Know relevant questions to ask before you choose an advertising agency for your business.
If you've landed on this page, you probably want to partner with an expert advertising agency to promote your brand’s products or increase its awareness. Easy access to multiple agencies may make it challenging to choose the right advertising agency for your business. One of the best ways to refine your search and select the right fit is to enquire about various agencies about their services.
Why use an advertising agency?
An advertising agency (or creative agency) is a firm that takes care of some or all of the advertising tasks in your business, including ad creation, marketing, public relations, and communications. You may use an advertising agency if you lack internal resources and want to tap into the expertise of an agency with experience in your target market.
While many companies have an in-house advertising team promoting their products and/or services, others partner with an advertising agency to improve their market position faster. The best advertising agencies help you lure potential customers and convert them into paying customers. They also engage with existing customers to enhance your brand awareness, conversions, and sales.
A respected and experienced ad firm can bring fresh perspectives to your campaigns and allow you to devise new advertising concepts to remain ahead of your competitors. Partnering with such service providers can help you stay cost-efficient by enabling you to leverage new technologies, such as advanced analytics programs, that your business can't afford.
Searching for an advertising agency to hire for your business? We’ve got you covered. Check out our list of companies in the following areas:
How to choose an advertising agency
Companies often rush the agency selection process and underestimate the time it takes to find a partner.[1] Here’s what you should consider when choosing an advertising agency to avoid general mistakes.
1. Understand your business goals
Planning and aligning your short-and-long-term business objectives with your ad campaigns can help you choose the right advertising agency. For example, if you want to use a commercial to increase brand awareness, work with a company that can promote your ad on the channels and platforms that are most used by your target audience. If you aim to generate sales from a commercial, you should hire an ad firm to help you drive conversions by highlighting the demanding and attractive product features.
2. Create a list of potential providers
Learning how to choose an advertising agency involves lots of research. Start by Googling ad firms in your area and then expand your search to other locations. You should evaluate agencies based on price, years in the industry, and whether they offer specialist advertising services that benefit your organization. For example, an agency with experience in direct mail advertising can help you reach prospects who don't respond to digital ads. After considering various agencies, create a list of potential partners you can contact.
3. Create a questionnaire
You can create and share a common questionnaire with all potential advertising partners to ensure consistency. Think about how many questions you want to ask each potential partner. You may include open-ended questions in your survey to generate more insightful replies. These questions should be short and direct, so they don’t mislead the agencies. This will help you easily compare answers and select a provider that best suits your goals. It’s important to remember that your questionnaire aims to generate accurate responses from potential ad firms without confusing them.
Your questionnaire might include these questions:
What tools do you use?
How do you measure the success and ROI of your advertising budget?
What clients have you worked with in the past?
4. Decide when and how you will interview ad agencies
Consider when and how you will interview multiple providers on your list. For example, you might want to ask questions to a selection of advertising agencies over the phone, email, or video call. The survey process might take several days or weeks, depending on the availability of each agency.
5. Invite the best ad agencies to pitch their services
After asking questions to a selection of advertising agencies, you should compare your answers and whittle down your list to two or three ad firms. You can then ask these remaining companies to pitch their services directly to you via a second phone or video call. Ask them additional questions, such as ‘how do you accept payment?’ and ‘who should we contact in case of any issues?’ to help you finalize your selection.
Questions to ask an advertising agency
Most companies don't spend enough time getting to know a potential advertising agency partner before making their final decision.[2] Here are some popular questions to ask an advertising agency that can improve the selection process.
What tools do you use?
Ask providers what tools they use in their advertising agency and what they use them for. Some of these tools may help you further your campaigns with proven technologies and generate more successful advertising outcomes. Here are some tools that may prove beneficial.
Analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, Semrush, and HubSpot
Communication tools, such as Google Docs and Slack
Email marketing tools, such as Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign
Social media management tools, such as Hootsuite and TweetDeck
Agencies that use tried-and-tested tools are likely to improve the success of your advertising campaigns and generate more return on investment (ROI) from your advertising budget.
How do you measure the success and ROI of the advertising budget?
Every business needs to set aside a certain amount of money for their advertising campaigns. Advertising agencies measure the success and ROI of this advertising budget differently. An agency might use sales generated from your campaign to determine success. Another might use a metric like return on ad spend (ROAS), which compares the amount of revenue you make from your campaign to the amount of money you spend on it. This question will help you set the parameters for success when working with a third-party agency.
What advertising strategies do you implement, and how will you adapt them to our brand?
Ad agencies use specific advertising strategies to improve the effectiveness of their client's campaigns. These might include:
Email marketing: Sending marketing materials to prospects and customers through email.
Social media marketing: Promoting offerings on social platforms, such as Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
Search engine optimization (SEO): Improving the position of websites on search engine results pages.
Influencer marketing: Working with influencers on social media to increase awareness about your products and services.
Direct mail: Mailing marketing materials to prospects and customers.
How often should I expect reports, and what should they include?
Ad agencies must keep you updated about your ad campaigns and the results they generate. Asking how frequently you will receive reports indicates how communicative an ad agency will be if you work with them.
Agencies should give you regular reports with data visualizations, such as charts and graphs, to track vital advertising insights. An agency that gives you a vague answer to this question may not be able to provide you with the required advertising insights.
Can I see the results from clients you've worked with?
Many ad firms post testimonials from previous clients on their websites, helping you learn how to choose an advertising agency. However, you might want to see more in-depth information, such as case studies and success stories. Any good agency will be able to provide this information. If it doesn't, it might suggest the company has little experience in the advertising sector and won't be able to achieve your goals.
What personalizations does your company have in advertising?
This question lets you gauge whether an advertising agency will customize its services to your needs. For example, an ad company might personalize its search engine marketing to your specific region, helping you promote products and services in your local market. The best ad firms understand that clients are different and require specific services. If a company adapts a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to advertising, you might want to cross it off your list.
How to get more effective results from interviews with ad agencies
Asking ad firms multiple questions about their services will help you learn how to choose an advertising agency that's right for your business. To make the most out of your interview, you should learn about the different types of ad agencies and tailor your questions according to the advertising agency you require, whether a creative ad agency, social media ad agency, or some other type.