Hiring an agency is a bit like hiring a builder. Everyone has a horror story, most of them involve a lack of communication, and the problem often started before any work began. Picking the right agency matters, but so does being a client that agencies can do their best work for. This guide covers choosing a marketing agency and working with one well.
This guide is written from both sides. It covers choosing a marketing agency, what to check before signing, and how to set up the relationship so it actually works. It applies whether you’re hiring for a one-off project like a website or rebrand, or an ongoing arrangement such as SEO, social media or a marketing retainer.
Full disclosure: we are an agency. We’ve tried to write the guide we’d want every client to read, including the bits that apply to us.
Be clear on what you need first
Choosing a marketing agency is much easier when you know what you’re asking for. Before speaking to anyone, write down:
- What you want to achieve, in business terms: more enquiries, a stronger brand, better online sales.
- What you think you need: a new website, ongoing SEO, a campaign, extra capacity.
- Your rough budget and timescale.
- What you’ll do in-house and what you want the agency to do.
- Who in your business will be the main contact and who makes decisions.
A good agency may challenge some of this, which is fine. But you’ll get much better conversations if you start with a clear view of your own.
Decide what type of agency suits you
Agencies come in many shapes. Specialists do one thing, such as SEO, PPC or branding, and often do it very well. Full-service agencies cover several disciplines, which can make coordination easier if you need joined-up work across web, design and marketing. Freelancers and small studios can be excellent value and very personal, but capacity can be limited.
Neither type is automatically better. What matters is whether they’ve done similar work, whether they have the capacity for your project and whether you’d enjoy working with them.
Shortlist sensibly
When choosing a marketing agency, three or four candidates is a sensible shortlist. More than that and you’ll spend weeks in meetings. Good ways to find candidates include recommendations from businesses you trust, looking at who built websites or campaigns you admire, and checking reviews and case studies.
When looking at an agency’s work, check it’s genuinely theirs and relevant to your needs. A beautiful portfolio of fashion brands doesn’t necessarily mean they understand how a heating engineer wins work.
Ask the right questions
In initial conversations, you’re trying to understand how they think, how they work and whether you’d trust them. Useful questions include:
- Who will actually work on our account, and can we meet them?
- How do you usually run a project like this, step by step?
- How and how often will you report to us, and what will reports include?
- How do you measure success, and what do you expect to happen in the first three months?
- What will you need from us, and how much of our time?
- What’s included in the price, and what would cost extra?
- Who owns the work, including designs, content, code, ad accounts and data?
- What happens if we want to end the arrangement?
- Can we speak to a current client?
Pay attention to the questions they ask you, too. An agency that asks thoughtful questions about your business is usually a better bet than one that jumps straight to the solution.
Watch for warning signs
Some things should make you cautious:
- Guarantees of first place on Google or specific results. Nobody can honestly promise those.
- Vague answers about what’s included or what they’ll actually do each month.
- Reluctance to put you in touch with existing clients.
- Long contracts with no break clause and no clear deliverables.
- Ad accounts, domains or analytics set up in the agency’s name rather than yours.
- Pressure to sign quickly.
Always make sure you own your domain, website, ad accounts and analytics. An agency can manage them, but they should be in your name.
Compare proposals fairly
When choosing a marketing agency, proposals can be hard to compare because every agency structures them differently. Put the key points side by side: what’s included, deliverables, timescales, costs (one-off and ongoing), contract length, who’s doing the work and what reporting you get.
The cheapest option isn’t always poor value, and the most expensive isn’t always the best. Look for the proposal that clearly understands your problem and explains how it will be solved. If one agency’s proposal is much cheaper, check what’s been left out.
Set the relationship up well
Once you’ve chosen, the first few weeks set the tone. Agree the essentials in writing:
- A clear scope, with what’s included and what isn’t.
- A main contact on both sides.
- How feedback and approvals will work, and who has the final say.
- A regular check-in, whether weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
- The measures you’ll use to judge success, and when you’ll review them.
Give the agency a proper onboarding. Share your brand guidelines, customer insights, previous marketing results, and access to the accounts they’ll need. The more they understand your business, the better their work will be. Treat them like a new senior team member, not a supplier you order from.
Be a good client
This is the part people rarely talk about. Agencies do their best work for clients who:
- Give clear, consolidated feedback from one person, rather than conflicting notes from five.
- Respond to questions and approvals on time. Delays on your side usually delay the whole project.
- Explain what’s wrong rather than prescribing fixes. “This doesn’t feel premium enough” is more useful than “make the logo bigger”.
- Share results. If a campaign brought in a big contract, tell them. It helps them do more of what works.
- Raise concerns early and directly, before small frustrations become big ones.
Review honestly
Every few months, sit down and review the relationship properly. Are you getting the results you agreed? Is communication working? Is the scope still right? A good agency will welcome this. If things aren’t working, say so clearly and give them a chance to fix it before looking elsewhere.
Checklist for choosing a marketing agency
- We’ve written down our goals, needs, budget and timescale.
- We have a shortlist of three or four agencies with relevant experience.
- We’ve met the people who’d actually do the work.
- We understand exactly what’s included and what costs extra.
- We’ve spoken to at least one current client of our preferred agency.
- Ownership of work, accounts and data is agreed in writing.
- Domains, ad accounts and analytics are in our name.
- Contract length and notice period are acceptable.
- Scope, contacts, feedback process and reporting are agreed.
- Success measures and review dates are set.
- The agency has the brand assets, insights and access it needs.
Talk to us
If you’re choosing a marketing agency, we’re happy to answer every question on that list. Our marketing strategy work is a good place to start, and if you want a team that works as an extension of yours, look at our outsourced marketing department.
