What an Exit Interview Question Revealed About Real Agency Growth

As part of an exit interview, our intern Lexie sent me a list of questions to answer. One of them was:

“As the business has grown, what areas have required the most attention over time?”

My answer was honest, though not automatic. I could’ve gone a million directions… networking, HR, accounting. All real, all important.

But as we evolved from freelancer to vendor to true partner, and eventually into agency-of-record status, it became clear this was the muscle we had to build: clear strategy, and the ability to prove it worked.

Strategy development and reporting. Together.

Not one without the other.
Not strategy in a vacuum.
Not reporting as a box to check.

Both.

And the more I’ve thought about that response, the more I’ve realized it captures one of the most important truths about sustainable agency growth, and why so many marketing relationships stall.

Good Ideas Aren’t the Hard Part

Most brands don’t struggle with creativity.
Most agencies don’t struggle with ideas.

What is hard is clearly articulating:

• What the strategy actually is
• Why it was built that way
• What success looks like
• And whether the work delivered against it

When those pieces aren’t connected, even strong work can feel confusing or underwhelming to the people funding it.

Strategy Isn’t Just a Plan, It’s an Explanation

A real strategy should answer questions before they’re asked:

• Why this channel?
• Why this audience?
• Why this timing?
• Why this mix of tactics?

If a client can’t explain the strategy to the leadership team after the kickoff call, that’s on us, not them.

This is the “show the what” part of the equation.

When strategy is clearly articulated upfront, it builds confidence. Clients don’t just approve the work, they understand it. And that understanding changes the entire working relationship.

Reporting Isn’t About Numbers, It’s About Meaning

On the other side, reporting without context is where trust quietly erodes.

Metrics alone don’t equal insight.

Good reporting:

• Ties results back to the original strategy
• Explains why something performed the way it did
• Separates signal from noise
• Clarifies what to double down on, and what to stop

This is the “prove the why” moment.

Because if we can’t connect outcomes to intent, results feel random...even when they’re good.

Where Growth Actually Happens

When strategy and reporting are treated as one continuous loop, not two separate phases, everything changes:

• Clients feel informed instead of reactive
• Conversations move from tactics to outcomes
• Trust compounds over time
• Teams earn more autonomy
• Relationships deepen
• And business grows more naturally

Clarity builds trust.
Trust creates freedom.
Freedom leads to better work.

The Long Game (and the Real Answer)

When Lexie asked that question, she wasn’t really asking about processes or tools. She was asking what lasts.

And the answer is this:

The agencies that grow, and keep their clients, are the ones that can consistently show the what and prove the why.

Not once.
Not in a case study.
But every month, every quarter, every conversation.

That’s how marketing earns credibility.
That’s how relationships deepen.
And that’s how you build something that actually scales.

Sometimes the best questions force you to say the quiet part out loud.

‍