Choosing a marketing agency is one of the highest-stakes business decisions you’ll make — and one of the easiest to get wrong.
Bad agency relationships are expensive, time-consuming, and demoralising. The right one can transform your business growth.
After operating in this industry for over a decade, here are the seven questions we believe every business should ask before signing a contract.
Question 1: Can You Show Me Results From a Similar Business?
Marketing strategies vary enormously by industry, business model, and target customer. A retail ecommerce strategy looks nothing like a B2B professional services strategy.
What good looks like: Specific case studies with actual numbers — conversion rates, cost per lead, revenue growth — for businesses in a comparable sector.
Red flag: Portfolio pages full of design work with no performance data.
Question 2: Who Will Be Managing My Account Day-to-Day?
At larger agencies, you meet a senior team in the pitch — then hand off to a junior account manager or offshore team member once the contract is signed.
What good looks like: Meeting your actual account manager before you sign. Understanding their experience and who covers when they’re unavailable.
Red flag: Vague answers about “our team” without naming the specific person.
Question 3: What Does Your Monthly Report Include?
Reports should connect directly to business outcomes — not just platform metrics.
What good looks like: Conversion data, cost per lead or sale, revenue impact, and a clear plan for the following month.
Red flag: Reports that only show impressions, clicks, and CTR without any connection to revenue.
Question 4: What Happens If I Don’t See Results?
A confident agency defines what “results” look like upfront and explains their process if targets aren’t being met.
What good looks like: Clear performance benchmarks in the contract, and a defined review process when those benchmarks aren’t hit.
Red flag: Long contracts (6–12 months) with heavy early termination fees and no performance guarantees.
Question 5: Are There Any Costs Beyond the Management Fee?
Some agencies charge setup fees, landing page fees, creative production fees, and reporting fees on top of the management fee. The headline price and the actual cost can be quite different.
What good looks like: A complete fee schedule upfront, including any one-off or periodic additional costs.
Red flag: “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it” on any additional cost question.
Question 6: Will the Ad Account Be in My Name?
Critical. This point deserves its own section because it matters so much.
Your advertising accounts — Google Ads, Meta Ads — must be created under your own login. The agency accesses them as an administrator, not as the account owner.
If the account is in the agency’s name, when you leave:
- All campaign history is gone
- All conversion data is lost
- Your audience lists disappear
- The next agency rebuilds from zero
What good looks like: Agency confirms in writing that all accounts are created and remain in your name.
Question 7: Is Your Team In-House or Outsourced?
Some agencies present as local operations but execute through offshore freelancers. This isn’t automatically a problem, but you deserve to know.
What good looks like: A clear answer about where work is actually performed and who does it.
Red flag: Evasive answers or deflection when you ask directly.
One Final Indicator
A good agency will welcome all seven of these questions. They have nothing to hide.
HHP Design is a Sydney-based, fully in-house digital agency. We’re happy to answer every one of these questions directly before you decide whether we’re the right fit. Book a free consultation.