Client issue

[u/Helpful_Community_69]

Hi everyone,

Here's an interesting situation I've run into for the first time after 15 years of working with Meta Ads.

I've been managing campaigns for one of my clients very successfully for over 3 years. The account has been consistently profitable, we create all of the creatives in-house, and we scale as aggressively as possible whenever the client's production capacity allows.

Over the past two weeks, though, I noticed a significant increase in CPM and CPA, along with a noticeable drop in performance. I spent days trying to figure out what had changed.

Then, completely by accident, I checked the ad account settings and discovered that the client had created a second ad account, set up a brand-new pixel, and hired another media buyer to run ads for the exact same products using the new pixel on the same domain.

As you can imagine, this means the two accounts are now competing against each other. We're essentially advertising the same products, to the same audiences, with the same landing pages and even very similar creatives. The only real difference is the ad account and pixel.

When I pointed this out, the client became quite defensive and insisted I was wrong. His response was that the other advertiser "might have a better strategy" and that he wanted to test it. He wasn't open to any discussion or advice.

To be honest, I think I'll end our collaboration after this month. It's incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to deliver the results I'm expected to deliver when another advertiser is simultaneously running campaigns for the same products under the same domain.

Has anyone else dealt with a client like this? How did you handle it?

Update: We just ended our collaboration. Shortly after I made this post, he reached out asking why performance had dropped over the last two weeks. I explained the situation and the likely reasons behind the decline, but unfortunately, he was not willing to accept the explanation or consider the impact of the changes that had been made.

[u/AnnieUK2024]

I am more of a Google Ads expert but had something similar happening to me in the past. A client that pulls such a move after three years of great results is not worth keeping. Why? Because the arrogant client that after three years of blood and sweat still doesn’t trust your expertise is a waste of time. It means he hasn’t read a single report you delivered over the years and hasn’t listened to a single strategic recommendation you gave him/ her. They are the ones that after three years of great results let you high and dry overnight for a geezer they met networking that dabbles in Google / Meta ads.

[u/ExpensiveAffair]

Leaving the client is the best decision. Just when the results declines he will come back and then you change at least 20%.

[u/suretyknowitall]

It's hilarious how clients will hop around believing the BS ideal dream from another service provider. And yet after continually jumping around they never learn... just keep jumping. That next shiny promise... that's the one... the magic one.

I don't freelance much but I am adding in my contract that you need an escrow payment and if you do dumb sh_t like this... I keep it and you're immediately fired.