How To Hire a Marketing Agency: A Step-By-Step Guide for 2025 (+ Free Vetting Template)
Summary
- How do you hire a marketing agency from start to finish? Follow a structured path. Set SMART goals, assess budget and capacity, shortlist and issue RFPs, compare pricing and score proposals, then run a 60–90 day pilot and finalize the contract.
- What should you look for when evaluating agencies? Verify factors like industry experience, transparent pricing, clear reporting cadences, that services fit your needs, and documented results.
- What are the major red flags to avoid? No case studies or reviews, vague service descriptions, hidden pricing, overpromising guarantees, and poor communication—remove these from your shortlist.
- When should you hire, and how will you measure success? Hire when goals outpace in-house capacity or expertise—set KPIs tied to leads, revenue, and ROI, require monthly reporting, and track outcomes against targets.
Have you recently found yourself wondering how to hire a marketing agency? If so, you’re probably very familiar with the numerous factors you have to consider when browsing agency options. From vetting agencies to determining which ones align with your marketing goals, hiring a marketing firm for your business is no simple task.
That’s why today we’re teaching you how to hire a marketing company by sharing some helpful tips, including:
- How to hire a marketing firm: 5 tips for success
- Step-by-step guide to hiring a marketing agency in 2025
- Benefits of hiring a marketing firm
- What to do before hiring a marketing firm
- When should I hire a marketing agency?
- FAQs about hiring a marketing agency
Keep reading to learn more, or contact us online to learn more about WebFX’s digital marketing services!
How to hire a marketing firm: 5 tips for success
So, you’ve come to the conclusion that’s it’s time to hire a marketing firm — congrats! Now comes the fun part: narrowing down your options until you end up with the perfect agency for your business.
So, how do you determine which marketing company is best for your business?
Check out these five tips to help you hire a marketing agency that fits your business:
- Explore the agency’s services
- Evaluate their experience
- Consider pricing
- Find out how they report results
- Look at their past results
P.S. Need help keeping track of information about different agencies as you narrow your search? Use our free marketing agency research template to help you stay organized!
Download Now: Free Marketing Agency Research Template
1. Explore the agency’s services
When researching digital marketing companies, you want to look at what services they offer. If you have your strategies of interest in mind, you can narrow down your list to companies that provide your services.
There are full-service digital marketing companies out there, but there are also companies that only specialize in one or two areas. Generally, choosing a full-service agency is best because you can keep your marketing in one place if you decide to expand beyond your original strategies.
2. Evaluate their experience
Along with looking at the services each agency offers, be sure to evaluate each firm’s overall experience. An established agency can provide you the peace of mind that you’ve hired a marketing firm that knows their stuff and can help you achieve your marketing goals. Better yet, they can do so efficiently.
When hiring a digital marketing firm, you can also look at whether the agency has experience working with clients in your industry. Know that the agency understands your business and what it takes to successfully market to audiences within your unique industry is a huge benefit to you and your team. Not only are you working with professional marketers with experience, but you’re working with people experiences in your industry.
3. Consider pricing
Once you’ve determined a marketing company offers the services you need, you’ll want to look at their pricing. You can narrow down your list by focusing on companies that have reasonable prices and fit with your budget.
Your prior research on these strategies will help you tremendously, as you can determine if the cost of services aligns with the average price. It can help you avoid companies that overcharge for their services.
This step can be challenging, though, because many companies don’t publish their prices online. They require you to contact them and get a quote. This process is time-consuming and makes it difficult to comparison shop.
That’s why it’s recommended that you stick to transparent marketing agencies. These agencies publish their prices and packages online, so you know what you’re getting and how much it costs. It helps you make more informed decisions without having to wait on someone to respond to you.
4. Find out how they report results
One of the most important aspects to look at with hiring a marketing company is reporting. If you’re investing money into digital marketing services, you want to know what’s going on with your campaign. As you vet different companies, look for evidence that they offer reporting.
Many companies offer weekly, monthly, or/and quarterly reporting — at a bare minimum, you want to get monthly reporting. You can typically find this information listed in their service packages, so if they don’t publish their packages online, you may need to contact and ask them.
If a marketing agency doesn’t mention anything about reporting, you’ll want to cross them off the list.
5. Look at their past results
The last item we’ll touch upon for hiring a marketing firm is results. When you choose a marketing partner, you want to work with one that will help your business flourish online. That means focusing on companies that have a record of driving results.
You’ll want to thoroughly comb your marketing company’s site to see if they publish results on their page. You can look for portfolios or case studies to help you find more evidence of their work. Generally, it’s good to know what they’re capable of doing for your business.
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Step-by-step guide to hiring a marketing agency in 2025
The five tips above give you a solid starting point to hire a marketing agency that aligns with your goals. But if you want a more structured approach (one you can share with stakeholders or use to compare agencies side by side), follow this step-by-step guide.
Step 1: Define SMART goals
Set specific, measurable goals like “increase SQLs 25% in six months” instead of vague ones like “get more leads.” Clear goals let you align agency proposals with your expected outcomes.
Step 2: Assess your constraints
Know your budget range, approval timelines, and in-house capacity. This keeps you realistic about scope and avoids overcommitting when you start hiring a marketing firm.
Step 3: Shortlist 5–7 agencies
Research firms with proven industry fit, transparency, and documented results. A strong marketing company should have case studies, reviews, and a clear process for reporting results.
Red flags to avoid when shortlisting:
- No case studies or reviews: Lack of social proof makes results hard to verify.
- Vague service descriptions: “Full-service marketing” with no specifics is a warning sign.
- Hidden pricing: Agencies that refuse to discuss budget ranges early on may lack transparency.
- Overpromising guarantees: Claims like “we guarantee #1 rankings” are unrealistic and misleading.
- Poor communication upfront: Slow replies or unclear answers during the sales process often continue post-signing.
By filtering for both positive signals and red flags, you’ll build a shortlist of agencies you can trust before moving to proposals.
Step 4: Issue a request for proposal (RFP)
Ask shortlisted agencies to provide a detailed request for proposal (RFP). A clear, consistent RFP makes it easier to compare firms side by side.
What to include in your RFP:
- Scope of work: The specific services and campaigns included.
- Deliverables and timelines: What you’ll get and when (by week, month, or quarter).
- Reporting cadence: How often results will be shared and in what format (dashboards, PDFs, meetings).
- Pricing structure: Fees, inclusions/exclusions, and any additional costs.
By standardizing your RFPs, you’ll get apples-to-apples proposals that make evaluating agencies faster and more objective.
Step 5: Compare pricing models
When you hire a marketing agency, you’ll encounter different pricing models. Each has trade-offs, so knowing the pros and cons helps you choose the one that aligns with your goals and budget.
| Pricing model | Pros | Cons |
| Retainer | Predictable monthly costs; strong long-term alignment; easier to scale across multiple services | Higher upfront commitment; less flexibility for short-term or one-off needs |
| Project-based | Clear scope and deliverables; best for one-off needs like a website build or audit | Harder to extend into ongoing work; may require re-contracting for future projects |
| Hourly | Flexible; transparent for small tasks or troubleshooting | Costs can spike if projects run long; ROI is harder to predict |
| Performance or hybrid | Fees tied to outcomes like leads or sales; incentivizes agency accountability | Results definitions can be tricky; may push focus to short-term wins over long-term growth |
Knowing how a marketing company bills will help you avoid scope creep and align expectations. Confirm in writing how the agency defines success, charges for extra work, and handles scope changes to prevent surprises and keep your pricing model ROI-focused.
Step 6: Score proposals with a decision matrix
Not all agencies look the same on paper. That’s why using a decision matrix helps you compare them objectively. Assign a 1–5 score for each factor, then multiply it by the weight you’ve given that factor. The higher the total, the stronger the fit.
Here’s a sample framework you can adapt:
| Factor | Weight | Notes |
| Strategy quality & fit | 25% | Clear hypotheses, channel mix, and sequencing. |
| Team seniority & resourcing | 20% | Who works on your account, allocation, and availability. |
| Measurement & attribution | 15% | CRM integration, conversion tracking, and ROI logic. |
| Expected impact vs. cost | 15% | Forecast tied to your funnel math. |
| Contract flexibility | 10% | Out-clauses, scope change terms, IP ownership. |
| Industry experience | 10% | Relevant case studies and client references. |
| Reviews & references | 5% | Third-party ratings and testimonials. |
Share your decision matrix with stakeholders before you hire a marketing firm, as it helps you defend your choice with data, not gut instinct.
Step 7: Run a 60–90 day pilot
Before you lock into a long-term contract, test the waters with one or two high-impact campaigns to validate their execution and communication.
What to include in a pilot:
- Timeframe: 60–90 days to collect meaningful data.
- Focus: Limit scope to quick-win channels like PPC, paid social, or a small SEO sprint.
- Metrics: Define how you’ll measure success (CAC, ROI, SQLs, pipeline created).
- Communication: Agree on weekly or biweekly check-ins to test collaboration.
- Wrap-up: End with a review of results vs. baseline to decide whether to scale.
This trial run helps you see if the marketing company can actually deliver results, communicate clearly, and work seamlessly with your team before you expand the partnership.
Step 8: Negotiate the contract
Even after you select an agency, the contract is where your investment is truly protected. Before you hire a marketing firm, make sure the agreement covers these essentials:
- SLAs: Define response times, deliverable deadlines, and escalation paths.
- Out-clauses: Allow for termination if performance lags or priorities change.
- Data and IP ownership: Ensure you retain control of ad accounts, analytics, audiences, and creative assets.
- Scope change rules: Spell out how additional work is handled and billed to prevent surprise charges.
- Compliance terms: Confirm alignment with your brand guidelines, legal requirements, and platform policies.
Don’t treat contracts as boilerplate. Push for transparency, flexibility, and data ownership as these are non-negotiables when you hire a marketing company for long-term growth.
Benefits of hiring a marketing firm
If you’re on the fence about hiring a marketing firm, you may be wondering why you should even hire one in the first place. If this sounds like you, you likely haven’t heard about the benefits of hiring a marketing firm. When you work with a marketing agency, you’ll get:
- More time to run your business
- Experienced marketers working to help your business
- A scalable, up-to-date marketing strategy
- Access to marketing resources and technology
- Cost-effective marketing
More time to run your business
Digital marketing is a big undertaking. It’s not a one-and-done thing. You need to continually put time and effort into creating, optimizing, and monitoring your digital marketing campaigns.
When you’re busy trying to manage other aspects of your business, though, you may not have the time to dedicate to marketing campaigns. You don’t want to leave your online marketing campaign to wither away either because it’s a valuable part of helping your business grow.
That’s where a marketing company can help.
By outsourcing your marketing to an agency, you can have someone work on your marketing while you focus on running your day-to-day operations. It allows you to reap the benefits of digital marketing without lifting a finger.
Experienced marketers working to help your business
While having an in-house marketing team sounds like a great idea, the problem many businesses run into is a lack of people-power or applicable knowledge. Your team may be limited in what they can do marketing-wise, which means that your marketing strategy may not perform as well as it could.
By hiring a marketing agency, you can take some of the pressure off your team and stay focused on running your business. Meanwhile, your marketing agency can do the heavy lifting and focus on handling your daily marketing tasks.
A scalable, up-to-date marketing strategy
One of the most time-consuming things about digital marketing is that it requires constant maintenance. Like we said earlier, you can’t just set it and forget it. You must continually monitor and optimize your strategy, and it should be scalable to the size of your business.
If you don’t, your tactics could become outdated, and your strategies won’t continue driving great results.
So, if you’re looking to modernize your marketing strategy and keep it up to date, hiring a marketing agency is the best option for your business. By working with an agency, you’ll always have a campaign that’s using the most up-to-date tactics.
Access to marketing resources and technology
To have a successful marketing campaign, you need resources — from people to marketing tools. If you keep your marketing in-house, you must find these resources on your own. You’ll have to hire personnel, research the best marketing tools, and figure out how to help your marketing succeed.
Not only is this task time-consuming, but it comes at a cost, too.
Instead of finding these resources on your own, you can get everything you need from a digital marketing company. The best digital marketing companies will offer you people, tools, and other resources to help your campaign succeed.
Cost-effective marketing
If you’re thinking about hiring a marketing agency, consider the fact that you’ll save money. Overall, it’s more cost-effective to invest in marketing services from an agency than to do it in-house.
When you keep marketing in-house, your costs are far higher. You have costs like salaries of your employees, benefits, and payroll taxes. On top of that, you must pay for software for any number of your strategies — the costs can quickly add up.
If you hire a marketing agency, though, you don’t have to incur these costs. Many marketing companies have in-house software or use third-party software but include it in the price. Not to mention, you don’t have to pay salaries or any other costs to have access to hundreds of marketers!
So, if you’re looking to cut costs, hiring a marketing firm is the way to go.
What to do before hiring a marketing firm
If you think hiring a marketing firm is the right choice for your business, great! But before you hire one, you want to ensure you have a few items prepared:
1. Establish your marketing goals
Before you hire a marketing agency, you need to establish what you want to achieve with your marketing. If you don’t know the end game of your marketing efforts, you may end up investing in more than you need.
Setting goals will help you focus on strategies that will enable you to achieve your goals. Some common ones include:
- Increase brand awareness
- Increase traffic
- Increase leads
- Increase contacts (calls/form submissions)
- Increase sales
When you know what you want to achieve with your marketing, you can focus on strategies that will help you achieve your goals.
2. Identify the services you’re looking for
Another essential thing to know before hiring a marketing firm is the strategies you want to use. You don’t need to have a definite set of strategies, but you want to have an idea of ones that interest you the most.
You’ll want to do some research on different marketing strategies. Some popular strategies to look at include:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
- Social media advertising
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
- Content marketing
- Web design services
- Video marketing
Explore these strategies and see what they can offer for your business. With a little bit of research, you can get an idea of what methods may work best for your business. You’ll feel more prepared when you meet with digital marketing companies and communicate what strategies sound best.
3. Confirm your budget
One of the most important things you need to establish before hiring a marketing agency is your budget. You must know how much you’re willing to spend on marketing services, so you can determine if a company fits within your budget.
When you set your budget, you want to ensure you’re selecting a realistic one. If you’re going to run four strategies on a $2000 budget, it may not be feasible or drive the results you want. You need to be realistic with your budget to ensure you produce campaigns that drive results.
As you research strategies, look for average cost information on your strategies of interest. It will help you determine if your budget is realistic and help you see if you can afford to use the strategy.
Curious to know how much digital marketing strategies cost? Check out our article on digital marketing pricing!
When should I hire a digital marketing agency?
We’ve covered a lot, from how to hire a digital marketing agency to what to do beforehand. But, you likely have one last burning question on your mind — When should I hire a digital marketing agency? How do I know if I need one in the first place?
Because we’ve been in the business for 25+ years, we’ve seen a thing or two when it comes to people realizing they need marketing assistance, and we’ve noticed some common red flags.
Here are five signs you should hire a digital marketing agency:
- You can’t easily find your business online
- You’re having trouble generating new leads
- You don’t have the time, effort, or money to do digital marketing yourself
- Your competition is outperforming you
- Your business growth is stalling
1. You can’t easily find your business online
When you search for your business online, does it take some digging to find it? If so, your audience is likely having the same issues. The Internet is the place to be nowadays — over 3.1 searches are conducted on Google each year, and half of users click on a page within 9 seconds of their search.
That means people want to be able to find what they need online fast. If they have to jump through hoops to get to, say, your website, you can bet they won’t waste their time searching for long before they settle for a competitor who’s more easily accessible.
So, if you find you’re taking a long time to find your business on search results, it’s a sign you need to improve your online visibilty by hiring a digital marketing agency.
2. You’re having trouble generating new leads
If you’re able to find you’re business online pretty quickly, but you’re not noticing a sustainable amount of new leads rolling in, it could mean your current digital marketing efforts aren’t cutting it.
The digital marketing landscape is always changing, and if you can’t keep up with it, your strategies can become outdated and you can expect your lead generation stall. With an agency, you’ll have experts who are well-versed in digital marketing and its happenings by your side, meaning no matter the current best practices, you’ll have a team on hand to ensure your strategies are always optimized for success.
3. You don’t have the time, effort, or resources to do digital marketing yourself
Maybe your lead generation and visibility isn’t doing bad, but you’re finding yourself being stretched thin between running your business and managing your online presence. Don’t worry, you’re not alone, and we see this a lot!
Managing a business is a huge feat, and when you’re trying to do your own digital marketing at the same time, you’ve most certainly got your hands full. If this sounds like you, it could be time for you to hire a digital marketing agency.
Outsourcing your digital marketing means you’ll have experts doing the heavy lifting for you, that way you can focus on the important stuff, like running your business.
4. Your competition is outperforming you
Do you ever feel like your competitors are always one step ahead of you? Or that your potential customers are going to your competitors instead of you? If so, it’s a good sign your marketing strategy needs a refresh from experts at a digital marketing agency.
If your industry is extremely competitive, then you already know that outperforming your competitors is crucial. When you partner with a digital marketing agency, they’ll help you run competitor analyses so you can better understand how to improve your marketing efforts so they outshine your competition.
For example, WebFX’s revenue marketing suite, RevenueCloudFX, is home to CompetitorSpyFX, a tool that allows clients to monitor competitor websites so they can see how their own website stacks up against them. It’s an incredibly helpful tool that can keep you one step ahead of your competition.
5. Your business growth is stalling
Finally, it could be time for you to hire a digital marketing agency if you notice your overall business growth has stalled, and not because of a seasonal slump.
Every business is different, so signs of a lack of growth can mean anything, from declines in sales to less traffic within your store or website.
Whatever the case, seeing a decline in new business can be a key indicator that you’re in need of a digital marketing agency to help you bolster your presence online and generate new business.
FAQs about hiring a marketing agency
How much does it cost to hire a marketing agency?
Marketing agency pricing varies by services and scope. Retainers often range from $2,500 to $10,000+ per month, while project-based work may cost a few thousand to tens of thousands, depending on complexity. Always confirm what’s included in your contract to avoid hidden costs.
What should I know before hiring a marketing firm?
Define SMART goals, confirm your budget, and decide which services you need (SEO, PPC, content, etc.). Knowing these up front makes it easier to evaluate proposals and ensure agencies align with your objectives.
What’s the best way to compare marketing agencies?
Use a decision matrix to score each agency across factors like strategy quality, industry experience, pricing, and contract flexibility. This structured approach helps you compare firms objectively instead of relying on gut instinct.
Do I need a long-term contract to hire a marketing company?
Not always. Some agencies offer flexible project-based or short-term pilots, while others require 6–12 month retainers. Look for a contract that balances commitment with flexibility, and make sure it includes out-clauses and clear SLAs.
How do I measure ROI after hiring a marketing agency?
Tie agency performance to revenue, not just traffic or clicks. Use ROI formulas like:
ROI = (Incremental Revenue – Agency Cost) / Agency Cost
Track conversions through your CRM and attribution tools to connect campaigns directly to sales.
How do I determine my specific needs before hiring a marketing company?
Start by identifying which marketing functions your team struggles with most (SEO, PPC, content, social, etc.). Then, set clear, measurable goals. For example, “increase qualified leads 20% in six months.” Finally, compare the cost of outsourcing vs. in-house to see where an agency provides the most value.
What are the best strategies to find potential marketing agencies?
Here are proven ways to identify agencies worth considering:
- Research industry-specific firms that already know your market.
- Use review platforms like Clutch or G2 to compare feedback.
- Ask for references from peers in your network.
- Check past work and look for published case studies and client results.
- Test matchmaking platforms if you want quick, vetted options.
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Hire a marketing firm that puts your business first
Your business means everything to you, so you don’t want to trust your marketing to just anyone. You want to work with a marketing company that puts your business first, offers transparency, and drives results that help your business grow. That company is WebFX.
WebFX is a full-service digital marketing company that’s been driving results for over 29 years. Our client-first approach has led us to drive over $10 billion in sales and over 24 million leads for our clients in the past five years.
Looking for transparency? We got it.
Looking for multiple marketing strategies? We offer a range of services including SEO services, PPC services, and much more!
Looking to grow your business? We are too.
If you want to hire a marketing agency that can help your business spark online growth, contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about our digital marketing services!