I’ve sat in handover meetings where a store owner couldn’t tell me what their automation agency had actually built. They were paying four figures a month and the honest answer was “something with emails, I think”. That’s the first problem. If your agency can’t explain what an automation does in plain language, they either don’t understand it themselves or they’re hoping you won’t ask. Good people are happy to walk you through the logic. Vague people change the subject.

The second flag is how they measure success. Watch for reporting built around outputs rather than outcomes. “We sent 40,000 emails this month” is an output. “Those emails generated £8,000 in attributable revenue” is an outcome. One of those numbers means something to your bank account. Agencies that lead with activity instead of results are usually hiding the fact the results aren’t there.

Then there’s the algorithm excuse. When something underperforms and the reason is always “the algorithm changed” or “Meta’s being weird this month”, be careful. Algorithms do shift, that’s real. But it becomes a comfort blanket for agencies who don’t want to admit a setup was wrong from the start. A good operator tells you what they’re changing in response. A bad one tells you to wait it out.

Fourth, watch how they treat access to your own accounts. If an agency resists giving you admin rights to your ad accounts, your analytics, your email platform, ask why. It’s your business and your data. The usual excuse is that it “keeps things tidy”, but the real effect is that you can’t check their work and you can’t leave easily. That’s not tidiness, that’s a hostage situation.

Last one, and it’s related. The reporting looks fantastic. Charts everywhere, impressions in the millions, engagement rates climbing. None of it connects to money. Impressive-looking numbers that never tie back to revenue are a distraction technique. Always ask the same question: how did this make us money, and can you show me?

If two or more of these sound familiar, you’re probably overpaying for very little.

Not sure if your current setup is actually working? Shoptimum’s AI Recovery Diagnosis reviews what’s running under the bonnet and tells you straight whether it’s earning its keep.