{"id":1833,"date":"2025-11-06T13:47:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T14:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gogetmuscle.com\/?p=1833"},"modified":"2025-11-12T17:45:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T17:45:23","slug":"10-questions-to-ask-before-you-hire-a-marketing-agency-consultant-or-fractional-cmo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gogetmuscle.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/06\/10-questions-to-ask-before-you-hire-a-marketing-agency-consultant-or-fractional-cmo\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Marketing Agency, Consultant, or Fractional CMO"},"content":{"rendered":"

10 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Marketing Agency, Consultant, or Fractional CMO<\/a> written by Sara Nay<\/a> read more at Duct Tape Marketing<\/a><\/p>\n

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By Sara Nay, CEO at Duct Tape Marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re hiring a marketing agency or fractional CMO<\/a><\/strong>, these 10 questions will help you evaluate their priorities, processes, and how they treat clients before signing any contract.<\/p>\n

Recently, I spoke with two small business owners who reminded me why this topic matters. One is locked into a three-year, $8,000\/month SEO contract they barely understand. Another pays $10,000\/month for Google Ads but doesn\u2019t even own their ad account. Small businesses deserve better. This post is about helping you take back control of your marketing.<\/p>\n

The best marketing agencies for small businesses lead with transparency, strategic thinking, and collaboration; not just tactical deliverables and fancy metrics. If they can\u2019t answer these questions clearly, keep looking.<\/p>\n

10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring A Marketing Agency:<\/h2>\n
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  1. Who Owns My Accounts and Data?<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. How Do You Define Success?<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. How Do You Connect Tactics to Strategy?<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. What Happens If I Want to End the Contract?<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Who Will I Work With Day to Day?<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Can I See a Sample Report?<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. How Do You Use AI vs. Human Expertise?<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. How Will You Collaborate With My Team?<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. What\u2019s Your Strategy Process?<\/a><\/li>\n
  10. Will You Teach Me Along the Way?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    1. Who Owns My Accounts and Data?<\/h2>\n

    Red flag:<\/strong> If it\u2019s not you, walk away.<\/p>\n

    When outsourcing your marketing, your ad accounts, CRM, analytics, and email lists should always remain your intellectual property.<\/p>\n

    If an agency insists on creating everything under their own logins or refuses to give you full access, that\u2019s not a partnership.<\/p>\n

    Why it matters:<\/strong> If you ever want to transition providers or bring things in-house, you shouldn\u2019t have to start from scratch or lose years of data.<\/p>\n

    Pro tip:<\/strong> Insist on setting up your own accounts and giving the agency access, not the other way around.<\/p>\n

    A good place to start for ensuring account ownership:<\/h3>\n