Whether this is your first time participating in the process of hiring an agency or your 5th time, it’s good to get a fresh perspective on what you should be looking for, including the types of questions to ask and the warning signs to look out for. To help you in the process, Hanapin’s President, Jeff Allen, and Director of Services, Carrie Albright, go through the primary elements you should consider when hiring an agency.

1. Hiring a Marketing Agency?

2. Presenters
Jeff Allen Carrie Albright

3. We make our clients the
heroes of their organization.
We’re a digital marketing agency with deep
expertise in a narrow-range of high-growth
digital marketing solutions including
paid search, paid social, programmatic
and conversion rate optimization.
We help complex businesses that have multiple
brands, products, locations and/or services
grow and expand their business.

4. What We’ll Talk About
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5. Transparency
How transparent are
they with their clients?
1. Will they give you account
administrative access to ALL of your
campaigns?
2. How do they report on bad news and
performance issues?
3. How do they track projects and task
progress?

6. Team Structure
What does their team structure
look like & how does it work?
1. How many contacts would you have?
2. What happens if your AM goes on
vacation and has to be out of the
office on short notice - who looks after
the account?
3. What happens if your AM leaves the
company?
a. What’s the transition process
look like?

7. How do they talk about KPIs?
1. In referencing past clients, are they
relating to metrics that are based
on conversions?
2. Do they focus only on CPC, CTR,
and Quality Score?
3. Can they connect their work to real
business impact?
Do they focus on top of
funnel or bottom line goals?
1. Do they talk about goals in your
business’s language?
2. Do you they ask about numbers
and metrics that will result in sales
for you?
3. Do they ask for access to backend
or lead data from your side?

8. Reactive
or
Proactive?
Are they a reactive or a
proactive agency?
1. How do they deal with things that
could potentially become an issue
down the road?
2. How do they deal with a “fire” right
then?
3. How long does it take them on
average to implement changes in an
account?
4. Do they have a framework for future
changes and plans?

9. Are they a specialist or a generalist?
● Do they specialize in PPC?
● Is PPC the only channel they manage?
● What other channels do they manage as an agency?
● How do they run reports for channels? Is it just for the one that is performing the
best or do they do an analysis of all channels and how they are supporting each
other?

10. Communication
Style
What does their
communication style like?
1. What does their communication
structure look like?
2. How often will you have meetings/calls
with them?
3. Is there an agenda set for every
meeting?
4. How often will you meet with them in
person?
5. What’s the average time you can
expect to get a response on
questions?

11. Do their fees look realistic?
1. What are their fees and how do
they compare to competitors?
2. Is the work being performed
happening at the agency or will the
work be outsourced?
Do they talk about
expansion?
1. Do they talk about channels
beyond the ones you are already
spending in?
2. Do they reference your integrated
marketing plan or only one area?
3. Do they have stories where they
have expanded with other clients?

12. Download additional resources!
● How to Find the Best Marketing Agency for Your Brand [Whitepaper]
● Is Your Brand’s Marketing In-House? Why You Should Still Be
Partnering with an Agency [Infographic]
● The Total Economic Impact of Hanapin Marketing’s PPC Campaign
Management Services [Report]
● The State of PPC 2019-2020 [Report]
● The State of Paid Social 2019 [Report]

13. Thank you for joining!
Contact us directly
marketing@hanapinmarketing.com