By Sara Nay, CEO at Duct Tape Marketing
If you’re hiring a marketing agency or fractional CMO, these 10 questions will help you evaluate their priorities, processes, and how they treat clients before signing any contract.
Recently, I spoke with two small business owners who reminded me why this topic matters. One is locked into a three-year, $8,000/month SEO contract they barely understand. Another pays $10,000/month for Google Ads but doesn’t even own their ad account. Small businesses deserve better. This post is about helping you take back control of your marketing.
The best marketing agencies for small businesses lead with transparency, strategic thinking, and collaboration; not just tactical deliverables and fancy metrics. If they can’t answer these questions clearly, keep looking.
10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring A Marketing Agency:
- Who Owns My Accounts and Data?
- How Do You Define Success?
- How Do You Connect Tactics to Strategy?
- What Happens If I Want to End the Contract?
- Who Will I Work With Day to Day?
- Can I See a Sample Report?
- How Do You Use AI vs. Human Expertise?
- How Will You Collaborate With My Team?
- What’s Your Strategy Process?
- Will You Teach Me Along the Way?
1. Who Owns My Accounts and Data?
Red flag: If it’s not you, walk away.
When outsourcing your marketing, your ad accounts, CRM, analytics, and email lists should always remain your intellectual property.
If an agency insists on creating everything under their own logins or refuses to give you full access, that’s not a partnership.
Why it matters: If you ever want to transition providers or bring things in-house, you shouldn’t have to start from scratch or lose years of data.
Pro tip: Insist on setting up your own accounts and giving the agency access, not the other way around.
A good place to start for ensuring account ownership:
- Google Ads: The advertiser should have admin on the ad account and grant the agency access through a manager (MCC). Ownership access can be revoked by unlinking. Google Help
- Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram): Your business should own the Meta Business Suite and ad accounts and the agency should be a partner, not the account owner.
- Analytics: Create the GA4 account under your legal entity. The account owns the data for its properties. Google Help
- Reporting: Require direct logins and exportable reports. No screenshots only.
- Contracts: Spell out who owns creative, ad accounts, audiences, and CRM lists.
2. How Do You Define Success, and How Often Do We Review It?
Red flag: They focus on clicks, impressions, or follower counts without tying those numbers to business outcomes.
At Duct Tape Marketing, we call these vanity metrics. They make a report look good, but they don’t move the needle for your business.
A good partner defines success around outcomes that matter to your business: qualified leads, consistent sales, and customer lifetime value. They also review results with you on a regular schedule so you can make smart adjustments together.
So, what should you actually track? Here’s an example of what that might look like;
- Top of the Marketing Hourglass (Know, Like, Trust): Focus on visibility and awareness. Measure where your visitors come from, which channels drive organic growth, and how your brand presence is expanding.
- Middle of the Marketing Hourglass (Try, Buy): Pay attention to engagement and conversion activity. Track which campaigns or channels generate leads, form submissions, or meaningful interactions, not just website traffic.
- Bottom of the Marketing Hourglass (Repeat, Refer): Connect marketing activity to sales and retention. Watch metrics like customer acquisition cost, repeat purchases, referrals, and overall profitability to see which efforts deliver real results.
When your metrics reflect business goals, you can see what’s working, what’s not, and where to focus next and you don’t need a PhD to analyze it.
3. How Do You Connect Tactics to Strategy?
Red flag: They can’t explain how a blog post or an ad campaign fits into a broader plan.
Too many marketers sell tasks: a new website, a funnel, or social media management. But without a strategy, it’s just noise.
A strong partner will bridge the gap between strategic marketing vs tactical marketing, ensuring every tactic supports a defined business goal.
4. What Happens If I Want to End the Contract?
Red flag: Long lock-in periods, high cancellation fees, or vague off-boarding processes.
One of the biggest marketing agency red flags is unclear cancellation policies or hidden off-boarding fees. Transparency should be the baseline. A confident, experienced marketing partner will make it easy to part ways and won’t hold your business hostage.
Ask this question early and get the answer in writing. A fair agreement should include:
- A clear termination clause that outlines how and when either party can end the contract.
- Reasonable notice terms (for example, 30 days) so both sides can plan for a smooth transition.
- Defined deliverables and ownership rights that make it clear you retain access to your data, creative assets, and marketing platforms.
- An off-boarding process that covers the handoff of accounts, passwords, and ongoing campaigns.
- No excessive penalties for ending the relationship before the renewal date.
The goal is mutual accountability, not restriction. A trustworthy partner should be confident enough in their results to let you walk away without unnecessary barriers. It’s best to do month to month or quarterly contract lengths if possible.
5. Who Will I Actually Work With Day to Day?
Red flag: The senior strategist who sold you on the engagement disappears after the deal is signed.
You deserve to know who’s executing your marketing and how much experience they have. When working with a marketing agency, make sure the strategist you meet during sales is the same one managing your account.
Request an introduction to your actual account manager or strategist before you commit.
6. Can I See a Sample of Your Reporting?
Red flag: They avoid showing real reports or only offer screenshots.
You don’t need to be a data analyst, but you do need reporting that makes sense to you.
If the data is too complex, irrelevant, or unclear then you won’t use it.
Clear, actionable marketing performance reporting is non-negotiable; you deserve reports you can actually understand and use.
7. How Do You Use AI, and What’s Still Human-Led?
Red flag: Either extreme from “We use no AI” to “Everything is automated.”
AI is here to stay, and good marketers use AI to amplify strategic thinking not replace it.
Ask directly: how agencies use AI in marketing and remember a balanced partner blends automation with human insight for smarter execution.
Ask how they use AI tools for research, content, or analysis, and how they maintain a human, strategic oversight.
8. How Will You Collaborate With My Team?
Red flag: They operate in a silo or treat your internal team as an afterthought.
Your marketing partner should integrate with your team; whether it’s your sales staff, internal designers, or customer service reps.
Look for someone who values collaboration, communication, and clarity.
9. What’s Your Process for Creating Strategy Before Execution?
Red flag: They jump straight into tactics without a clear process for discovery, positioning, and planning.
At Duct Tape Marketing, strategy always comes first. Building a marketing strategy with any strategic agency should always start with identifying ideal clients, brand messaging, and the customer journey before any tactics begin.
If a partner skips this, they’re selling execution, not results.
You can ask them to walk you through their idea of a marketing strategy step-by -step, use the marketing strategy pyramid to help guide you.
10. What Will You Teach Me Along the Way?
Red flag: They want to keep you in the dark, making you more dependent over time.
Great partners make you smarter. They help you understand what’s working, why it’s working, and how to think more strategically about your business.
This doesn’t mean doing it all yourself. But it does mean being in control and informed.
Let’s Raise the Standard
The marketing industry has a transparency problem. Too often, small businesses are left wondering what they’re paying for or worse, feeling trapped in relationships that don’t serve them.
But if more business owners start asking these 10 questions, the industry will have no choice but to level up.
You deserve a partner who leads with strategy, acts with integrity, and delivers not just the results you want but clarity on what those results mean to you.
Before you sign your next contract, print these questions out. Bring them to the call. Watch how the answers shift your confidence and your clarity.
Want a Proven Process That Puts Strategy First?
That’s what we do every day at Duct Tape Marketing.
If you’re looking for a simple, practical, and effective system, we’re here. Let’s talk.
Learn More About Our Strategy First Engagement
FAQs
Why are these questions important for small business owners?
Because marketing can easily become a black box.
These questions are designed to bring clarity and control back to the business owner ensuring you get results, not just a flurry of activity.
What if a marketing partner can’t answer some of these questions?
That’s a red flag. The best partners have thought deeply about their process, reporting, collaboration, and strategy.
If they fumble or avoid these topics, it may reflect a lack of experience or transparency.
How often should I revisit these questions once I’ve hired someone?
Ideally, during quarterly reviews. These questions don’t just help you choose a partner they will help you manage that relationship over time.
Is it okay to ask these before even having a discovery call?
Yes; in fact, we recommend it. Share them ahead of time or use them as part of your vetting process.
A serious, confident provider will welcome them.
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