Why we charge flat fees, not a percentage of media spend

Most digital marketing agencies charge a percentage of media spend. Most digital marketing agencies have an incentive to recommend more media spend. The connection is not complicated.

The incentive problem

If an agency is paid 10% of your media spend, every additional €100k of media you spend is €10k more in their pocket. That fee is paid regardless of whether the additional media was a good idea. The structural incentive is to recommend more media — even when more is not the right answer.

When this matters

Often, the right thing to do for a client is to reduce media spend. Cut wasted PMax. Pause low-margin campaigns. Reallocate from paid to SEO. Each of these recommendations costs a percentage-fee agency real money. We have seen agencies sit on accounts they know are over-spending for years rather than make the call.

Flat fees fix the problem

When we charge a flat monthly fee, our incentive is to keep the client. Our incentive to keep the client is to deliver results. The right amount of media to spend is whatever delivers the best business outcome — and we have no financial stake in that being a bigger or smaller number.

What this costs us

Flat fees mean a smaller agency cannot scale revenue as fast as a percentage-fee one. A percentage-fee agency that grows a client from €100k to €1m in monthly spend grows their own revenue 10x. We do not. We are fine with that.

What this gets us

A 93% twelve-month client retention rate, and an inbound pipeline made almost entirely of referrals. The slow way works.

Need help with this?

If any of the above feels like a problem you have, tell us a bit about your situation and we will come back within a working day. First conversation is 30 minutes, on us.