Questions to Ask a Marketing Agency Before Hiring Them
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A marketing agency interview should cover 13 questions across 5 categories: strategy and fit, proof and results, team and process, pricing and contract terms, and communication and reporting. Ask every finalist the same questions, in writing, and compare the answers side by side rather than judging each agency in isolation. The goal isn't to trip anyone up. It's to find out, before you sign anything, whether this agency actually does what your business needs or just sounds like it does.
This page is the full checklist: every question, why it matters, what a strong answer sounds like, and what a red flag sounds like. If you want the step-by-step process for finding and narrowing your list of agencies first, see how to choose a marketing agency. If you run a wedding or event venue specifically, the vertical-specific version of this checklist is at what questions should a venue owner ask before hiring a marketing agency.
The 5 Questions to Ask First
If you only have time for a short call before deciding whether an agency belongs on your shortlist, ask these 5. They surface the most common reasons agency relationships fail, faster than any other combination on this list.
- What outcome do you measure success by, in my business's unit? Not clicks or impressions. Booked jobs, new patients, booked tours, whatever your business actually runs on.
- Can you show me a real, specific number from a real, current account? A name, a figure, a time period. Not an adjective like "great results."
- Who will actually run my account day to day, and can I talk to that person now? Not the salesperson. The person doing the work.
- What's included in the monthly fee, and is ad spend separate? Get the full number before you compare anything else.
- What does it take to leave, and on what notice? Get the exit terms before you need them.
The rest of this page covers all 13 questions, organized by category, with what a strong answer sounds like against what should make you pause.
Strategy and Fit
These questions establish whether the agency actually understands your kind of business, or is proposing a generic playbook with your logo on it.
1. Have you worked with a business like mine, and can you name one?
Why it matters: An agency that already runs the same class of campaign for the same type of business knows your buying cycle, your competitors, and roughly what a good result looks like before it has seen your account. A generalist agency is learning all 3 on your budget.
Strong answer: A specific business type and, where confidentiality allows, a name or a description specific enough to verify. "We currently run campaigns for 4 boutique physical therapy clinics in the Northeast" is a strong answer. "We work with all kinds of businesses" is not an answer, it's a dodge.
Red flag: Vague category talk with no example, or a pivot to a completely different industry's case study as "close enough."
2. What percentage of your current clients actually use the services you're pitching me?
Why it matters: Search Engine Land's Laura Schiele, head of paid acquisition at Jordan Digital Marketing, makes this the first question in her own agency-audit framework: many agencies claim to be full-service but concentrate almost all real client work in 1 or 2 channels and treat the rest as upsell. If an agency claims expertise in SEO, paid media, and creative, but 90% of its client base only uses it for paid search, that's useful information before you sign for the other 2.
Strong answer: A specific breakdown, even a rough one, and honesty about where the agency's real depth is.
Red flag: "We do everything well" with no numbers behind it.
3. How do you approach strategy before you touch a single campaign?
Why it matters: The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) and the 4A's, the 2 trade associations that represent marketers and agencies respectively, jointly publish guidelines for the agency search process built around getting clarity on goals, criteria for success, and decision-making structure before any work begins, precisely because skipping this step is among the most common sources of a mismatched relationship later.
Strong answer: A described process: research, goal-setting, a specific first-30/60/90-day plan.
Red flag: An agency ready to start running ads on the sales call, before it has asked you a single question about your business.
Proof and Results
This category catches the single most common complaint clients raise about agencies: reporting that describes activity, not outcomes.
4. What is the 1 number you'll report on every week, and is it stated in my business's unit?
Why it matters: Clicks, impressions, and traffic are activity, not proof. Real proof is stated in the unit your business runs on: booked tours for a venue, new patients for a clinic, booked jobs for a contractor.
Strong answer: A single, named number, reported on a stated cadence. For example, an agency reporting on a venue account might point to a specific, named result like 3.5 times more booking inquiries at 71% lower cost per inquiry for a real client, or a health and wellness clinic account showing a 9.5 times return on ad spend. A specific figure from a real account, not an adjective, is the standard to hold every agency to, including this one.
Red flag: "We drive results" or "we focus on ROI" with no number attached, or a number stated only in clicks and impressions.
5. Can you back that number up if I ask?
Why it matters: Under the Federal Trade Commission Act, advertisers, including agencies advertising their own results to prospective clients, are required to have evidence behind their claims. The FTC's own small-business guidance states plainly that "advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims" and that an ad is deceptive if it's likely to mislead a reasonable consumer on something material to their decision. That standard is a reasonable one to hold an agency to directly: if a number can't be shown or explained, it shouldn't be trusted.
Strong answer: A willingness to show a report, a dashboard screenshot, or explain exactly how a number was measured.
Red flag: Defensiveness, or results that are described but never actually shown.
6. How do you handle attribution, and what happens when a campaign underperforms?
Why it matters: In-platform metrics from Google Ads or Meta Ads Manager often over-claim credit for a conversion that also involved another channel. An agency that relies solely on in-platform numbers is not seeing the full picture, and how an agency talks about a bad month tells you more than how it talks about a good one.
Strong answer: A description of a measurement approach beyond single-platform reporting (server-side tracking, a shared analytics view in a tool like Google Analytics, or a CRM like HubSpot), plus a direct answer about whether the agency proactively flags a slump or waits to be asked.
Red flag: "Every month has been great" from any agency that's run a campaign for more than a few months. Real accounts have real bad stretches.
Team and Process
The person who pitches you and the person who runs your account are frequently not the same person. This category exists to surface that gap before you sign, not after.
7. Who will actually build and run my campaigns, and how long have they been doing this?
Why it matters: A recognizable agency name on the pitch deck doesn't tell you who is actually in your ad account. Ask to speak with that person directly, not just the salesperson, before you sign.
Strong answer: A named person, a specific tenure, and a direct offer to get you on a call with them.
Red flag: "You'll be assigned a dedicated account manager" with no name, or a refusal to let you speak with whoever will do the actual work.
8. What's the average tenure of the team that would work on my account?
Why it matters: High agency staff turnover means a client relationship that starts fresh with a new, unfamiliar team every several months. This is common enough in the industry that it's worth checking independently: a candidate glassdoor.com profile with a pattern of turnover complaints is a useful, verifiable signal beyond whatever the agency tells you directly.
Strong answer: A specific tenure figure and a willingness to have you check it independently.
Red flag: Evasiveness about turnover, or "our team is very stable" with no specifics.
9. How is AI used on client accounts, and who reviews its output before it goes live?
Why it matters: Both an agency that avoids AI entirely and one that lets it run unsupervised on live budget are risks in different directions. The useful middle is a described governance process: what AI is used for, and who signs off before anything ships.
Strong answer: A specific description of what AI touches (drafting ad variations, for example) versus what a person always reviews before it's live.
Red flag: Either "we don't really use AI" as if that's a selling point, or no answer at all about who checks its output.
Pricing and Contract Terms
Get every number and every term in writing before you compare offers, not after.
10. What is the monthly fee, and is ad spend separate or bundled in?
Why it matters: A lower headline number with ad spend and hidden extras layered on top is not actually cheaper once you add it up. Compare the full number, not the number on the sales deck.
Strong answer: A clear monthly fee, a clear statement of what's included, and a straight answer on whether ad spend is billed separately or bundled.
Red flag: Pricing that only appears after a long sales process, or a quote that shifts based on how eager you seem.
11. How is your fee structured, and would you walk me through it?
Why it matters: The 4A's 2025 report on agency compensation, "The Transparency Trap," found that fixed-fee arrangements are the most preferred compensation model among the search consultants who help match agencies with clients, but also that pushing an agency for granular internal cost detail (individual salaries, overhead, margins) can backfire, shifting the relationship's focus from outcomes to cost-policing. The useful middle ground is understanding the structure (flat fee, percentage of spend, performance-based) without demanding the agency's internal books.
Strong answer: A clear, named compensation model and a plain explanation of why the agency structures it that way.
Red flag: A fee structure the agency can't or won't explain simply.
12. What does it take to leave, and on what notice?
Why it matters: Most agency contracts run around 12 months, with cancellation notice windows ranging from 30 days on month-to-month terms to 60 to 90 days on annual ones. A defined 60 to 90 day initial trial period, rather than a long open-ended contract from day 1, lets both sides confirm fit before either side is locked in.
Strong answer: A clearly stated notice period, a clearly stated initial term, and no resistance to a defined trial period.
Red flag: Only long, hard-to-exit contracts on offer, or a notice window tied to a renewal anniversary date that's easy to miss.
Communication and Reporting
13. How often will I hear from you, and through what channel?
Why it matters: Vague, activity-based reporting and poor communication are among the most commonly cited reasons clients end an agency relationship, more often than a single bad month of results. A stated cadence, from a named, senior-enough point of contact, is the baseline, not a bonus.
Strong answer: A specific rhythm (weekly, biweekly, monthly), a named contact, and a description of what happens when something needs attention outside that rhythm.
Red flag: "We'll be in touch" with no stated cadence, or a contact who changes every few months with no explanation.
Full Comparison: Question, Strong Answer, Red Flag
| Category | Question | Strong answer sounds like | Red flag sounds like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy & Fit | Have you worked with a business like mine? | A named type of business, verifiable | "We work with all kinds of businesses" |
| Strategy & Fit | What % of clients use the services you're pitching? | A real breakdown, honest gaps | "We do everything well," no numbers |
| Strategy & Fit | How do you approach strategy first? | A described 30/60/90-day plan | Ready to launch ads with no discovery |
| Proof & Results | What's the 1 number you'll report weekly? | A named outcome in your business's unit | "We drive results," no figure |
| Proof & Results | Can you back that number up? | Willing to show the report or dashboard | Defensive, or results never actually shown |
| Proof & Results | How do you handle attribution and underperformance? | Beyond single-platform metrics, proactive flags | "Every month has been great" |
| Team & Process | Who actually runs my account? | A named person you can speak with directly | "A dedicated account manager," unnamed |
| Team & Process | What's the team's average tenure? | A specific figure, verifiable independently | Evasive, or vague reassurance |
| Team & Process | How is AI governed on my account? | Specific use cases, named human review step | "We don't use AI" or no oversight described |
| Pricing & Contract | What's the fee, and is ad spend separate? | A clear full number, no hidden extras | Pricing that appears only after a long pitch |
| Pricing & Contract | How is your fee structured? | A named model, plainly explained | Can't or won't explain the structure |
| Pricing & Contract | What does it take to leave? | A clear notice period, an offered trial | Only long, hard-to-exit contracts |
| Communication | How often will I hear from you? | A stated cadence, a named contact | "We'll be in touch," no specifics |
Which Questions Matter Most for Your Situation
All 13 questions are worth asking, but where you should push hardest depends on why you're hiring right now.
- Hiring an agency for the first time? Weight Strategy & Fit and Proof & Results heaviest. You have no baseline yet, so specificity in these 2 categories is what separates a real partner from a smooth pitch.
- Switching after a bad experience with a previous agency? Weight Communication & Reporting and Team & Process heaviest. Vague reporting and an unstable team are the 2 most common reasons relationships fail, so probe exactly what will be different this time.
- Comparing several finalists side by side? Ask every finalist the identical wording of all 13 questions and log the answers in the same document. Differences that seem minor in separate conversations become obvious once they're lined up next to each other.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many questions should I ask a marketing agency before hiring them?
Ask all 13 questions across the 5 categories on this page if you have the time: strategy and fit, proof and results, team and process, pricing and contract terms, and communication and reporting. If you're screening quickly, the 5 questions to ask first cover the most common reasons agency relationships fail: the outcome they measure, a real example of results, who does the work, what's included in the fee, and the exit terms.
What is the most important question to ask a marketing agency?
Ask what single number they'll report on weekly, and make sure it's stated in your business's own unit, such as booked tours, new patients, or booked jobs, not clicks or impressions. Vague, activity-based reporting is among the most commonly cited reasons clients end an agency relationship, which makes this the question most worth pushing on before you sign.
Should I ask a marketing agency for references or proof of results?
Yes, and ask for a specific, named result from a real, current account, not a general claim. Under the Federal Trade Commission Act, advertisers are required to have evidence behind the claims they make, which includes a marketing agency describing its own results to a prospective client. If an agency won't show how a number was measured, that's worth treating as a real answer in itself.
Is it normal for a marketing agency to keep its pricing off its website?
It's common, since pricing often depends on ad spend, geography, and scope of work that vary by client. What matters more than whether pricing is published is whether the agency gives you a clear, complete number, including whether ad spend is separate, early in your conversation rather than only after a long sales process.
What questions should I ask about a marketing agency's contract before signing?
Ask for the initial term length, the notice period required to cancel, and whether the contract auto-renews on a fixed date or a renewal anniversary that's easy to miss. A defined 60 to 90 day trial period before a longer commitment is a reasonable, common ask. See what's in a marketing agency contract for the full list of terms worth reading closely before you sign.
Related Reading
- How to Choose a Marketing Agency: the full 7-step process for finding and narrowing your shortlist before you get to this checklist.
- What Questions Should a Venue Owner Ask Before Hiring a Marketing Agency?: the vertical-specific version of this checklist for wedding and event venues.
- What's In a Marketing Agency Contract?: what to check line by line once you're ready to sign.
- Marketing Agency Pricing Models Explained: how the fee-structure question in this checklist maps to real pricing models.
- What Is a Marketing Retainer?: background on the ongoing-fee structure most agencies propose.
Sources
- Google Search Central, "Do You Need an SEO? Tips for Hiring an SEO"
- Federal Trade Commission, "Advertising FAQ's: A Guide for Small Business"
- ANA and 4A's, "Guidelines for Agency Search" and the Agency Search Simplification Report
- 4A's, "Agency Compensation and The Transparency Trap" (2025)
- Laura Schiele, Search Engine Land, "Audit your agency: 6 questions to find a true growth partner" (April 8, 2026)