Hiring a marketing agency in St. Petersburg doesn’t have to be a daunting task. There are plenty of top marketing agencies in St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay worth interviewing. Florida has some of the USA's best creative talent. 

Whether it’s a web design project, social media ads, or creating a full-blown content strategy, we’ve got you covered. When it comes time to hire a marketing agency in St. Petersburg, these are the questions that you need to ask.

Questions to ask when hiring a marketing agency in St. Petersburg

1. What experience do you have in the industry? 

It’s good to get a general feel for the marketing agency you’re interviewing: what kind of work have they done in the past, what awards have they won, what projects are they proud to show you, etc. It’s also really important to learn about what industries they’ve specialized in and what past clients they’ve helped. 

Though we often work with clients in new industries, there are proven strategies that we know work in specific niches that we’re happy to introduce to new clients from the get-go. Proven strategies offer our clients an incredible advantage. 

As a potential follow up question, ask the agency for any marketing success stories in St. Petersburg or case studies for St. Pete they’d like to share. We have dozens. 

2. How do you measure success? 

The main reason you want to ask this when hiring a marketing agency in St. Petersburg is to grasp whether the agency provides measurable results. Believe it or not, vague promises will be the norm here. 

Success could mean anything from increased lead volume to measurable brand visibility increases. Check with the agency and ask them what tools or platforms they use to track their performance. 

We’re happy to answer this question to give you a custom answer. In general, our team at Something Great uses various tools, including Fathom Analytics, Google Search Console, Meta Business Manager, Sprout Social, and HubSpot, to name a few. 

3. Who will be working on my account, and what is their expertise? 

This might be the most important note on our list of questions to ask when hiring a marketing agency in St. Petersburg. Why? It’s simple: Most big agencies sell you on a service and then shuffle you straight to a low-level, lesser-experienced team member. 

You need to know who you’ll be working with before you sign on the dotted line, full stop. Don’t get fooled into assuming you’ll be working with the company founder with 30+ years of experience. It’s not always the case. 

Unless you work with us, of course. 

Justin and/or Taylor either strategize or directly execute plans for each and every one of our clients here at Something Great. 

4. What services do you recommend for my business? 

Asking this question will help you gauge how well the agency understands your challenges and goals. 

If the agency asks for time to prepare a tailored plan, even better–just be sure that you’re asking the question so they understand you’re looking for expert guidance. Follow up by asking for a roadmap or timeline for implementing the recommendations. 

5. What is your pricing structure? 

Don’t get surprised with hidden fees. Ask for cost transparency on retainers, hourly rates, or project-based fees, and make sure you understand what portion of the cost is going to be directed towards the ad budget if you’ll be running a PPC or display advertising campaign. 

Understand contract flexibility and how you’ll part ways with the agency if you’re ready to move on. You don’t want to get caught up in a long-term contract with an agency that is under-delivering. 

Bonus question: Ask for reviews and references

Before you begin work, make sure you've heard from a few businesses who've worked with the agency both currently and in the past. This is going to make you feel a whole lot more confident in your decision.

Hiring a marketing agency in St. Petersburg recap

These are the questions to write down when you’re thinking about hiring a marketing agency in St. Petersburg, Florida: 

1. What experience do you have in the industry? 
2. How do your measure success? 
3. Who will be working on my account, and what is there expertise? 
4. What services do you recommend for my business? 
5. What is your pricing structure?

Remember, you can address additional questions and concerns at follow-up meetings, but for that first sit down, these five questions are really essential. They’ll let you know who you’re working with, their experience, how they can help you, and how much it’ll all cost. 

Getting these answers is going to give you clarity when evaluating marketing agencies in St. Petersburg. Good luck, and if you’re ready to hire an agency that can hit the ground running, reach out to Justin, Taylor, and the team at Something Great Marketing St. Pete today.