agency’s reaction to a client leaving is to hang up the phone, the problem is not the client’s decision. The problem is the agency’s mindset.
