How to choose a marketing agency in Saudi Arabia or Egypt: 10 questions before you sign
Why the choice matters more than you think
An agency will speak for your brand, spend your budget and control your accounts. A quick choice based on a cheaper quote or a pretty design alone can end in wasted months and accounts that are hard to recover.
The ten questions
- Have you worked with brands in my sector and market? Ask for real examples, not just logos.
- Which numbers will you judge success by? They should connect to sales or customers, not just likes.
- Who owns the ad accounts, pages and data? The right answer: you, always.
- Who will actually work on my account? Meet the team, not just the salesperson.
- What will reporting look like? How often, what it includes, and who explains it.
- Is the ad budget separate from the fee? It should be clear and separate.
- What exactly does the contract include? Number of posts, designs, videos and revisions.
- How long until the first results? Very fast promises are a warning sign.
- How do you handle Arabic and English content? Written by specialists or machine-translated?
- How does the relationship end? Notice period, and handover of files and accounts.
Warning signs
| Sign | Why to worry |
|---|---|
| Guaranteed results or specific numbers before any research | Nobody can guarantee market behaviour |
| Refusing you access to your own accounts | Losing control of your assets |
| Reports full of engagement but no sales | Measurement that doesn't reflect real work |
| A price far below the market | Usually at the expense of quality or time |
| Nobody asks about your goals and numbers | A generic plan that won't fit you |
One full agency or separate specialists?
Separate specialists can be cheaper, but you become the one coordinating them. An agency that brings strategy, production and media under one management saves your time — provided each discipline has a real team behind it.
The bottom line
The right agency asks you more than it pitches you, measures what matters to you, and leaves the accounts and data in your hands. These ten questions are enough to tell a real partner from a passing vendor.
Questions
Should I ask for a trial before a long contract?
Yes — a short project or a trial month with clear goals is a good way to get to know each other.
Is the cheapest always the worst?
Not always, but ask exactly what the price includes and who will do the work.
What contract length makes sense?
Usually three to six months to begin with, because marketing needs time to show results.