How to know if your marketing agency is overcharging

Most agencies aren't dishonest. But plenty are structured in ways that quietly cost you more than they should. A few straight questions usually show where your money is going.

Ask how they're paid

If management is a percentage of your ad spend, their incentive is to spend more of your money. A fixed fee keeps the focus on results. Neither model is automatically wrong. You deserve to know which one you're in, and why.

Ask what you're getting for the money

• What gets done each month, specifically
• Who does the work, and how senior they are
• What happens if you pause or leave
• Whether you own what's been built for you

Look at the reporting

Reports heavy on impressions and clicks but silent on enquiries and cost per enquiry are a warning sign. Good reporting connects spend to results, in language you can act on. Can't tell what last month's budget did? Ask why.

Watch for overhead you're funding

Layers of account managers. Long lock-in contracts. Setup fees with little to show for them. These are often overhead, passed on to you. Lean doesn't have to mean lower quality. It can just mean less waste in the price.