How to choose a marketing agency: A guide for small businesses
Choosing a marketing agency is one of those decisions that feels far bigger than it should. You're handing over money you've worked hard for, to people you've probably only met on a video call - of if lucky, in person - on the promise that something good will happen in three to six months' time.
It's no wonder so many small business owners put it off, pick the cheapest option, or go with whoever a friend recommended and hope for the best.
I've sat on both sides of this table. I spent seven years as Head of Content at an ultra-luxury marketing agency, watching how agencies pitch, price and deliver, and I now run my own marketing agency for small businesses in Bath. So this guide is written from the inside: what actually matters when you're choosing a marketing agency, what doesn't, and the questions that will tell you whether an agency is right for you.
Start with the problem, not the agency
Before you look at a single website or portfolio, get clear on why you're hiring at all. Most small businesses come to a marketing agency with one of a handful of problems:
Nobody can find you. Your website doesn't show up on Google, and you're relying on word of mouth.
You're visible, but the wrong people are finding you. Enquiries come in, but they're not the clients you want.
You know what to do but don't have time to do it. The blog hasn't been updated since spring, and the Instagram grid has gone quiet.
You've grown and need a strategy, not just tactics. You've outgrown doing it yourself but aren't ready to hire a full-time marketing manager.
Each of these points towards a different kind marketing service.
If nobody can find you, you need SEO and content. If the wrong people are finding you, you need positioning and messaging work before anything else. If it's a time problem, you need reliable execution. If it's a strategy problem, you might be better served by a fractional CMO than a traditional agency retainer.
Write your problem down in one sentence. When you speak to agencies, you'll quickly see which ones respond to your problem and which ones simply reach for their standard package.
What to look for in a marketing agency
Once you know what you need, here's what to look for when you're comparing options.
1. Relevant experience, not just any experience
An agency that's excellent at e-commerce paid ads may be a poor fit for a boutique hotel, a wellness studio or a professional services firm. Look for evidence that they've worked with businesses like yours: similar size, similar sector, similar audience. Case studies matter more than client logos. Ask to see the work, not just the names.
2. Who will actually do the work
This is the question almost nobody asks and almost everybody regrets not asking. At many agencies, the senior person who pitches to you hands your account to a junior executive the moment you sign. Ask directly: "Who will be writing my content, managing my SEO, running my campaigns, and how much experience do they have?" If the answer is vague, that tells you something.
3. A clear point of view on strategy
A good agency will have opinions. They should be able to tell you what they think you don't need as readily as what you do. If every conversation ends with "we can do all of that," be cautious. Small business budgets don't stretch to doing everything, and an agency that says yes to everything is usually spreading your money too thin to make any of it work.
4. Transparent pricing and no lock-ins
You should be able to understand exactly what you're paying for and what happens if you want to stop. Twelve-month contracts with heavy exit clauses are common in the agency world and rarely serve the client. A confident agency is happy to earn your business month by month.
5. Reporting you can actually understand
Ask to see a sample report. If it's forty pages of impressions and reach with no mention of enquiries, leads or revenue, it's a report designed to justify a retainer rather than to inform a business owner. You want to know: what did we do, what changed, what are we doing next.
6. Chemistry
This sounds soft, but it isn't. You'll be speaking to these people every week or two for the foreseeable future. If the first call feels like being talked at rather than listened to, that won't improve once the invoices start.
Agency, freelancer or fractional CMO: which is right for you?
"Marketing agency" covers a lot of ground, and it's worth understanding the options before you choose.
Large full-service agencies offer breadth and capacity. You get a team, a process and a polished experience. You also get overheads, account managers and, very often, junior execution. They tend to suit businesses with £5,000+ per month to spend who need volume.
Freelancers are lean and affordable, and the best are superb. The risk is scope: a freelance copywriter can write your blog, but they may not be able to set your SEO strategy, run your PR or advise on paid media. You can end up managing four different people yourself.
Boutique and senior-led agencies sit in between. You get one experienced person (or a small team) who sets the strategy and does the work, without the layers. This is the model I work to, because it's the one I saw small businesses actually needed when I was inside a bigger agency.
Fractional CMOs give you a senior marketer for a few days a month to set direction, manage suppliers and report to you as an owner or board. Ideal if you have people to execute but nobody steering.
There's no universally right answer. The right one is the one that matches the problem you wrote down earlier and the budget you have available.
Questions to ask a marketing agency before you sign
Take these into every discovery call. The answers, and how comfortably they're given, will tell you most of what you need to know.
About fit
Have you worked with businesses of my size and in my sector? Can I see the results?
What do you think I don't need right now?
What would you do in the first 90 days, and why?
About people
Who will do the day-to-day work on my account, and what's their experience?
Will I have direct access to that person, or go through an account manager?
What happens if that person leaves?
About money
What exactly is included in the monthly fee, and what costs extra?
What's the minimum term, and what's the notice period?
Are there any costs I'll need to pay to third parties (ad spend, tools, PR distribution)?
About results
How will you report to me, and how often?
What does success look like at three months and at twelve months?
Can I speak to a current client?
About ownership
Who owns the content, accounts and data you create for me?
If we part ways, do I keep everything?
That last pair is more important than it looks. It's not unusual for a business to leave an agency and discover that the agency owns the ad account, the analytics property or even the website. Get it in writing.
Red flags when choosing a marketing agency
Some warning signs are worth walking away from, however impressive the pitch.
Guaranteed rankings or guaranteed results. Nobody can guarantee a Google position. Anyone who does is either inexperienced or planning to use tactics that will eventually harm you.
A quote before they've understood your business. A price on the first call, before any real questions, means you're being fitted to a package rather than the other way round.
Vagueness about who does the work. See above.
Long lock-in contracts with punitive exit terms. Confidence looks like flexibility.
Reports full of vanity metrics. Reach, impressions and follower counts are not business outcomes.
They can't explain their own approach in plain English. If you don't understand what they're proposing, you can't judge whether it's working.
No evidence of doing it for themselves. An agency that promises to get you found on Google but can't be found on Google itself should give you pause.
How to compare your marketing agency shortlist
By this point you'll probably have two or three agencies you like. Here's a simple way to compare them without being swayed by whoever had the nicest slides.
Score each agency from one to five on these six things:
Relevance – have they solved my problem for a business like mine?
Seniority – will experienced people actually do the work?
Clarity – do I understand exactly what I'm buying?
Flexibility – can I scale up, scale down or leave without penalty?
Measurement – will I know whether it's working?
Trust – did I feel listened to?
The highest total usually wins, but pay attention to any score of 1 or 2. A single low score in seniority or clarity tends to cause more trouble over a year than a slightly lower overall total.
And finally: check that the price makes sense against your revenue.
A rough rule of thumb for established small businesses is to budget somewhere between 5% and 10% of turnover for marketing, though newer businesses and those in competitive sectors often need to invest more in the early stages.
If an agency's fee would consume your entire marketing budget with nothing left for ad spend, tools or the occasional bit of print, you'll be underpowered from day one.
What working with a good marketing agency should feel like
It should feel like having a senior marketer on your team who happens to be paid by invoice rather than payroll. You should understand what's happening and why. You should see honest reporting, including the things that didn't work. You should feel able to ask questions without being made to feel you're wasting billable time. And within six months, you should be able to point to something concrete that's changed: more enquiries, better enquiries, higher rankings, more of the right kind of attention.
If that's not what it feels like, it's worth revisiting the questions above.
A note on how I work at Joanna Lewis Media
I'm Joanna. I spent 20 years as a journalist and magazine editor before moving into marketing, including seven years as Head of Content at an ultra-luxury marketing agency, working on campaigns for superyachts, private jets, expedition companies, and prime real estate brokerages. I now work as a marketing agency for small business owners who want senior expertise without agency overheads. I'm the person you speak to and the person who manages the work. There's also no long-term contracts, rigid retianiers, or off-the-shelf packages, just senior-level expertise that earns its place every month.
If you're at the stage of choosing a marketing agency and would like an honest conversation about what you actually need (and what you don't), get in touch. Where it's relevant, I'll include a complimentary SEO audit of your site so you can see where you stand before you spend a penny.
How to choose a marketing agency: Frequently asked questions
How much does a marketing agency cost for a small business in the UK?
It varies widely. Freelancers may start from a few hundred pounds a month, boutique agencies typically range from around £1,000 to £3,000 a month, and larger full-service agencies often start at £5,000+. The right question isn't "what's the cheapest" but "what will this cost per enquiry or per new client."
Should a small business use a marketing agency or a freelancer?
A freelancer suits a single, well-defined task (for example, writing blog posts). An agency, or a senior-led boutique, suits a business that needs strategy and several channels working together. Many small businesses do best with a senior person who can do both.
How long should I give a marketing agency to show results?
Paid campaigns can show movement within weeks. SEO and content typically take three to six months to build meaningful traction. Ask any agency for a realistic timeline before you sign, and be wary of anyone promising faster.
What questions should I ask a marketing agency?
Who will do the work, what's included, what's the contract term, how will you report, who owns what we create, and what do you think I don't need.
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