Top 10 Questions to Ask a Marketing Agency Before Signing On
As a marketing director or manager, you’ve been entrusted with the critical task of selecting a marketing agency. Whether your team is running lean and needs additional support, your company is undergoing a bold digital transformation, or you’re spearheading a specific project post-restructuring, the pressure to choose the right partner is immense. Multiple stakeholders, each with unique concerns, are looking to you for assurance that the chosen agency will meet diverse expectations. Amidst the overwhelming array of options, how do you filter the noise and make an informed decision? The key lies in asking insightful questions that reveal an agency’s true capabilities and alignment with your objectives.
In this guide, we’ll share the most important questions to ask a marketing agency, why they matter, and what to listen for in their answers. These questions will help you find a partner who
aligns with your vision
delivers results
makes you look like a rockstar in the process
QUESTION #1
What Is Your Experience With HubSpot, and How Do You Leverage the Ecosystem?
Why Ask This?
HubSpot’s ecosystem is vast, offering tools for marketing, sales, customer service, and operations. Working with a certified HubSpot Partner ensures you’re tapping into advanced features and exclusive resources, enabling a more efficient and impactful strategy. Take it a step further by seeking out HubSpot Elite Partners – marketing agencies trusted by HubSpot to hold the highest levels of expertise and provide the best quality service.
What to Look For:
Agencies should outline their certifications, experience across HubSpot’s tools, and examples of how they’ve used the platform to achieve measurable results for clients. They should also explain their tier status (Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Elite) and how it reflects their expertise without overemphasizing it. HubSpot accreditations are also a great way to source the best marketing agencies for specific projects, such as onboarding, integrations, or training.
QUESTION #2
How Will You Customize Solutions to Match Our Business Needs?
Why Ask This?
Your business is unique, and cookie-cutter solutions won’t deliver the results you need. A capable partner will create tailored strategies, ensuring HubSpot’s tools are configured to meet your specific goals and workflows.
Customization should go beyond surface-level tweaks; it should involve a deep understanding of your sales process, marketing funnel, and customer journey. Ask how the agency plans to assess your needs. Will they conduct discovery sessions, analyze existing data, or interview key stakeholders? Their approach should be collaborative, ensuring that automation, CRM configurations, and reporting align with your long-term objectives. Be wary of agencies that rely solely on prebuilt templates or generic strategies without first learning about your business.
What to Look For:
Examples of customized solutions like CRM setups, targeted campaigns, or integrations with existing systems (e.g., ERP or e-commerce platforms). Their response should reflect their ability to scale solutions as your business grows.
QUESTION #3
How Do You Approach Onboarding and Initial Implementation?
Why Ask This?
The first 90 days with an agency often set the tone for your partnership. A clear onboarding process ensures alignment, minimizes confusion, and accelerates time-to-value.
A strong agency should provide a roadmap with clear milestones, regular check-ins, and transparent communication to keep everything on track. If an agency lacks a structured onboarding process or struggles to explain their approach, it could lead to delays, misalignment, and a frustrating experience.
What to Look For:
Details about their onboarding framework, including discovery sessions, goal-setting workshops, and setup timelines. Experienced agencies will focus on understanding your business and delivering early wins.
QUESTION #4
How Do You Measure Success, and What Metrics Will You Report?
Why Ask This?
Tracking meaningful KPIs is critical to understanding ROI. An agency focused on vanity metrics like impressions or clicks may lack the strategic depth needed to drive real business outcomes. Ask how they determine which KPIs matter most to your business and how frequently they provide reports. They should offer clear, actionable insights rather than just data dumps, helping you understand what’s working and where adjustments are needed.
What to Look For:
Look for a focus on metrics like lead quality, customer acquisition cost, and conversion rates. Their reporting should be transparent, actionable, and aligned with your specific goals. Look for an agency that not only tracks performance but also proactively optimizes campaigns based on results.
QUESTION #5
Who Will Be Managing My Account and Doing the Work?
Why Ask This?
Your campaign’s success depends on the people behind it. Knowing who’s responsible ensures you can build trust and establish clear communication. The best agencies provide direct access to the experts handling your strategy, rather than keeping you at arm’s length with a rotating list of contacts. Understanding who will be involved allows you to set expectations, ensure continuity, and avoid miscommunication down the line.
What to Look For:
Transparency about team structure and introductions to key players. Clarify whether work is done in-house or outsourced and what processes are in place to maintain quality and accountability.
QUESTION #6
What Resources and Exclusive Tools Do You Offer as an Accredited Partner?
Why Ask This?
Accredited HubSpot partners like Vonazon have demonstrated a deeper level of expertise in specific areas, such as CRM implementation, and have access to exclusive tools, resources, and training from HubSpot. These accreditations aren’t just badges—they’re proof of an agency’s ability to deliver exceptional results in complex scenarios.
An agency’s accreditations reflect their specialized capabilities and commitment to excellence. Partners with CRM Implementation Accreditation, for example, are uniquely qualified to handle migrations, system integrations, and custom CRM setups, ensuring a seamless transition and long-term success.
What to Look For:
Ask how the agency’s accreditations translate into benefits for your business. For instance, Vonazon’s CRM Implementation Accreditation signals their ability to handle advanced configurations, data migrations, and integrations that maximize your HubSpot investment. Look for specific examples of how they’ve applied their expertise to accelerate results and improve efficiency for clients.
QUESTION #7
How Do You Communicate and Collaborate With Clients?
Why Ask This?
Miscommunication can derail even the best campaigns. A clear and consistent communication process ensures everyone stays aligned and progress remains on track. Without an established workflow for updates, approvals, and feedback, projects can stall, priorities can become unclear, and results can suffer. The right agency will set clear expectations on how often they check in, how they handle revisions, and who you can reach out to for quick questions or strategic discussions.
What to Look For:
Details about meeting cadences, communication tools (e.g., Slack, Asana, HubSpot), and how feedback is handled. Ask if they provide regular reports, scheduled strategy calls, or real-time project updates to keep everything moving smoothly. A strong marketing agency emphasizes collaboration, ensuring your team is actively involved and that adjustments can be made as needed.
QUESTION #8
Can You Provide Case Studies or Examples of Past Success?
Why Ask This?
Case studies and client testimonials provide proof of an agency’s ability to deliver real results. While a great pitch might sound convincing, past success stories show whether an agency has the experience and expertise to back up its claims. Reviewing case studies can help you assess their strategic approach, problem-solving skills, and ability to drive measurable improvements in areas that matter to your business.
What to Look For:
Specific, measurable outcomes from clients with similar challenges to yours. Strong agencies will confidently share examples and highlight their impact, detailing not just the strategies used but also the tangible results achieved – such as increased lead generation, higher conversion rates, or improved operational efficiency. Be cautious of agencies that rely on vague success stories or general statements without data to support them.
QUESTION #9
What Happens If We’re Not Satisfied With the Work?
Why Ask This?
Even the best partnerships can encounter challenges, whether it’s misaligned expectations, underwhelming results, or unforeseen roadblocks, it’s important to know how an agency will handle dissatisfaction before you commit.
What to Look For:
A clear conflict resolution process, flexibility for revisions, and transparent terms in contracts. Look for agencies committed to accountability. A strong agency will be open about how they manage client feedback and make adjustments to improve outcomes.
Avoid agencies that dismiss concerns or lock clients into rigid, long-term contracts without performance guarantees. A true partner is committed to accountability, proactive problem-solving, and continuous improvement to keep your business on track.
QUESTION #10
How Will You Ensure Our Solutions Scale With Our Growth?
Why Ask This?
Your business will evolve, and your HubSpot tools and strategies need to grow with it. What works today may not be enough as your company expands, adds new services, or enters new markets. A forward-thinking agency ensures you’re prepared for what’s next.
What to Look For:
Plans for scalable solutions, like flexible CRM configurations or adaptable marketing strategies. Agencies should demonstrate their ability to future-proof your investment. Ask how they approach long-term growth planning – do they offer periodic system audits, strategy refreshes, or proactive recommendations as your needs change? A strong agency should demonstrate their ability to future-proof your investment by implementing flexible, data-driven solutions that continue to deliver value as your business scales.
Turn Leads into Loyal Customers
The agency you choose will directly impact your success with HubSpot and beyond. With these questions to ask a marketing agency, you can identify a partner who aligns with your goals, prioritizes transparency, and delivers measurable results. Take the time to dig deeper—your future marketing success depends on it.
At Vonazon, we specialize in helping businesses maximize their investment in HubSpot with customized strategies, seamless implementation, and ongoing support. Our team takes a consultative approach, ensuring that every solution is tailored to your specific needs and scalable for future growth. Whether you’re just getting started with HubSpot or looking to optimize your existing setup, we’re here to help you drive real results.
Let’s talk about how we can support your success, contact us today.
