{"id":711,"date":"2026-08-19T18:10:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/?p=711"},"modified":"2026-08-19T18:10:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:10:22","slug":"how-to-choose-marketing-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/insights\/how-to-choose-marketing-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose a Marketing Agency? 8 Types of Collaboration Models and Pre-Outsourcing Needs Assessment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How to choose a marketing agency is not about finding a ranking list first, but rather identifying the problem you need to solve. Insufficient brand awareness, unstable lead quality, poor website conversion, and continuously rising advertising costs all sound like \"needing marketing,\" but the actual required capabilities, scope of cooperation, and acceptance criteria can be vastly different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This article categorizes the services available in the market into 8 partnership models, helping you make a choice based on your goals, capability gaps, budget, data, and boundary of responsibilities. These 8 models are the framework used in this article for demand assessment. They are not official classifications, nor do they imply that a single company can only provide one of these services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">To state the conclusion first: Define the problem first, then compare marketing agencies.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A good outsourcing sequence is: first write down the business goals, then identify the current bottlenecks, next determine the need for strategy, content, media, technology, or integration capabilities, and finally compare companies. If you only ask \"how much per month\" or \"can you guarantee performance\" at the beginning, the proposals you receive are usually difficult to compare on the same basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Your main problem right now<\/th><th>Ability to prioritize searching<\/th><th>The first acceptance metric<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>The market does not recognize the brand<\/td><td>Brand strategy, content, and PR<\/td><td>Does the target audience have an accurate understanding?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>The website has traffic but no inquiries.<\/td><td>Website conversion, content, and data analysis<\/td><td>Effective inquiry rate and churn stages<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Need to test requirements quickly<\/td><td>Ads, creatives, and landing pages<\/td><td>Qualified lead cost and lead quality<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Silos operating independently<\/td><td>Integrating Strategy, Project Management, and Common Metrics<\/td><td>Are the same objective and data definition used?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Internal lack of execution manpower<\/td><td>Operations management, content creation, or media execution<\/td><td>Output rhythm, quality, and handover completeness<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does a marketing agency do? The work is more than just running ads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The job of a marketing agency is to help businesses turn market problems into actionable strategies and actions, and to review the results using data. The scope may cover research, positioning, content, websites, search, social media, advertising, public relations, events, customer relationship management, and analytics. The real difference lies not only in the services provided, but also in who makes the decisions, who owns the assets, who interprets the data, and whether a smooth handover can be completed after the partnership ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the company's problem is still unclear, doing a diagnosis first is usually more appropriate than directly buying a monthly subscription plan. You can also first refer to \"<a href=\"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/insights\/digital-transformation-consultant-guide\/\">What does a digital transformation consultant do?<\/a>, understand how consultative collaboration begins with problem definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Inventory marketing needs using 8 collaboration models<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Brand Strategy Type: First clarify who you want to become<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suitable for companies with confused brand positioning, expanded product lines, or those needing to re-enter the market. Deliverables that can be agreed upon include audience definition, value proposition, messaging architecture, and brand identity direction. Acceptance cannot be based solely on a pretty presentation, but must confirm whether subsequent websites, sales pitches, and content topics can be executed according to the same logic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Search &amp; Content Type: Build answers that can be sustainably found<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suitable for products and services with a longer decision-making period and where customers actively conduct research. Collaboration may include keyword research, content mapping, articles, page improvements, and performance tracking. Key questions to ask are how the topics connect to business goals, who reviews the content, and what inquiries and conversions to observe beyond traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Website conversion type: Connecting traffic to the next step<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suitable for businesses that already have traffic but lack clear service descriptions, forms, booking, or sales funnels. This type of collaboration should simultaneously examine information architecture, copywriting, page experience, tracking, and post-delivery maintenance, rather than just changing the visuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Advertising Media Type: Accelerating testing and reach with budget<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suitable for scenarios requiring traffic, leads, or orders within a specific period. When comparing, media budget, service fees, creative production, and landing page costs should be separated, and it should be confirmed who defines conversion events and lead quality. Even with increased advertising platform automation, personnel are still responsible for business objectives, creatives, data, and decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Community and Community Content Type: Maintaining Relationships and Brand Rhythm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suitable for brands that require long-term interaction, real-time responses, and content exposure. Before collaborating, content rights, response boundaries, crisis escalation procedures, and whether pursuing interaction truly supports business goals should be confirmed. The number of posts is not the only quality indicator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. PR and Word-of-Mouth Type: Building Third-Party Understanding and Trust<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suitable for new products, issue communication, brand reputation, and stakeholder management. Enterprises must distinguish between media relations, paid exposure, social discussions, and user reviews. They should not treat reach from different sources as the same type of result, nor should they demand opaque or misleading practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Activity and Experience Type: Allow the audience to complete key interactions on-site<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suitable for exhibitions, product launches, investment promotion, education, and experiential events. In addition to attendance numbers, you also need to design a strategy for lead generation, follow-up nurturing, personal data consent, and cross-team handover beforehand. The end of the event is not the end of the project; whether it can generate trackable business opportunities afterward is what matters most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">8. Integrated Marketing Type: Having multiple specialties share the same goal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ideal for businesses with numerous channels, many internal and external partners, or the need to simultaneously handle branding, content, websites, and media. The value of integration lies not in having many service items, but in having a shared goal, a unified set of data, a single decision-making owner, and clear cross-team dependencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Should You Evaluate Marketing Agency Fees? Break Down the Costs First\u2014Don\u2019t Just Guess at Market Rates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marketing agency fees are affected by scope, duration, output volume, media budget, asset requirements, data conditions, and communication complexity, so it is difficult to represent the market with a single number. When comparing quotes, they should at least be broken down into strategy and research, fixed execution, labor and project management, media or third-party expenses, production costs, and the pricing method for out-of-scope work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Quotation field<\/th><th>Frequently asked questions<\/th><th>Easily overlooked boundaries<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Strategy and Research<\/td><td>What judgments and documents are to be delivered<\/td><td>Does it include interviews, data organization, and revisions?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Content and materials<\/td><td>Quantity, format, rights, and review rounds<\/td><td>Original files and rights ownership<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Media and third parties<\/td><td>Is the budget calculated separately, and who holds the account?<\/td><td>Can historical data be retained after terminating the cooperation?<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Analysis and Reporting<\/td><td>What caliber and how often to review<\/td><td>All impressions, no commercial quality<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Project Management<\/td><td>Windows, meetings, responses, and escalation mechanisms<\/td><td>Cross-departmental waiting is not included in the schedule assumptions.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prepare 10 items of information before outsourcing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Business problems to improve and priorities.<\/li><li>Main products, services, and profit structure.<\/li><li>Target audience, buying scenarios, and frequently asked questions.<\/li><li>Current websites, content, communities, ads, and lead sources.<\/li><li>Available historical data and data limitations.<\/li><li>The budget range that can be invested and the cooperation period.<\/li><li>Internal decision-makers, point of contact, and reviewers.<\/li><li>Brand, legal, industry, and asset restrictions.<\/li><li>Desired leading and lagging indicators to measure.<\/li><li>Accounts, data, and files to be handed over after the end of the cooperation.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Legal Basis:<a href=\"https:\/\/law.pdpc.gov.tw\/LawContent.aspx?id=FL010628\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Article 8 of the Enforcement Rules of the Personal Data Protection Act<\/a>Verified on August 19, 2026. Actual applicability must still be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the purpose of collection, data type, and the entrusted relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When dealing with customer or prospective customer data, it is also necessary to confirm the purpose of collection, scope of use, permissions, and retention method. If partners are entrusted to collect, process, or utilize personal data, the entrusting party must still review the relevant obligations based on the actual situation and properly supervise the trustee; delivering a list does not mean that the entrusting party's responsibility naturally ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When comparing proposals, use 6 questions to find the real differences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Problem Definition:<\/strong>Can the other party restate your business problem, rather than just introducing their service items?<\/li><li><strong>Assumptions and Methods:<\/strong>Why is this route recommended, and under what conditions would it be adjusted?<\/li><li><strong>Role Responsibilities:<\/strong>What each party provides, who approves, and who handles exceptions.<\/li><li><strong>Measurement method:<\/strong>Can metrics be linked back to leads, conversions, retention, or brand goals?<\/li><li><strong>Asset Governance:<\/strong>Who owns the accounts, domains, data, assets, and source files.<\/li><li><strong>Exit arrangements:<\/strong>How to hand over data, permissions, documents, and pending tasks at the end of a collaboration.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If a project involves both processes and systems, do not dump both process and system issues onto the marketing team. You can start by using [<a href=\"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/insights\/sme-digital-transformation-assessment\/\">How to evaluate digital transformation for small and medium-sized enterprises?<\/a>Review goals, processes, and data, then determine which fall under marketing and which under operations or system modifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Text Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Choose the question first:<\/strong>Brand, traffic, conversion, media, and integration require different capabilities.<\/li><li><strong>Re-election pattern:<\/strong>The 8 types of collaboration are an inventory tool, not a fixed industry classification.<\/li><li><strong>The quote needs to be itemized:<\/strong>Compare strategy, execution, media, production, data, and management costs respectively.<\/li><li><strong>Assets must be transferable:<\/strong>Accounts, data, assets, and permissions should not remain solely in the hands of the agency.<\/li><li><strong>Results must tie back to the business:<\/strong>Impressions and engagement can be observed, but they cannot replace lead quality, conversions, and retention.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Marketing Agency FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does a marketing agency do?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marketing agencies help companies research the market, define strategies, produce content, execute media, and analyze results. Different agencies have different areas of expertise and depth of delivery, so it is necessary to clarify problems and boundaries of responsibility before outsourcing.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How much does a marketing agency charge per month?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is no single price that applies to all projects. Costs depend on scope, duration, output volume, media budget, assets, data, and communication complexity, and comparable cost breakdowns are available upon request.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is it suitable for a small company to hire an integrated marketing agency?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If multiple capabilities are needed but there is a lack of an internal coordinator, integrating cooperation may save coordination costs. If there is currently only one clear gap, finding a specialized partner is usually easier to validate.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can we ask the marketing agency to guarantee results?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marketing results are also affected by product, price, supply, sales, seasonality, and the market. A more reasonable approach is to jointly agree on controllable deliverables, testing methods, and decision gates.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Will AI replace marketing agencies?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AI can assist with research, first drafts, material variants, and data organization, but business goals, brand judgment, data governance, verification, and responsibility still require human ownership.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What important clauses should be confirmed before signing a contract?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At a minimum, confirm scope, deliverables, revisions, timeline, fees, account and asset rights, data processing, confidentiality, termination, and handover. High-risk or high-value projects should have contracts reviewed by professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/contact\/\">Discuss your marketing and transformation issues with Yan-Yan<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u884c\u92b7\u516c\u53f8\u600e\u9ebc\u9078\uff0c\u95dc\u9375\u4e0d\u5728\u5148\u627e\u4e00\u5f35\u6392\u884c\u699c\uff0c\u800c\u662f\u5148\u78ba\u8a8d\u4f60\u8981\u89e3\u6c7a\u7684\u554f\u984c\u3002\u54c1\u724c\u77e5\u540d\u5ea6\u4e0d\u8db3\uff0c\u540d\u55ae\u54c1\u8cea\u4e0d\u7a69\uff0c\u7db2\u7ad9\u8f49\u63db\u4e0d\u4f73\uff0c [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-transformation"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yenhui.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}