Stephanie Donelson

Deciding to hire an internal marketing person or relying on an agency can be a tough decision for small marketing teams or small businesses. I’ve spent parts of my career on both the agency side and as an in-house marketer, and both have their pros and cons. 

Having an in-house person means you have a dedicated employee who knows the ins and outs of the branding and marketing standards, but an external agency can bring fresh ideas and other specialties to the table. 

If you’re debating if you should outsource your marketing needs, run through these questions during your discussions to make sure you find the right fit for your brand and marketing team.

Questions to ask marketing agencies or consultants

When interviewing agencies or consultants, ask them these 11 questions before saying they got your account. 

Are they industry-specific? 

Have they worked in your industry before or do they specialize in it? Or, do they work with a wide range of clients in a wide range of industries? Industry-specific expertise is invaluable, but an agency or consultant shouldn’t be dismissed simply because they’re not specialized in your industry. They can still bring quality strategies and fresh ideas to the table as you teach them about your world. It’s up to you to decide how important it is that they’re in the know in your industry. 

Are they specialized? 

Do they focus on SEO, PPC, email marketing, or social media? That can be great for the short term, but for long  term success you might want someone more well-rounded with a range of specialties or a full-service agency. 

Do they have time to manage your account? 

Most businesses are partnering with agencies as they’re small and might not have the resources to bring on a full-time employee, but that could also mean an agency isn’t prioritizing your business. 

Do they have an established onboarding process? 

Ask them what their onboarding process looks like, if they follow a checklist, or what first 10 things they’ll do if they win your account. They should have a formalized process where they send you documentation to learn more about your brand as they put together a strategy. 

What tools do they use? 

Are they familiar with different types of marketing software and tools? Are they utilizing the toolkit that’ll achieve the best results for your brand?

Do they have in-house or outsourced talent? 

Some agencies hire their own employees and others will outsource jobs to contractors or freelancers. They at least need to have an account manager that you can always contact if you have questions or need help with a campaign. Both in-house and outsourced talent will work, but sometimes working with an agency that retains its own employees will yield better results as they know your account or brand and are more focused on their job. 

What results are they expecting to provide? 

The agency or consultant should be able to discuss realistic outcomes and speak knowledgeably about your brand’s data, benchmarks for your industry, and opportunities for your brand to grow. They should also be able to share similar results for other clients and showcase some of their work and real world results. 

Do they provide reporting? 

What’s their reporting process and frequency like? This’ll give you insight into how often they’re monitoring and analyzing your brand’s performance. You should also ask if you have access to real-time reports or if they send you a PDF, and do they review the data with you so you can share results with other members of your organization who may not be versed in marketing speak. 

What’s their communication style like? 

Are they email people? Casual phone calls or scheduled calls? Do they ask for a weekly or monthly check-in? You need to find a good fit with your own communication style or it’ll be a hard partnership to maintain. Keep in mind any thresholds you want to set when it concerns communication as you may not want the majority of your billable hours taken up by phone calls and emails. 

How do they track time and projects? 

How can you make sure their time is going to real work and providing results? They should have a system in place to track time and projects to make sure you’re getting the most out of your budget, and that they’re willing to send you time tracking reports if you ask for them. 

What kind of contract do they use? 

Are you paying by the hour, project, or keeping them on retainer? Is it a month-to-month contract or are you locked in for a year? Talk through the contract terms, expectations, and deliverables before signing anything. 

How you can be prepared

Not only should you know some good questions to ask the marketing firm or consultant, but you should be prepared for some questions from them. Come to the table prepared by having talking points about your goals, your brand, and budget.

• Identify your top business goals: What do you specifically want to achieve? If you can’t articulate why you’re hiring an agency or consultant, why are you asking for proposals? Have a list of three to five business goals you can talk through so they can come up with a targeted strategy and identify tactics that would be a good fit.
• Provide background on your brand and industry: What industry are you in, who are your competitors, what are your Unique Selling Propositions, and why are you priced the way you are? You should also be able to tell the marketing firm or consultant who your target audience is and what they expect from your brand. 
• Know your numbers: Be ready to talk about your budget and what you’re willing to spend before talking tactics with an agency. They need a realistic budget to work with or their ideas may be too big or too little to get the ROI you need. 

Marketing red flags

Look for these warning signs during a conversation with a marketing agency or marketing consultant as they may be overselling themselves or might not have the level of experience your brand requires. 

• No case studies or testimonials: If other clients are pleased with their quality of work, they’d be happy to talk about it. If the agency or consultant doesn’t have examples of  happy clients or can’t give you a reference, it might signal they don’t have any happy clients.
• Not asking questions: You probably wouldn’t hire a candidate if they had no questions during the interview process, so don’t hire an agency or consultant if they can’t think of any questions to ask you. They should be interested in learning more about your brand, operations, and customers and excited to craft the best strategy possible. 
• Vague answers: Are they brushing off your questions or providing very generic answers? They should be able to provide thoughtful ideas or data-backed answers during your discovery call. 
• Overpromising results: We all want to be successful with our marketing but if they’re promising ridiculous results instead of realistic results, they might not be able to deliver  or they’ll overcharge you for subpar results they generate.
• Poor website: Is their website only one page? Does it have bad stock images? No social media profiles? Marketing agencies and consultants need to practice what they preach and should have a strong online presence. If you’re not impressed with how they represent their own brand online, you probably won’t like what they do to yours. 
• Poor communication: Is it like pulling teeth trying to get a response or you can never get time on the calendar or if you do, they’re late to the call? What are the chances their behavior will change after you’re locked into a contract?

Did I miss anything you should ask when hiring a marketing agency or marketing consultant? Tell me in the comments below or over on Twitter at @sjdonelson303!