Why Businesses Blame Agencies for Problems Caused by Internal Delays

When an agency project runs late, the first question to ask is usually” “Why is the agency taking so long?”

Fair question.

Some agencies are slow, some overpromise, disappear for three days and return with a progress update that says nothing. They should absolutely be held accountable.

But sometimes, the agency submitted the work last Tuesday. The client only opened it on Friday then management reviewed it the following Wednesday.

By Thursday evening, the agency receives a message:

“Hi team, can we get the final version by tomorrow morning?”

And somehow, this is now an agency delay. 

Look, writing this content was not easy as we understand we might be stepping on some toes, but for the sake of making sure you know what you’re signing up on, we’re writing this.

The truth is approvals, internal discussion and changing opinions at the last second, all contribute to project delays. So, let’s talk about it.

1. Miscommunication Starts With the Middle Person

Being the person stuck between management and the agency is not easy, it’s like sandwiched between two expectations.

• Your boss wants updates. 
• The agency wants decisions. 
• Your colleagues have opinions. 

You are expected to make everyone move faster, even though you may not have the authority to approve anything yourself.

This is where information starts getting lost.

Management may think the project is already in production while the agency may think it is still “pending for approval”. The person of contact may assume both sides understand the urgency.

Usually, they do not and they go on to do other more urgent tasks.

A “we will get back to you” to the agency may somehow turn into “the agency is already working on it.” to the bosses.

Nobody is necessarily lying. But like a game of telephone, everyone is just working with a slightly different version of the project.

A simple written recap can prevent this:

• What has been approved?
• What is still pending?
• Who needs to respond?
• When does the agency officially begin?
• Has the deadline been confirmed?

It may feel overly formal for a small project, but it is still better than having five people remember the same meeting differently. For all intents and purposes, please go read our messy silo blog, it’s quite relevant here.

2. The Group Chat Performance Begins

We believe many agency teams have seen this before. 

In the group chat, the message is firm:

• “Please explain why this is delayed.”
• “We need your immediate action.”
• “This is not acceptable as management is asking.”
• “Please revise accordingly, we are not satisfied with the results”

Then, two minutes later, a private message from the person sending the message arrives:

“Sorry ya, boss is inside the group. 🙏 Need to make it look like I’m chasing after you guys.”

We understand, the person of contact is under pressure. 

They need to show management that they are actively managing the vendor. Nobody wants to look passive when the boss starts asking questions, not even us.

So the tone becomes stricter in public, or they may be more assertive and authoritative when boss start asking questions.

Let’s set the record here and say being firm with an agency is not wrong, we like direction! We like it when the client knows what they want, so we can deliver that expectation.

But avoiding the actual cause of the delay, is where things become unhelpful.

At the end of the day, both parties want to know:

• What’s the latest update?
• When can [X] be done?
• What should we do next?

3. The Client Team Starts Debating in Front of the Agency

Agency meetings can become very interesting when the client’s own team has not aligned beforehand, and we have seen some… fair share of conflicting opinions.

Different departments may want different things, perhaps sales want to put an on-going discount on a website, while the branding team doesn’t want it too sales-heavy.

Then there’s us, the agency who sits in the corner of the chair watching the entire client team debate the entire business direction in real-time.

There is nothing wrong with healthy internal discussion, just try not to air that discussion in front of agencies.

Discuss the disagreement internally, decide on one direction and send the agency consolidated feedback. No need to subtly blame colleagues or other departments.

“To put it bluntly, we don’t want to see your office politics.”

4. Every Proposal Is Wrong, but Nobody Knows Why

Sometimes, the agency sends three proposals and all three are rejected.

That can mean the proposals are genuinely weak, not good enough or didn’t live up to expectations. But it can also mean the business has not decided what it wants.

The feedback usually sounds like this:

• “Can make it stronger?”
• “Maybe something more premium.”
• “It feels too safe.”
• “Can go for proposal A direction”
• “Can be different, but not too different?”

This is where the guessing game begins. Agencies understand that the proposal process is being used to help the client discover its own preferences.

That is not necessarily a bad thing, exploration is part of creative work.

But, it takes time.

If the business needs several rounds to understand what it likes, those rounds should be treated as part of the project. 

Useful feedback should explain:

• What feels wrong?
• Which part should change?
• What business outcome is missing?
• Is there an example that feels closer?
• Who makes the final decision?

“Not quite there yet” may be honest, but it does not tell the agency where “there” is.

5. Two Weeks of Internal Delay Becomes Tomorrow’s Agency Deadline

This is one of the most common project situations and honestly it is frustrating. 

1. The client spends ten days discussing a direction internally.
2. The agency receives approval on Thursday afternoon.
3. The original deadline is Friday.
4. Then comes the message: “Please prioritise this as it is very urgent.”

The urgency is real, but the agency did not create it.

Businesses often assume that internal delays can be recovered by asking the agency to work faster. Sometimes, they can. Sometimes, they don’t because they have other clients too.

Other times, something has to give.

Usually, it is one of these:

• The deadline moves. (Commonly)
• The scope is reduced. (Commonly)
• The cost increases. (Rarely)
• The work is rushed. (Commonly)

A last-minute change may be the right business decision, but it still comes with consequences. Not all agencies will layan this request of last minute changes.

6. Nobody Knows Who Can Actually Approve Anything

We find this more common in industry with strict compliance like fintech or healthcare, which makes sense!. Compliance is important and everyone wants to be law-abiding citizens.

But when there’s no clear approval-line and everyone is stuck in red tapes. projects slow downs to a crawl like a highway jam on a stormy evening at KESAS, our team knows that feeling well.

Too many stakeholders is not always the problem, and similar to our Messy silo article which we highlighted, just assign ONE person, satu orang to have the final say. 

A good project owner should:

• Collect feedback from the team
• Resolve conflicting comments
• Confirm final approvals
• Communicate one clear direction
• Inform the agency when decisions change

7. The Agency Eventually Becomes Defensive

Alright, so we will be transparent and say we have done this, not too much thankfully but there are times where agencies have to start protecting themselves.

• Every call gets followed by a written recap. (Sometimes send as email)
• Every approval gets documented.
• Every delay gets recorded.
• Every change comes with a revised timeline 
• Revisions will be charged in a separation quotation 

Clients sometimes interpret this as the agency becoming difficult or overly rigid but for us agencies, it’s a wake up call that verbal agreements are no longer enough and worse case, we refer to our T&C to back us up.

We don’t like doing this, nobody does because the rapport between client and agency becomes difficult. But when blame keeps moving around, documentation becomes necessary.

How Can Businesses Keep Agency Projects Moving?

Appoint One Project Owner

One person should be responsible for gathering feedback, resolving contradictions and confirming decisions. Again, we can’t repeat this enough.

Set Internal Approval Deadlines

Agency deadlines should not be the only deadlines in the project. Client reviews need timelines too.

Send Consolidated Feedback

Avoid sending separate comments from every department. Agree internally before briefing the agency.

Involve Decision-Makers Earlier

Do not wait until the final draft to show the work to the person who can reject everything, if the Director is in charge, get them involved ASAP.

Track What Each Side Is Waiting For

A simple project tracker can prevent many unnecessary arguments, use ClickUp or even a Gantt Chart is okay.

Delay No More With Us

We hope we didn’t paint business too negatively, there are times where the fault lies with the agencies who claim “on track” when you ask about progress.

The purpose of this article is not pointing fingers, but to help both sides understand what we’re facing so we can come to a solution. A look at both sides of Whatsapp if you will.

When both parties track decisions, give clear feedback and take responsibility for the stages they control, projects move faster and become much easier to manage, and everyone becomes happy.

At Content.com.my, we understand these challenges because we speak from experience. As a content marketing agency, we build our communication process around clear deliverables, and fewer opportunities for miscommunication.

We believe everyone knows what is happening, what comes next and who needs to act. Easier for you and us.