Takeover · Operational
Nothing changes because we're new.
It changes because we can justify changing it.
Most switching pages are an argument for hiring the agency that wrote them. This one is not. It is what actually happens between granting access and the 90-day review, so you can decide whether the disruption is worth it before you serve notice.
01 / Before access changes
What to sort out before anyone touches the account
- 01Read your termination clause: notice period, minimum term, and what triggers it
- 02Confirm the brand owns the Google Ads, Merchant Center, Analytics and Tag Manager accounts
- 03Confirm ownership of the CSS membership, feed tool, scripts and any custom dashboards
- 04Export historic performance data you would not want to lose access to
- 05Decide who inside the business owns the commercial decisions after the move
- 06Agree whether the switch happens before, during or after your peak trading window
02 / The rule
What we preserve, and what we change
A takeover that rebuilds everything on day one is not diligence. It is destroying evidence.
WE PRESERVE
- Conversion tracking and its history, unless it is demonstrably wrong
- Campaigns currently carrying profitable volume, until evidence says otherwise
- Learning periods on bid strategies that are performing
- Audience lists, remarketing pools and customer match data
- Historic budget pacing through any live peak trading window
- Anything the incumbent built well, credited plainly
WE CHANGE
- Conversion values, so bidding sees contribution rather than revenue
- Brand and generic separation, so incrementality becomes measurable
- Product data enrichment, so the feed carries margin, stock and BOI® job
- Structure that cannot express a commercial priority
- Reporting that reports activity instead of outcomes
- Anything we can justify in writing, at the point we can justify it
03 / Sequence
Day 0 to Day 90
One variable at a time, so performance movement can still be attributed to a decision.
DAY 0
- Access transferred at admin level on Google Ads, Merchant Center, Analytics and Tag Manager
- Nothing is switched off. Read-only diagnosis begins
- Baseline snapshot captured: spend, revenue, contribution, POAS, new-customer share
WEEK 1
- Full commercial read: margin by SKU, stock cover, returns, customer economics
- Measurement audit: duplicate conversions, value accuracy, consent-driven under-reporting
- Waste stopped where it is unambiguous and reversible
- Written findings, including what the previous agency got right
WEEKS 2 TO 4
- Conversion values rebuilt on contribution and uploaded
- Brand carve-out and cannibalisation controls applied
- Feed enrichment and BOI® job assignment across the catalogue
- Structural rebuild sequenced so no more than one variable moves at a time
DAYS 30 TO 90
- Campaign structure aligned to commercial jobs, not product taxonomy
- Weekly job reassignment cadence running on stock and margin signals
- Contribution reporting replaces platform-revenue reporting
- 90-day review against the Day 0 baseline, with a written verdict either way
04 / Objections
The four things brands actually worry about
Will performance dip during the handover?
It can, and anybody who promises otherwise is guessing. We reduce the risk by changing one variable at a time, holding bid strategies that are working, and refusing structural rebuilds inside a live peak window. Where a dip is likely, we say so before it happens and quantify the expected recovery period.
We are mid-peak. Should we wait?
Usually yes for a rebuild, no for the diagnosis. We will take access, fix measurement and stop unambiguous waste during peak, then sequence structural work for the first quiet window. Rebuilding a Shopping structure in late November is not bravery.
Who talks to the incumbent?
You do, on your terms and your timetable. We do not contact them, do not ask you to justify the decision, and do not need them off the account before we start. If they hold assets, we will give you an exact list of what to request.
What if you find the account is fine?
Then we will tell you, and the engagement will be smaller than you expected. Roughly one account in ten needs less than the brand assumed. Saying so early costs us fee and keeps the relationship honest.
Switching questions
Before you serve notice, get an independent read of what the account is actually doing.
Book a commercial review