These are the questions owners ask us most often before deciding whether to hire a marketing advisor. The answers above are short on purpose. The sections below add context on the four topics that come up in nearly every first conversation: money, trust, ownership and time.
Frequently asked questions
What does a marketing advisor actually do?
A marketing advisor works on the buyer's side. We help you decide what to spend, choose who to hire, check proposals before you sign, and audit whether current vendors deliver what you pay for. We advise; the agencies do the hands-on work.
How much do you charge?
Hourly consulting is $175 to $350 per hour, projects run $3,500 to $25,000, and monthly retainers run $2,500 to $12,000, all in Canadian dollars plus GST/HST based on your province (GST and QST in Quebec). The first 30-minute conversation is free.
How are you paid, and do vendors pay you anything?
You pay us for the advice under the terms in your proposal, and the proposal states in writing how we are paid on your engagement. If anything about a recommended vendor connects to our group, we disclose it before you see any recommendation.
Your group runs agencies. Why should I trust your advice?
Because you can check it. Every finding comes with evidence, group services are scored on the same criteria as outside vendors, and we always show an outside alternative when a group service is in the mix.
Is there a long-term contract?
No lock-in. Projects have a defined scope and end date. Retainer terms, including notice, are set out in writing in your proposal before work starts.
How long does an engagement take?
A proposal review usually takes about a week from receiving documents. Budget plans take two to three weeks, audits three to four weeks for a single vendor, and agency searches three to five weeks.
We tried an agency before and it went badly. How is this different?
We don't replace one pitch with another. We start by finding out what went wrong, using your old contract, reports and accounts if you still have them, so the next hire is made against clear targets and terms.
Who should own our website, domain and ad accounts?
You should. Domain, hosting, website files, ad accounts, analytics and content should be registered to your business, with vendors given user access. Checking this is part of every audit and proposal review we do.
Can you promise our marketing will improve?
No, and be cautious of anyone who promises results. We can promise a clear, evidenced picture of where your money goes and specific recommendations; outcomes depend on your market, your vendors and how you act on the advice.
What reporting will we get from you?
Short written summaries in plain language. Projects end with a written report and a walk-through call; oversight retainers include a one-page monthly summary and a quarterly review.
Do you work with businesses outside British Columbia?
Yes. Owners from Victoria to Iqaluit hire us for agency and budget advice, and the province you are in changes nothing about how we work: we meet in person or by video call, and also by phone, text and email.
Do you give legal advice on marketing contracts?
No. We review the business and marketing substance of a contract, such as scope, ownership and measurement. Legal wording and enforceability should go to a lawyer, and we will flag the clauses worth showing one.
What size of business do you work with?
Mostly owner-led businesses spending from a few thousand dollars a month on marketing up to multi-location companies with several vendors. If your spend is small, a short hourly session is often enough.
Money: what you pay and what it's compared with
Our fees are published so you can judge them before calling. Consulting starts at $175 per hour, projects at $3,500 and retainers at $2,500 per month, in Canadian dollars plus GST or HST at your province's rate. The full breakdown is on the pricing page.
The useful comparison is not our fee against zero, but against what is at stake. If you spend $5,000 a month on marketing, that is $60,000 a year. A few hours of review before signing a contract of that size is a small insurance cost. If your spend is a few hundred dollars a month, we'll usually suggest a shorter session or a free resource such as our agency audit checklist.
Trust: why our advice should be judged on evidence
Any advisor has some interest in what they recommend. The honest response is to make that interest visible and the advice checkable. We disclose any group connection to a vendor at the start, use the same scorecard for every candidate, and attach evidence to every finding.
That means you don't have to take our word for anything. If we say a campaign wastes spend on irrelevant searches, you will see the search terms. If we say a report double-counts leads, you will see the duplicates. More on our approach is on the About page.
Ownership: the question most owners ask too late
The most expensive surprises we see involve ownership. An owner leaves an agency and finds that the ad account, the website or even the domain sits in the vendor's name. Years of data and reviews linked to the site can be hard to recover.
The fix is simple when done early. Your business should register its own domain, hosting, ad and analytics accounts, then add vendors as users. If you're unsure where yours stand, a vendor audit starts with exactly that check.
Time: how long things take, and how much of yours we need
Most engagements need one discovery call, a handful of documents or account accesses, and one walk-through call at the end. During the work itself, we may send a few questions by email.
Typical durations are about a week for a proposal review, two to three weeks for a budget plan, three to four weeks for a single-vendor audit and three to five weeks for an agency search. Oversight retainers take a short call each month. Our services page explains what each involves.
When an advisor is the wrong hire
Not every situation calls for us. If you need someone to write posts, run ads and update your website every week, you need an agency, a freelancer or an employee, not an advisor. If your problem is that the phone rings but nobody answers it fast enough, the fix is operational, and no amount of marketing advice will solve it.
We are most useful at decision points: before signing, before renewing, before raising the budget, and when something feels wrong but you can't say what. If that's not where you are, we'll tell you so on the first call.
Still have a question?
If your question isn't here, send it by call, text or email. We usually reply within one business day, and if your question can be answered in a few minutes, we'll simply answer it. The contact page explains what to include so we can give you a useful reply the first time.