How to choose a marketing agency: 8 criteria, and when you do not need one

Hiring an agency is a decision of trust: you are giving it access to your brand, your clients and your budget. It is worth choosing with judgment, not by who has the flashiest portfolio.

These are the eight criteria we would use if we were on the other side of the table.

The 8 criteria

1. It asks before it proposes. A good agency wants to understand your business before talking about social media or ads.
2. It understands your industry. Selling a development, filling a vacation rental and opening a medical practice are different problems.
3. It tells you what not to do. If every idea sounds good to them, they are not prioritizing.
4. You know who will work on your account. And you talk to that person, not only to whoever sold you.
5. It measures what matters. Leads, appointments and sales, not just followers or reach.
6. It shows cases like yours. With what they did and what was achieved, without inflated numbers.
7. It leaves you as the owner of everything. Ad accounts, domain, website and data in your name.
8. It speaks plainly. If you do not understand the proposal, you will not understand the reports either.

Warning signs

• Guaranteed results or top Google rankings within a few weeks.
• The same package everyone gets, without questions.
• Reluctance to put the accounts in your name.
• Reports about reach and impressions, never about leads.
• Nobody on the team knows your market.

Boutique agency, large agency, freelancer or in-house team

When you do not need an agency

If what you need is a specific task, like a logo, some photos or a fix to your website, a good freelancer may be enough. And if your marketing already has direction and steady volume, an in-house team may be the best investment.

An agency makes more sense when there are many fronts and nobody to bring order to them: when you do a lot of things, but without a logic that connects them.

What to ask on the first call

• What do you need to know about my business before proposing anything?
• What would you do first, and what would you leave for later?
• Who will work on my account?
• How will we measure whether it is working?
• What stays in my name if we stop working together?

Choose someone who helps you decide, not just someone who helps you post.

Parallelo is a boutique agency in Puerto Vallarta: strategy first and execution with the same criteria. If you want to ask us these questions, book a call. You can meet the team on About.