Retainer Proposal & Meta Ad Review — 2026-04-05

Overview

End-of-contract check-in with Avant Gardening (Tim Stenzel) to review early Meta ad performance and present a proposed monthly retainer for continued marketing services. The current contract runs through mid-January; one more meeting is scheduled before it concludes.

Attendees:
- Karly Oykhman (Asymmetric — account lead)
- Melissa Cusumano (Asymmetric)
- Avokerie Onorimuo (Asymmetric)
- Tim Stenzel (Avant Gardening — external)

Key Decisions

• No Meta ad optimization yet. Campaigns are too new (impressions well below the 5k–10k threshold needed for statistical significance). No changes will be made until data is sufficient.
• Retainer proposal sent for review. Karly will send the PowerPoint deck; Tim will review with co-manager Becky and respond before the next call.
• Training videos to be recorded regardless of retainer outcome. Tim wants to understand the platforms whether or not Asymmetric continues managing them.
• Meta payment issue escalated to bank. After multiple payment failures (fraud flag suspected), Tim will contact his bank to whitelist Meta charges.

Meta Ad Performance

Campaign Status (Residential)

• Target threshold: 5,000–10,000 impressions before making any changes.
• Cost per result: Currently high; target is ~$1 per result for a service business at Avant Gardening's margin level.
• Landing page: Clicks are not converting to leads at an acceptable rate. Landing page optimization is a near-term priority once data matures.
• Lead attribution: Tim noted 1–2 inbound contacts over the past month but cannot confirm source (organic vs. paid).

Payment Failures

Meta ad payments have failed repeatedly, pausing campaigns multiple times. The pattern (failed → paid → failed) suggests a bank-side fraud flag rather than a card or account issue. Tim manually approved payments on at least three occasions.

"I see on the 24th, there were two that paid and then there were two that failed and then there were two that paid and one that failed." — Karly

Resolution path: Tim to call his bank and authorize recurring Meta charges.

Account Cleanup

Tim has two Facebook/Meta accounts — an old unused one and the current managed account. He will delete/disconnect the old account to simplify management. Historical ad data from the old account will be lost, but it was minimally used.

Proposed Retainer

Structure

• Flat monthly fee for strategic and execution work (amount discussed but not recorded here).
• Ad spend is separate — not included in the retainer fee.
• Flexible scope — buckets are worked sequentially (one or two at a time) rather than all at once, prioritized by business need and seasonality.
• Asymmetric's standard retainer for comparable local businesses runs ~$5,000/month; this proposal is positioned below that given the relationship and Avant Gardening's stage.

Five Service Buckets

1. Local SEO & Reputation
   - Google Business Profile optimization (photos, hours, keywords, service areas)
   - Workarounds for service-area vs. location mismatch (Avant Gardening serves Madison but is not located there)
   - Google review generation and overall local search presence

2. Paid Ads
   - Ongoing optimization of Google Ads and Meta Ads
   - Potential expansion to Spotify Ads (shown to be effective for local businesses; supports demographic and interest targeting)

3. Out-of-Home (OOH) Advertising
   - Yard signs (Avant Gardening has existing signs that need updating and better deployment)
   - Bus signage and billboards
   - Asymmetric handles strategy, design, print coordination, and vendor outreach

4. Email & SMS Marketing
   - Complete the email strategy and template build already in progress
   - Ongoing analysis: open rates, click-through rates, bounce/unsubscribe rates, heat maps
   - Automated flows segmented by service interest (e.g., hardscaping vs. landscaping)
   - SMS marketing as a complementary channel

5. Website Optimization
   - SEO and blog content
   - Landing page improvements tied to ad campaigns
   - General design support and content updates

Client's Growth Context

Tim articulated a deliberate, cautious growth philosophy that should inform how the retainer scope is framed:

• Goal: Steady flow of high-quality leads from preferred customers — not rapid expansion.
• Constraint: Growth is non-linear. Adding a crew requires a full upfront investment (truck + equipment), which must be justified by sustained, guaranteed work volume.
• Risk: An influx of leads that cannot be serviced creates negative customer experiences and reputational damage.
• Approach: "Dip a toe in, see what works, see the results, and if it looks promising, go more into it."

"If we have a thousand new leads but we can only satisfy a hundred of them, then we just have 900 angry people." — Tim

This framing also has a defensive dimension: competitors investing in marketing could erode Avant Gardening's existing market share even if the business isn't actively trying to grow.

Action Items

• [ ] Karly — Send retainer proposal PowerPoint to Tim
• [ ] Karly — Record and send training walkthrough videos for Meta Ads and Google Ads
• [ ] Karly — Monitor Meta ad payment status; notify Tim if failures recur
• [ ] Tim — Review retainer proposal with Becky; email Karly with decision or questions
• [ ] Tim — Contact bank to authorize Meta charges and resolve recurring payment failures
• [ ] Tim — Delete/disconnect old unused Facebook/Meta account

Next Meeting

To be scheduled. Agenda will depend on Tim's retainer decision:
- If continuing: Set up next steps and transition into retainer scope.
- If not continuing: Full handoff session — training, account access review, and offboarding.

Related

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