Top 9 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency

If this is your first time hiring a digital marketing agency or you are looking to replace your current partner agency, you need to do some serious prep work.

You gotta do some background checks first, create a shortlist of agencies, and decide who you want to schedule a sales call with.

But sales calls by itself can be a bit tricky. An agency’s sales rep might just sell you on their services and leave you with more questions at the end than they should.
As a company that’s about to invest big money in outsourced work, you need to make sure you are talking with the right people.

With the right questions, you should be able to drive the conversation and get the essential facts you haven’t been able to gather through your own due diligence.

Here are some of the most important questions you should be asking.

Question #1: How much does your service cost?

Even if a digital marketing agency has pricing models posted on their website, this does not always mean it’s what’s going to reflect in your invoice. Often agencies have to adjust the pricing based on your needs — whether it’s a combination of services and the duration of your contract.

Different needs sometimes have to be priced differently. Hence, your needs have to be communicated well right from the get-go so your prospective agency partner can give you a more precise quotation.

If you are looking for something like a complete site audit or social media marketing, then you may be able to estimate your exact fees through the agency’s website. In which case, it’s important to ask follow-up questions like:

• Do we need to purchase any additional software or tools to maintain this project? (It could be an email marketing software, a social media marketing tool, a project management software, etc.)
• What are the additional fees we have to pay apart from your rate?
• Do you give discounts for upfront payments?

Question #2: What is your most successful project so far?

Client testimonials and case studies are the social proof an experienced digital marketing agency should have on their website. But you don’t have to stop there if you see them.

You need to ask some follow-up questions to fill the gaps.

If you can’t find any social proof on their website, or if what they have is not relevant to you, ask the agency to demonstrate how they can help you. Unless the agency is new, they should have a portfolio of their best work on their website for future clients to reference.

Question #3: What have you done to achieve this success?

If the agency tells you they can deliver results you are looking for, you cannot just take their word for it. You need to know how this agency brought the desired results for their previous clients.

If the agency can give you a detailed strategy on how they went about their successful campaigns, that merits some brownie points.

Question #4: Who do you work with?

This is a good culture fit question. You ask this because you want who to know who their ideal client is.

Don’t leave a conversation without asking what their ideal customer profile looks like. If the agency knows their business, and they are honest about it, they should be able to describe it well for you.

Their descriptions of their ideal customer profile must include information like the size of the business, budget, project-based contract retainer, the number of teams or people to work on the project, the level of expertise in-house, and the industries they work with.

Question #5: Who do you NOT work with?

You also need to ask the opposite — who do you not work with?

By drilling down into their ideal customer profile, you should be able to tell if you are one of their ideal customers or not.

If the agency can tell which types of organizations or relationships have not been successful and the reason behind it, that would be easy to qualify your own company.

Question #6: How long does it take to see our return of investment?

When partnering with a digital marketing agency, it’s important to know a specific time frame to accomplish your goals. If you have a specific time frame in mind, communicate that with the agency if they can meet that.

But note that the time frame of your activities might be different from when you start seeing the results of these activities.

While results are not always guaranteed to fall on the set date (a lot of things come into play like budget, activities, number of people working on the project, etc.), always ask for a rough estimate. And as a client, you need to manage your expectations as well.

Other important questions to ask are:

• When can you start on this project?
• Are there any potential delays ahead that might affect the timeline?
• What can we do to prevent these delays?

Question #7: What metrics are included in your standard report?

A digital marketing agency will submit a standard report to you within your contract duration, whether it’s monthly, quarterly, and/or annually.

In this case, ask what key performance indicators and SEO metrics are included in the report. It will most likely include ad positions, click-through rate (CTR), cost per click (CPC), conversion rates of keywords and landing pages, etc.

The agency should give you analyzed data that is easy to understand, not just raw data that will leave you guessing what is what.

Question #8: What does your statement of work (SOW) or master service agreement (MSA) say?

I cannot stress enough the need to understand the terms of your agreement with an agency. Before signing any document, make sure to be familiar with the details of your contract.

Some things you need to be sure about before cutting a deal are:

• Payment terms (e.g. net 60, 30, or 15)
• Payment options
• Cancellation terms and penalties
• Temporary cessation of services
• Scope changes

If you are not sure, you can ask a sample MSA in advance to review it.

Question #9: What questions do you have for me?

To wrap up the conversation, you need to open yourself to questions from your potential partner agency.

You are about to invest a serious amount of money, and you want to make sure it yields. The agency should be as invested as you are in your project, if not more.

If you don’t get questions about your business, goals, and expectations, that should be a red flag.

Here are some questions they should be asking you:

• What are your goals in terms of sales and growth? (Specific numbers are great!)
• What do you expect to get from this project?
• Have you worked with an inbound marketing agency? What worked and didn’t work?
• Can you meet the deadlines as specified in our agreement?

In Summary

By asking these questions right off the bat, you are one step closer to hiring the digital marketing agency that’s right up your alley. But you don’t have to go far.

Startup Cafe Digital is a digital marketing agency focusing on driving results in every campaign that we do for our clients. Find out more about what we do and how we can help you achieve your business goals.

Editor’s Note: This article was first published on 1 July 2020 and has been updated regularly since then for relevance and comprehensiveness. 

Related Articles

• How to Create a Social Media Calendar: A Step-by-Step Guide
• ROI Calculator: ROI of Using Startup Cafe’s Digital Marketing Services
• 5 Best SEO Tools for Startups that are Totally Worth the Investment