At Kaya, we talk to a bunch of different companies and found out something interesting: a lot of them wait a while before they decide to work with a marketing agency, or they end up switching agencies because they didn't really click with the first one they chose.

From these chats, we've picked up some cool tips and stories. We're keen to share what we've learned with you!

When is the right time to hire a marketing agency?

The answer to this question depends on your startup's stage and marketing experience. Consider the following scenarios:

You have not done any paid marketing:

It's best to get started with a small budget and manage the campaigns yourself, as marketing is a fundamental skill that founders should develop. Moreover,

• You can experiment faster by testing different creatives, target audiences, and messaging. By staying nimble, you eliminate the need for time-consuming liaising and project management.
• You can gather early signals to evaluate if a given channel is working before making a significant investment. Most agencies require a minimum budget before taking you on.
• You can establish a baseline against which you can evaluate the performance of your agency's work.

Here are some tools you could use:

• Copywriting: ChatGPT or specialised tools like Jasper, Hypotenuse
• Ads creative: Canva
• Keyword research: Google Keyword Planner
• Competitor research: SEMrush

You have done some paid marketing

If you have seen some promising results and are ready to scale, it's a great time to engage an agency.

If it's not working, engage an agency to do an audit to see if this is due to a technical gap or a fundamental channel misfit. Most agencies offer a free audit, and this is a great opportunity to assess their technical expertise.

Vetting an agency

Step 1: Internal planning

• Designate an Internal Point of Contact to oversee the agency's work. This person will be responsible for communicating your product updates, company strategy, and project managing the agency.
• Determine marketing goals and measures of success/KPIs. Be specific and prioritise which KPI matters most to you in the near and long term. For eg, in an ideal world, we would like to increase conversions while decreasing the cost per conversion. However, achieving these two goals requires different strategies, and you will need to decide which one matters more to you at the moment.
• Determine your budget.Keep in mind that great marketing is the product of trials and errors. Start with a budget that you are comfortable with and increase it as you see promising outcomes.
• Feel free to reach out if you'd like an analysis of how much budget is required for your specific product, industry, or channel.
• Clearly define your product USPs and target audience. Also, include any past learnings.

Step 2: Shortlisting agencies

To gather a list of agencies, reach out to your network for recommendations— fellow founders from similar industry, post on forums such as Reddit, or searching through review sites such as Trustpilot.

As a startup, traditional agencies may not be the best fit for our unique challenges. We need a different breed of marketing agencies, specifically those with:

• ‍Speed of execution: Assess how quickly the agency can launch a new campaign and deliver on their commitments.
• ‍Expertise in three verticals:
  • Domain knowledge at the product or industry level: This is not always possible if you're working on deep tech or greenfield products. If so, make sure you assess if the agency can grasp your product and USP within the first 1-2 calls. Don't compromise—people who can't understand your product or target audience will not generate results regardless of how strong their marketing experience is.‍
  • Channel: Technical experience in the channel you're testing. Here's when your practical marketing experience comes in handy. Ask them about specific challenges you face and evaluate if they're an expert in that channel. (PS. A quick search on Reddit will show you just how many marketers accept projects where they have no prior experience.)‍
  • Growth from 0 to 1: Early stage success in paid marketing requires more than just campaign execution—look for a partner who has product thinking and growth hacking skills.
• ‍Data and transparency: Most (if not all) agencies market themselves as data-driven. To determine if an agency is truly data-driven, ask them about their reporting process, how frequently you can track performance, and assess their level of analytical thinking when discussing your projects. A good agency will be able to distill insights and learnings for you, which can be tremendously useful when you eventually bring marketing in-house.
• ‍Flexibility: Startups require flexibility as strategies and priorities can change rapidly. Ensure the agency is willing to adapt and work in an agile manner.

Step 3: Interviewing

When interviewing the agency, you should make sure:

• You're speaking to the person who will manage your account (not a salesperson)
• They're a cultural fit
• You're a priority. If you are a smaller client in their portfolio, you may receive less attention and slower service.

‍Get the full checklist here (opens in new tab)

How can Kaya help?

Think of Kaya as your extended growth team. We provide a platform and services to help startups grow 10x faster without having to hire a traditional agency or freelancer:

• We launch & optimise your marketing campaigns across multiple channels
• Customised dashboard and Slack bot to track CAC and all marketing KPIs
• Task management board
• Logs to track progress and learnings