Companies sometimes are reluctant to outsource their marketing, and I don't blame them. It's hard to choose a marketing agency that will help you achieve your business goals. However, working with the right agency can make all the difference in helping your company grow and thrive.

But how do you choose the right agency to work with?

Well, in this post, I will share with you some things you need to consider when looking at the different options available.

But before I do that, let me tell you a little bit about my background so you know my perspective and why I’m giving you this advice.

My name is Jonathan Nuñez and I’m the CEO and Co-founder of The Marketing Project. We are a digital marketing agency that specializes in Q&A marketing. I’ve been leading marketing agencies for five years and I’ve worked with multiple agencies across different channels and verticals.

So, today I’ll share with you what I consider to be essential when choosing a marketing agency to work with.

Let’s get started.

1) Be clear on your business goals

Look for an agency that clearly matches your business goals. It sounds very simple but every agency is different so make sure the agency you choose clearly aligns with your objectives.

One thing that works well is jumping on a discovery call with the agency to get that information. Just make sure they know you are looking at different options so everyone knows what to expect and how to proceed.

2) Check past projects

Look for evidence of the agency’s success. This includes ROI, analytics, case studies, and other measurable outcomes on past projects. That way you’ll easily be able to choose an agency with a track record of success.

Also, you will be able to see if they’ve worked on similar projects and how they tackled them.

3) Seek transparency, responsibility, and open communication

Choose an agency that values transparency, responsiveness, responsibility, and maintains open channels for addressing questions and concerns.

One of the most important things when working with agencies is knowing that if something goes wrong, they’ll be honest about it, they will present you with an actionable plan to address the issue, and they will let you know what they’ll do to prevent it from happening again.

4) Seek experience and expertise

Look for is a team with the expertise and experience needed to differentiate your business.

This is especially important when you want to pivot the product or service you want to promote or when market conditions change, so keep that in mind.

This is actually something that happened to us when Russia invaded Ukraine. We were working with a company that didn’t want to be associated with Russia in any way so we had to adapt and move quickly to disassociate the company from the country altogether.

The problem was that we had already created over two hundred pieces of content for them so there was a lot of content we needed to update to remove any mention of Russia and the services they were providing in the territory.

It’s something that happens and you can’t foresee it. So you should work with an agency that is flexible and will be able to adapt to sudden changes.

5) Get detailed pricing information

Ask for information on their pricing structure and make sure the contract is straightforward and that there aren’t any hidden costs.

A lot of the time there are costs we don’t consider when working with an agency. For example, on top of the cost of their services, you may have to invest time and money reviewing content, jumping on calls, and things like that.

So just make sure you are aware of how much it will cost you on top of what you are already paying to complete the project.

6) Seek data driven agencies

The agency should use analytics to make informed decisions every step of the way. And this is especially important if you are doing PPC or you simply want to know if there’s been progress on your KPIs.

It’s quite basic but you’d be surprised by the amount of people who don’t mention it before working with an agency. And as a result, they end up having problems because the client’s expectations didn’t align with the agency’s vision.

7) Seek business growth

There should always be a strong emphasis on driving sustainable revenue growth for your business. It doesn’t matter what you choose to do, think about how you can track growth.

For example, if you are redesigning your homepage, have them A/B test options to focus on the landing page that performs best for lead generation or whatever goal you have.

Or if you are working on your SEO, keep track of ranking progress and revenues derived from organic search.

Just take the time to clearly define what you want and let the agency know so everyone is on the same page, and so they know how you define a successful project.

8) Request information on their onboarding process

Ask them what happens after you sign the contract. Every agency has a process they follow for onboarding clients so just ask them what that process looks like so you know in advance what you’ll have to do and how things will proceed.

My final thoughts

Look, at the end of the day, the key to hiring a good marketing agency is making sure they understand your business, your target audience, and your goals.

A good marketing agency will act as an extension of your team, providing strategic guidance and executing campaigns that drive results.

It’s that simple.

So just look at the different options you have available and choose an agency that you believe will help you achieve your business goals.