What to decide before you shortlist
Most agency choices go wrong before the first call, because the brand has not decided what it is buying. Settle three things first, and every pitch becomes easier to compare.
- The goal: more orders, more qualified leads, more enrolments or a better website, in one sentence.
- The number that proves it: contribution margin per order, cost per qualified lead or cost per admission, not clicks or followers.
- The budget and its owner: what you can spend on fees and on ad media, and who in your business signs off on both.
Seven questions to ask any agency
Ask every agency on your list the same questions, and write down the answers. Specific answers are a good sign; general ones are not.
- Who will actually do the work?Meet the people who will run your account, not only the people who pitch it. Ask how many other accounts they handle.
- What are you measured on?Look for an answer in your business's terms: profit, qualified leads or enrolments. Platform ROAS and impressions are not enough.
- What proof do you have in our category?Ask for work you can see, for brands like yours. A case study you can visit is worth more than a logo wall.
- How will you report to us?Ask to see a sample report. It should start from your real orders or leads, then explain what changed and why.
- What does the contract say about leaving?Check the notice period, what happens to work in progress and what you get back on exit.
- Who owns the ad accounts and data?Your business should own the ad accounts, pixels, analytics and domain, with the agency added as a partner.
- How are fees and ad spend split?Ask what the fee covers, whether ad spend is paid to the platforms directly, and whether any media is marked up.
Specialist or full-service agency?
A specialist agency does one thing, such as Google Ads, SEO or Shopify builds, and suits a brand with one clear gap and an in-house team to join the pieces together.
A full-service agency runs several channels as one plan, and suits a brand whose ads, website, creative and follow-up need to move together. The test is the same either way: one named person should answer for the number you chose, and you should know who does each part of the work.
How agency fees work
Agencies price in a few common ways. None is right for everyone; what matters is that the model rewards the result you want. We describe the models here without figures, because fees depend on scope.
| Model | How it works | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed monthly retainer | A set fee each month for an agreed scope. | What is in the scope, and how changes are priced. |
| Share of ad spend | The fee is a share of what you spend on media. | Whether the agency gains from raising spend that does not pay back. |
| Hybrid | A base fee, plus a share of spend above a set level. | Where the threshold sits and what the base fee covers. |
| Project fee | One price for a defined piece of work, such as a website. | What counts as done, and the cost of changes after sign-off. |
| Performance-linked | Part of the fee depends on an agreed result. | Who measures the result, and whether the target is in your terms. |
Common fee models for digital marketing agencies
Free calculatorBreak-even ROAS calculatorTry it: work out your break-even ROAS, then ask each agency how they would beat it.Red flags to watch for
- Guaranteed rankings, a guaranteed ROAS or a promised number of leads. No one controls search engines or ad auctions.
- The agency, not you, owns the ad accounts, pixels or domain.
- Reports full of impressions, reach and clicks, with nothing on orders, qualified leads or enrolments.
- A senior team at the pitch and someone else on the account.
- Ad spend billed through the agency with an unclear mark-up.
- Long lock-in contracts with no clear exit or handover terms.
A checklist you can print
Use this on every agency you speak to, including us.
- We know our goal, our number and our budget owner.
- We have met the people who will do the work.
- The agency is measured on our number, in our terms.
- We have seen real work in our category.
- We have seen a sample report that starts from our orders or leads.
- We own the ad accounts, pixels, analytics and domain.
- We know what the fee covers and how ad spend is paid.
- We have read the notice period and exit terms.
- No one has guaranteed a ranking or a ROAS.
What a good first month looks like
The first month tells you a lot about the next twelve. A good agency asks for access early, reads your accounts and your costs before changing anything, and writes down the baseline it will be judged against.
By the end of the month you should have a short plan in plain language: what they found, what they will change first and why, and how you will see whether it worked. If the first month is spent on a brand deck or a long list of tasks with no order, ask what will change in your number and when.
Use the checklist on us
Monday Marketing Company is a digital marketing agency in India for D2C, B2B and education brands, so this guide applies to us too. Ask us the seven questions on a call, and judge the answers the same way.
If you already run ads, a free paid-media audit is a practical test: a senior strategist reads your accounts against your break-even numbers and tells you where they would start. You can see how we run performance marketing and SEO services before you book.
