How to choose a marketing agency: a checklist for small UK businesses

Choosing a marketing agency is mostly about checking proof. A good agency can show you work for businesses like yours, tell you who will do the work, and explain in plain words what you are paying for. This checklist works whether you are in London, Sunderland or anywhere between.

Start with what you want

Write down the one result you want in the next six months before you speak to anyone. More enquiries, more bookings, more online sales or a new website are all fine. An agency that asks about this first is a good sign. One that starts with a package price is not.

The checklist

1. Proof in your trade. Ask for two or three examples of work for businesses like yours, with the result, and ask whether you can speak to one of those clients.
2. Who does the work. Ask for the name of the person on your account and how often you will hear from them.
3. Reporting you can read. Ask to see a sample monthly report. It should say what was done, what it cost and what happened, in plain words.
4. Fees and ad spend kept apart. For paid ads, the agency's fee and the money paid to Google or Meta should be separate lines, and the ad accounts should be in your name.
5. Contract terms. Look for a short minimum term, a notice period of about a month, and a clear statement that you own your website, domain, content and accounts.
6. Local knowledge where it matters. For local services, an agency that knows your area can help with reviews, maps listings and local pages. For online sales it matters much less.
7. Honest answers. Anyone who guarantees a first-page ranking or a set number of leads is guessing.

How agencies charge

Most small-business work is priced one of three ways. A monthly retainer is for ongoing work such as SEO, social media, email newsletters or content: you pay for a set amount of work each month. A project fee is for one-off work such as a website, a brand or a launch campaign, and the scope should be agreed in writing before it starts. An ad management fee pays for running Google or Meta ads, and the ad spend is paid to Google or Meta on top.

Two quotes for the same job can differ several times over and both be fair. The difference is almost always in what is included, so compare what each quote delivers each month, not the headline number.

What pushes the price up or down

1. How much work each month. Four social posts a week and one a week are different jobs.
2. How competitive your market is. Ranking a solicitor in a big city takes far more work than ranking a plumber in a small town. The same goes for the price of ad clicks.
3. Ad spend. Often the biggest number, and the one most worth testing small first.
4. Content volume. Blog posts, videos and photos each take time.
5. Tracking and reporting. Setting up proper tracking of calls, forms and sales costs time once and saves money every month after.
6. Seniority. A senior specialist costs more per hour and usually needs fewer hours.

How to compare two quotes

Put both side by side and list, for each month: the tasks done, the hours or items delivered, the ad spend, and what will be reported. Then ask each agency what result they expect and by when. The cheaper quote is only cheaper if it does the same work.

Spending a small budget well

• Fix the basics first. A clear website, a Google Business Profile and a way to take enquiries cost little and make every other channel work better.
• Test one paid channel at a time, with a small budget and a set end date.
• Ask for reports in enquiries and sales, not reach and followers.
• Reach the businesses that need you directly. For business-to-business firms, a short email to companies that have just started reaches them while they are still choosing who to work with. See how agencies find new clients.

Warning signs

• They will not show you results or client names.
• The ad accounts, domain or website would belong to them.
• A long contract with no way out if the work is not done.
• Reports full of impressions and followers but no enquiries or sales.

A note for agencies reading this

If you run an agency, the businesses reading checklists like this are the ones about to hire. New companies are the largest group of them: see how agencies find new clients, and the new companies in each UK city.