You hired a marketing agency because you want more than a prettier website or a monthly report full of numbers. You want more of the right homeowners calling your business.
So what happens when the calls aren’t coming in?
Or when your agency tells you traffic is up, but your sales team isn’t seeing more opportunities?
Or when you’re spending thousands of dollars each month and aren’t quite sure what you’re getting for it?
Those are exactly the kinds of situations where contractors need to speak up.
Unfortunately, many business owners hesitate to ask the questions that matter most. They don’t want to sound difficult. They assume their agency knows best. Or they get handed a report filled with clicks, impressions, rankings, and other marketing terms without a clear explanation of what any of it means for the business.
You shouldn’t have to be a marketing expert to understand your marketing investment.
If you’re wondering what questions contractors should ask a marketing agency, start here.
10 Questions Contractors Should Ask a Marketing Agency
1. Are These Actually Good Leads?
Let’s start with one of the biggest mistakes contractors can make: assuming more leads automatically means better marketing. It doesn’t.
Imagine your roofing company receives 50 inquiries this month. Sounds great, right?
Now imagine 15 are outside your service area, 10 are looking for a service you don’t offer, several aren’t homeowners, and only a handful turn into actual sales opportunities.
Suddenly, that impressive lead count doesn’t look quite so impressive.
That’s why one of the most important questions contractors should ask a marketing agency is:
“Are the leads we’re generating actually good leads for my business?”
Your agency should understand what makes a lead valuable to you. That could mean the right location, service, project type, homeowner intent, or potential job value.
And your marketing team should care about what happens after the phone rings.
Feedback from your sales team can help identify patterns in lead quality and reveal where your campaigns, targeting, messaging, or landing pages need improvement.
2. Where Is My Marketing Budget Going?
Do you know exactly where your marketing dollars are going?
You don’t need to understand every technical detail, but you should be able to get a straightforward answer.
Ask your agency:
- Which campaigns are getting the most budget?
- Which services are you promoting?
- Which campaigns are generating the best opportunities?
- Where are we wasting money?
- What would you change about the current budget?
The point isn’t to question every click or micromanage your agency.
It’s to make sure your budget has a purpose.
If your biggest business priority is generating more bathroom remodeling projects, for example, your marketing strategy should reflect that goal. If you’re trying to expand into a new service area, your agency should understand how that changes your strategy.
Your budget should follow your goals, not simply repeat last month’s settings.
3. What Am I Actually Paying You to Do Every Month?
This question can feel awkward.
It shouldn’t.
If you’re paying a marketing agency every month, you deserve to know what that investment includes.
Are they managing PPC? Optimizing your website? Creating content? Working on SEO? Improving landing pages? Managing social media? Reviewing conversion data? Developing strategy?
More importantly, are they actually looking for ways to improve your marketing?
There’s a big difference between doing marketing tasks and actively managing a marketing strategy.
Your business isn’t static, and your marketing shouldn’t be either.
Services become priorities. Competitors change. Homeowner behavior shifts. Your goals evolve.
Your agency should be paying attention.
4. What's Not Working?
Here’s a question many contractors don’t ask:
“What’s not working?”
It’s easy to talk about successes. Increased traffic sounds good. More impressions sound good. A higher ranking sounds good.
But every marketing strategy has weak spots.
Maybe one campaign isn’t producing enough qualified leads. Maybe a landing page is getting plenty of traffic but few calls. Maybe a service page isn’t gaining traction in search. Maybe you’re spending money on a campaign that no longer makes sense.
That’s okay.
What matters is whether your agency recognizes the problem and does something about it.
A trustworthy agency shouldn’t try to make everything sound perfect. It should be willing to say, “This isn’t performing the way we’d like, and here’s what we’re going to do next.”
That’s the kind of answer contractors can actually use.
5. How Do You Know Our Marketing Is Working?
Ask your agency to show you more than a traffic graph.
Website traffic can be useful. So can rankings, clicks, impressions, and engagement.
But contractors aren’t in business to collect website visitors.
They’re in business to sell projects.
So ask:
“How are you connecting our marketing performance to actual business results?”
Depending on your goals, that could mean tracking phone calls, form submissions, booked appointments, qualified opportunities, or other meaningful conversions.
The right metrics will vary from business to business.
A roofing contractor trying to increase replacement projects may have very different priorities than a remodeling company trying to grow its kitchen business.
Your reporting should reflect your business goals, not just the metrics that are easiest to put into a report.
6. What Happens When Something Stops Working?
Marketing isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it activity.
A campaign that worked six months ago may not work as well today. A competitor could start spending more. Search behavior could change. Your cost per lead could increase. A landing page could stop converting.
So ask your agency:
“What is your process when performance drops?”
Do they investigate?
Do they look at the data?
Do they review keywords, targeting, ad copy, budgets, landing pages, competitors, and conversion rates?
Or do they simply tell you to wait another month?
You want an agency that notices problems and looks for solutions.
Good marketing management means paying attention when the numbers change.
7. Do You Actually Understand My Business?
Here’s a simple test.
Ask your marketing agency to explain what makes your company different from your competitors.
Can they answer?
What about your most important services? Your ideal customer? Your best service areas? The types of projects you want more of? The leads you don’t want?
If your agency can’t answer those questions, it may be difficult for them to build truly customized marketing.
Home improvement companies aren’t interchangeable.
A roofing contractor has different customers and sales conversations than a bathroom remodeling company. A window company may have different competitors and buying cycles than a siding contractor.
Effective contractor marketing starts with understanding the contractor.
Your agency should know what you’re trying to accomplish and why.
8. Who Owns My Website, Accounts, and Marketing Data?
This question may not be exciting, but it matters.
Contractors should understand who owns and controls their digital assets, including:
- Website and domain
- Google Ads account
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- Google Business Profile
- Social media accounts
- Creative assets
- Marketing data
Your agency may manage these platforms for you, and that’s perfectly normal.
But you should know who owns what, who has access, and what happens if the relationship ever ends.
Transparency shouldn’t disappear when you ask about account ownership.
9. Why Aren't We Getting the Results We Expected?
Sometimes marketing doesn’t perform the way you hoped.
That doesn’t automatically mean your agency is doing a bad job.
But it does mean you should have a conversation.
Ask:
“What’s keeping us from getting better results?”
Maybe your market is extremely competitive. Maybe your budget is spread too thin. Maybe your website isn’t converting enough visitors. Maybe your sales team needs a better follow-up process. Maybe your targeting needs to change.
Or maybe the strategy itself needs work.
You deserve an honest explanation.
The right agency won’t simply promise that results are coming. They’ll help you understand what is happening, why it is happening, and what can be done about it.
10. What Would You Change If This Were Your Business?
This may be the most revealing question you can ask.
“If this were your business, what would you change about our marketing right now?”
Then see what happens.
A strategic agency should have an answer.
Maybe they’d shift your PPC budget. Maybe they’d focus more heavily on a profitable service. Maybe they’d improve a landing page. Maybe they’d recommend new content. Maybe they’d tell you that something you’re spending money on isn’t producing enough value.
The answer doesn’t have to be “spend more.”
In fact, a good recommendation may be to spend differently.
That’s an important distinction.
Your marketing agency should be looking for the best use of your investment, not simply the easiest way to increase it.
Don't Be Afraid to Ask the Uncomfortable Questions
Your marketing agency works for your business.
That means you should be able to ask what is working, what isn’t, where your money is going, and what your agency recommends changing.
You also shouldn’t need to understand every marketing acronym to have a productive conversation.
A good agency should be able to take complicated information and make it understandable. It should explain its recommendations instead of hiding behind jargon. And when something isn’t working, it should be willing to address the problem.
Transparency isn’t a bonus feature of a good agency relationship. It should be part of the relationship.
Choose a Marketing Partner That Understands Contractors
The best marketing strategy isn’t necessarily the one with the most services, the biggest budget, or the longest report.
It’s the one built around your business.
At FatCat Strategies, we work specifically with home improvement contractors. That means getting to know the services you offer, the homeowners you want to reach, the markets you serve, and the goals behind your marketing investment.
From SEO for contractors and PPC to website management and broader digital marketing strategy, our approach is built around what your business actually needs.
If you’re not sure whether your current agency is giving you the answers you need, start asking better questions.
The right marketing partner won’t be afraid of them.
FAQ
What questions should contractors ask a marketing agency?
The most important questions cover lead quality, budget, strategy, performance, communication, account ownership, and what the agency does when something isn’t working. Contractors should also ask whether the agency understands their services, customers, market, and business goals.
How do I know if my marketing agency is doing a good job?
Look beyond website traffic and other surface-level metrics. A strong agency should be able to explain how marketing supports your business goals, whether you’re generating qualified opportunities, what is working, and what needs improvement.
Should a marketing agency understand my sales process?
Yes. Understanding what happens after a lead comes in gives an agency valuable insight into lead quality and campaign performance. Communication between marketing and sales can help identify opportunities to improve targeting and lead generation.
What should a contractor expect from a marketing agency?
Contractors should expect clear communication, transparency, strategic recommendations, measurable goals, and an agency that understands their business. Marketing should be actively managed rather than simply maintained month after month.
What should I do if my marketing agency won't answer my questions?
Start with a direct conversation. Ask for clear explanations about your strategy, spending, performance, and next steps. If your concerns continue to be dismissed or you consistently receive vague answers, it may be time to reevaluate whether the agency is the right fit for your business.