How to choose a marketing agency for your startup: 10 questions

Most agency pitches sound the same. The differences show up in the answers to specific questions. Here are the ten worth asking, what a good answer sounds like, and when to walk away.

How do you choose a marketing agency?

Judge the people, the scope, the number and the exit. Portfolios and case studies matter less than who will do the work on your account and what they're held to. The ten questions below cover all four.

What questions should you ask a marketing agency?

1. Who will actually run my account?

Get names and roles for the people doing the weekly work. A good answer names a senior person who'll be on your calls. A bad answer is "our team."

2. What do I get each month?

Ask for deliverables in writing: how many new ads, emails, pages and tests. "Ongoing optimization" isn't a deliverable.

3. Which number do you answer to?

The best answer is revenue-based: MER (total revenue divided by total marketing spend), CPA or new customer revenue. Clicks, impressions and platform ROAS alone are easy to inflate.

4. What results have you driven for brands like mine?

Ask for a result with a number and a timeframe, in a similar category or price point. Verified reviews, like those on Clutch, count for more than logos on a slide.

5. How do you charge, and what does it cost at double my spend?

Get the fee model and run it forward. A 15% fee on $10,000 is $1,500; on $40,000 it's $6,000. See agency pricing models for how each one scales.

6. What's the minimum term and the notice period?

Month-to-month or a 30-day notice period is the startup-friendly answer. Six- and twelve-month lock-ins protect the agency.

7. Who owns the ad accounts, pixels and data?

You should. Accounts should live in your business manager with the agency added as a partner, so nothing is lost if you part ways.

8. How do the channels work together?

If ads, SEO and email are run by different teams that don't share data, each one will claim the same sales. Ask who looks at the whole picture.

9. What will you do in the first 30 days?

A good answer is specific: a tracking audit, a first round of tests, fixes to the biggest leaks. A vague answer means a slow start.

10. When would you tell me you're not the right fit?

An agency that can name its bad-fit clients is being honest with you. One that says it can help everyone isn't.

What does a good answer look like?

Question	Good answer	Red flag
Who runs the account?	Named senior person on weekly calls	"Our team," or a new junior each quarter
What's delivered?	Written monthly list of ads, emails, tests	"Ongoing optimization"
Which number?	MER, CPA, new customer revenue	Impressions, clicks, platform ROAS only
Term?	Month-to-month or 30 days' notice	6–12 month lock-in
Ownership?	Accounts in your name, agency as partner	Accounts in the agency's name

What are the biggest red flags?

• Guaranteed results, like "3x ROAS in 60 days."
• No published pricing and a quote that changes after the call.
• Reports full of activity with no revenue number.
• Ad accounts created in the agency's name.
• Pressure to sign a long contract before any results.

How much should you expect to pay?

$2,000–$10,000 a month covers most startup needs, depending on how many channels you want. For the full ranges, see what a growth marketing agency costs in 2026. Wadabu publishes its prices: $2,000 a month per service, or $5,000 for all four, month-to-month.

Final thoughts

Pick the agency whose answers are specific: named people, written deliverables, one revenue number and an easy exit. For what an agency should be doing once you've hired it, see what a marketing agency actually does. To put Wadabu through these ten questions, book a call.

Frequently asked questions

How do I choose a marketing agency for my startup?

Choose a marketing agency based on who will run the account, what gets delivered each month in writing, which revenue number it answers to, and how easily the contract can be ended. Relevant results with numbers and timeframes matter more than logos or awards.

What questions should I ask a marketing agency before hiring?

Ask who runs the account, what's delivered monthly, which number the agency answers to, what results it has driven for similar brands, how the fee scales with spend, the minimum term, who owns the ad accounts and data, and what happens in the first 30 days.

What are red flags when hiring a marketing agency?

Red flags include guaranteed results, no published pricing, reports without revenue numbers, ad accounts created in the agency's name, junior staff running the account after a senior pitch, and pressure to sign a 6–12 month contract before any results.

Should a startup sign a long-term contract with a marketing agency?

Usually not. Month-to-month terms or a 30-day notice period let a startup leave if results don't show up. Long lock-ins mainly protect the agency's revenue. Wadabu runs every service month-to-month.

Written by Andrew Zam, Founder of Wadabu, a digital marketing agency and fractional growth team for consumer-brand startups.