10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Marketing Agency

Finding the best company for marketing is going to take time. However, a few questions can help ease the process and ensure you are set up to lead successful marketing campaigns. On your next proposal meeting, see if some of these questions help you decipher who’s the best fit.

1. What services are offered?

You are going to want the company to meet your needs. Now we know this sounds obvious, but it’s key to view a complete list of service offerings to ensure you are preparing for not only your current needs but your future needs as well. Will you be expanding your marketing efforts or looking to add billboards or radio?

2 How are the contracts structured?

You are going to need to know how you are billed for services. Some companies may bill hourly while others may ask for a retainer. Make sure you talk options and understand the terms and how well they fit with your business.

3. What is included in the bill?

Some companies will charge you when the job is done. Others will give you a set amount of hours per bill. You need to know what you are paying for and how often you are being charged. Ask about overage situations where you may receive additional invoices or budget requests.

4. Do you have experience within my industry?

You are going to look for a marketing company that has experience working with companies in your industry. A niche marketing agency may be more expensive, but there service list and experience may be more beneficial for your business. If you do choose to work with a generalist agency, be sure that they have the ability to secure specialists when needed.

5. Is the work outsourced?

When you are using a marketing company you think that the word is being done in-house. This may not always be the case. You are going to want to find out if your work is being outsourced to a third party. If so, you may want to find another marketing company to work with. For quality control, you should look for a marketing company that will not outsource their work.

6. Who will I work with?

You will need the contact information of at least one person at the marketing agency to contact you with any questions. If you are given a general phone number and will speak with a different person, that company may not have the best client support. Most respectable agencies provide some type of account manager or dedicated point of contact to be your liaison between your business and the sometimes many individuals employed by the marketing agency.

7. How often will I speak to my rep?

Once a week or once a month? Do you have specific needs on communication? Discuss communication channels and how requests will be handled and followed up on. This is very key to ensure you are moving forward on goals and correcting course when necessary.

8. What tools are software are used?

Several different software platforms can be used for marketing your content. You are going to want to look past the brand names, but also check for compatibility with your current software. What about reporting and data? You are going to want to look for metrics such as keywords, traffic, ranking, and related information. You are going to want to find out how the marketing agency tracks and reports its results.

9. Can I preview the content before it is live?

Before things go live you want to see what is about to be put other there? Will there be a review process and how how often will it be completed? If they will need to collaborate with members of your team in the creation process, it should be discussed. You should also ask the company how they are going to make revisions to the content if needed.

10. When will I see marketing results?

You are of course going to want to see a return on your investment. Most agencies can’t guarantee results, but you do want to find a clear strategy to plan and track the effectiveness of all marketing campaigns. Are these advertising dollars being converted to sales? How will you be able to see this. Some strategies like SEO take longer as Google needs to realize your site is an authority while some other marketing techniques will see returns much faster.

Overall, asking questions not only helps you find the right company to partner with, but also helps set the proper expectations on both sides better preparing you both for a successful relationship!