10 Most Important Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Marketing Company

Why Asking The Right Questions Protects Your Business

Choosing the right partner to amplify your work is one of the most important business decisions you will make. That’s why we’ve collected the most important questions to ask before hiring a marketing company.

The right agency can fuel growth, but the wrong one can drain your budget and momentum. Asking the right questions up front helps you avoid common pitfalls and ensures you partner with an agency that understands your goals.

1. How Much Do Marketing Agencies Charge?

Marketing agency costs range widely, from hundreds to thousands of dollars per month. The key is understanding what is included—strategy, ad spend, reporting, and creative assets—and making sure you own the accounts you are paying for. Lack of clarity here often leads to overspending.

👉 Read more: How Much Do Marketing Agencies Charge?

2. How Do I Know If I Am Overspending On Marketing?

Overspending usually happens when spend is disconnected from results. You should measure ROI by booked jobs and cost per lead, not by vanity metrics like clicks. If your spend grows but your results stay flat, you may be overpaying for activity rather than outcomes.

👉 Read more: How Do I Know If I Am Overspending On Marketing?

3. How Important Is Industry Knowledge In Marketing?

An agency that understands home service businesses can shorten your path to results. They know seasonality, service area targeting, and how platforms like ServiceTitan shape your operations. Without that context, you may end up paying to train your agency on the basics.

👉 Read more: How Important Is Industry Knowledge In Marketing For Home Service Businesses?

4. How Do I Know If An Agency Is The Right Fit?

Fit goes beyond numbers. The right partner communicates clearly, educates rather than sells, and scales with your growth. If the relationship feels like pulling teeth early on, it rarely gets better.

👉 Read more: How Do I Know If LeadsNearby Is The Right Fit For Me?

5. Why Do Clients Leave Marketing Agencies?

The most common reasons are lack of transparency, poor communication, and little evidence of results. A trustworthy agency will be upfront about client churn and explain what they do to prevent it.

👉 Read more: Why Do Clients Leave A Marketing Agency?

6. Are There Affordable Alternatives To Big Platforms Like ServiceTitan?

Sometimes, the right marketing tools are just as important as the right strategy. Many home service companies find they can get comparable features at lower cost by considering alternatives. A strong marketing partner should be able to advise you on these options.

👉 Read more: 4 Affordable ServiceTitan Alternatives

7. What Happens If I Want To Leave?

Before you sign a contract, clarify ownership. Do you keep your website, ad accounts, call tracking numbers, and creative files? Or does the agency lock them behind their platform?

Fair agencies provide clean exit paths: transferable logins, exportable reports, and no surprises in the fine print.

👉 Tip: Always ask: “If I walk away tomorrow, what do I own?” If the answer is “nothing,” that’s a red flag.

8. Who Will Actually Work On My Account?

Some agencies put senior strategists on the sales call, then hand your account to juniors after you sign. Others provide a clear structure with account managers, strategists, and specialists you can meet.

Ask to meet your actual team before committing. The people you’ll work with day to day matter more than the pitch deck.

👉 Tip: Look for transparency. The right agency introduces your working team up front—not just the “closer.”

9. How Will Success Be Measured?

Success is not clicks or impressions—it’s jobs booked, revenue gained, and customers retained.

The right agency will connect metrics directly to business outcomes: cost per lead, cost per job, or lifetime customer value. They’ll show how marketing spend ties back to your bottom line.

👉 Tip: Demand a dashboard or reporting system that measures *your* definition of success, not just what’s easy for the agency to track.

10. Can I Talk To Your Clients?

Case studies are polished. References are real.

Ask for direct conversations with clients in businesses like yours. They’ll tell you what the pitch can’t—how responsive the agency is, how results hold up, and whether they’d hire them again.

👉 Tip: If an agency won’t provide references, think twice. The best firms have long-standing clients who are happy to vouch for them.

Take The Next Step With Confidence

These questions protect your business from wasted spend and weak partnerships. If you want clear, honest answers from a team that understands home service marketing, we’re here to help. Schedule a call with our team today and find out how the right fit feels.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: October 2025