Questions to ask before hiring a marketing agency

The short answer: before you hire a marketing agency, ask about five things: who will do the work, how they will start, how they will measure success, how they are paid and what happens if you part ways. Ask every agency on your shortlist the same questions, in the same order, and write the answers down.

A good agency pitch is persuasive by design. The way to see past it is to replace the pitch with questions. This guide is an interview script you can use on a call, with what a strong answer sounds like and what should worry you.

Before you start: know what you want

Agencies can only answer well if you can describe the problem. Before the first call, write one page that covers:

• The goal. What should marketing achieve in the next six to twelve months, in plain words?
• The customer. Who buys from you today, and who do you wish bought more?
• What you have tried. What worked, what did not and why you think so.
• Your constraints. Budget range, timing, markets, languages and anything the agency must respect, such as brand rules or legal limits.

If you cannot yet write this page, that is useful to know. It may mean that the first thing you need is strategy, not execution.

Questions about the team

1. Who will work on my account, and can I meet them? You want names and roles, not a promise that the right people will be assigned.
2. How many clients does each person handle? A specialist split across too many accounts cannot know yours well.
3. Who is accountable for the result? There should be one named person, with enough seniority to make decisions.
4. What happens if someone leaves the account? A good agency documents decisions so a new person can pick up quickly.

Questions about how they start

1. What happens in the first month? Look for research, positioning and a plan before production.
2. What will I hold at the end of it? Ask for named documents, not general reassurance. We describe what this should be in what a good first six weeks should produce.
3. What do you need from us? A good agency tells you exactly what access, people and decisions it needs, and by when.
4. How will you learn about our customers? Interviews, data, sales conversations and competitor study are all good answers. "We have done this for others" is not.

Questions about results and reporting

1. What do you measure, and why? The answer should connect to enquiries, sales or another outcome that matters to you, not to reach and followers.
2. How often will I get reports, and what will they say? Ask to see a sample. Every report should end with what changes next month.
3. What happens when something is not working? You want a clear process: how the problem is spotted, who tells you and what is changed.
4. Which of my own numbers will you need to see? Lead quality, sales conversion and revenue by source all matter. An agency that never asks for them cannot judge quality.
5. Can you share a time that a campaign did not work, and what you did? Honest agencies have an answer.

Questions about money and contract

1. How was this price built? From your goals and a scope, or from a menu?
2. What is not included? Ask for exclusions in writing. That is where extra invoices come from.
3. What happens when the scope grows? Look for a stated process. Our guide to retainers, packages and partnerships explains the usual models.
4. Who pays for ad spend, and how is it handled? Directly by you, or passed through the agency with a fee on top?
5. What is the minimum term and notice period?
6. Who owns the accounts, data and creative? The answer should be you.

Questions about proof

1. Which of your clients are most like us? Similar market, size or problem, not just similar industry.
2. What did you do for them, specifically? The work, the decisions and the reasoning matter more than a headline number.
3. Can I speak to a current client? Agencies that are confident will say yes, within reason.

Be aware that clients often do not allow agencies to publish results. A good agency will say so and explain what it can share, instead of inventing numbers.

Red flags that should end the conversation

• Guaranteed rankings, followers or sales. No one controls these.
• A price before any conversation about your goals.
• Pressure to sign quickly, or a discount that expires tomorrow.
• Reluctance to put answers in writing.
• The agency wants to own your accounts or hold your data.
• Case studies with no named clients, no context and no description of the work.

A scorecard template for your shortlist

Use the same scorecard for every agency so the comparison is fair. Score each line from 1 (weak) to 5 (strong) straight after each call, before memory fades.

• Understood our problem (weight: high). Did they ask good questions before offering solutions?
• Named team and accountability (high). Did we meet the people who will do the work?
• Plan for the first month (high). Is there a named output?
• Measurement (high). Do the reports connect to outcomes we care about?
• Price clarity (medium). Is it clear what is and is not included?
• Relevant experience (medium). Have they worked on a problem like ours?
• Chemistry (medium). Would we enjoy working with them when things get difficult?

Multiply high-weight lines by three and medium-weight lines by two, then add the scores. The total will not make the decision for you, but it will show where each agency is strong and weak.

Consider a small test first

If you are unsure, ask whether the agency would do a small paid piece of work first, such as a market study or a strategy session. It shows you how they think and how they work with your team, with limited risk on both sides.

What to do after the calls

1. Ask for a written proposal that answers your questions, not a generic deck.
2. Check references. Ask a current client what the agency does well, what it does badly and how it handles mistakes.
3. Look at the work yourself. Read the case descriptions and, where you can, the actual content or campaigns.
4. Hold a decision meeting with everyone who will work with the agency, and compare scorecards.
5. Negotiate the terms in writing, including exit and ownership of accounts and data.

How we would answer

We answer these questions with dedicated experts embedded in your team, a six-week first month with two free weeks for strategy and market study, pricing built around your goals and no extra charges when the scope grows mid-contract. You can see how that works across disciplines on our full-service marketing agency page, and what the first stage involves in our strategy and planning work.

Take the questions above to us too. Tell us about your business and we will answer them in writing.