We write this article as a marketing agency, and we know you may ask: why do we advise you to scrutinize agencies, including us? Because a customer who knows what to ask for becomes a better customer for us and for others.
In Syria today there are dozens of agencies and freelancers offering digital marketing services, some professional and some who promise a lot and deliver little. The difference does not show in a beautiful website or the number of followers, but in how specific questions are answered. We give you twelve questions to ask before you sign any contract or transfer any amount.
Quick Summary
- A serious agency explains the plan and numbers and gives you a clear total price and what it includes.
- Beware of promises of guaranteed positions, quick results, and illogically low prices.
- Keep ownership of your accounts and login data, and do not hand passwords to anyone.
Article Contents
- Quick Summary
- Before the Questions: Define What You Want
- Twelve Questions That Separate the Serious Agency
- Warning Signs You Can Spot Quickly
- How Do You Compare Two Offers?
- The Questions You Should Hear from the Agency
- What Should You Provide?
- How Do You Read the Monthly Report?
- Mistakes Customers Make Themselves
- The First Three Months with the Agency: What to Expect?
- An Illustrative Scenario: How the Decision Changes with the Answers
- Agency, Freelancer, or In-House Team?
- What Does a Good Contract Include?
- Small Businesses with Limited Budgets
- Choosing an Agency in Syria: Considerations Specific to the Syrian Market
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sources and References
Read also A marketing agency or an in-house team
Before the Questions: Define What You Want
The best agency does not help you if you do not know your goal. Write on one sheet: what service you offer, who your customer is, how many customers or orders you need monthly, and how much you can spend. This sheet is the first thing any professional will ask you for, and it is the measure by which you judge every offer you receive.
Twelve Questions That Separate the Serious Agency
About Experience and Results
- Have you worked with a business like mine in a market like mine? Ask for an example and a before-and-after number that can be verified, not selected pictures.
- How will you measure success? A good answer links the work to indicators of your business (messages, orders, bookings), not likes only.
- What if the results do not materialize? The honest agency tells you the review plan and what can be guaranteed and what cannot.
About Transparency and Money
- Is the price clear and all-inclusive? Ask exactly what the total amount includes (ads, management, and reports) and how you follow the actual spend.
- In whose name are ad accounts and pages created? It is best that they are in your name or your company's and the agency team is added with limited permissions.
- How is the amount paid and what fees are added? Ask for a clear explanation of each item and a receipt or report from the platform itself.
- Are there hidden fees or a long contract with termination penalties? Read the cancellation terms before signing.
About Daily Work and Communication
- Who will actually manage my account? Is it a specific person or does it change weekly? Ask for a name and a way to reach them.
- How often will I receive a report and what does it contain? A good report explains what was done, what we learned, and what we will do next.
- How long does it take to reply to my inquiries? And what is the contact channel? Agree on a reasonable reply time.
- How do you handle content and images? Are they original and owned by me or repeated templates?
About Security and Professional Ethics
- Do you ask for my account passwords? The right answer: no, we work with added manager permissions.
- What happens to my assets when the contract ends? You must keep the accounts, content, and data in full.
- Can I speak to a previous customer? The confident agency gives you a reference or a documented opinion.
Warning Signs You Can Spot Quickly
| Sign | Why worry? |
|---|---|
| Guaranteeing first place or specific sales | No one controls platform algorithms |
| A price far below the market | Quality will likely fall, fees appear later, or a beginner manages your account |
| Refusing to give platform reports | Numbers may be edited or the spend lower than what you paid |
| Pressure to sign today | A serious offer can bear two days of thinking |
| Asking for passwords | Puts your account at risk and prevents you from recovering it |
| Content copied from other accounts | Harms your reputation and does not distinguish you |
How Do You Compare Two Offers?
Do not compare by price alone. Put the two offers in one table and compare the same items:
| Item | Agency A | Agency B |
|---|---|---|
| What the fee includes | Write the services precisely | Write the services precisely |
| Total price | What does it include? How much? | What does it include? How much? |
| Reports | Regular? What is in them? | Regular? What is in them? |
| Account ownership | Yours or theirs? | Yours or theirs? |
| Contract duration and cancellation | Exit terms | Exit terms |
The Questions You Should Hear from the Agency
A serious agency asks you more than you ask it. If the agency starts with the price before understanding your business, that is a weak sign. These are questions we expect any professional team to ask in the first meeting:
- Who is your ideal customer, where do they live, and how do they make the buying decision?
- What is your profit margin on each product or service? With it we know how much can be spent to acquire a customer.
- How many orders can you fulfill monthly without quality collapsing?
- What have you tried before and what was the result?
- Who are your direct competitors and what do they offer at a lower or higher price?
- How do you receive orders today: phone, WhatsApp, form? And who replies and at what time?
The last questions are very important: the best campaign fails if replying to messages is slow or the product does not arrive on time. An agency that cares about the customer experience after the click understands that marketing is a chain and not just an ad.
What Should You Provide?
| What you provide | Why? |
|---|---|
| Honest information about the work, prices, and names | Marketing is built on what is real |
| Real photos and videos of the place, products, and work | They are stronger than any stock images |
| A responsible person who replies and approves quickly | Delay in approval stalls the campaign |
| Speed in replying to customers | It is half the result |
| Regular feedback on quality | The agency improves with precise feedback |
How Do You Read the Monthly Report?
A good report is short and understandable. Ask it to answer the following questions clearly, and do not accept a report full of likes and impressions with no relation to your business:
| Question | What you expect |
|---|---|
| How much did we spend and on what? | Numbers from the platform itself in detail |
| What did we achieve? | Actual messages, orders, and bookings, not mere reach |
| How much did each customer or order cost us? | A clear number and an explanation of the change from last month |
| What did we learn? | What worked, what failed, and why |
| What will we do next month? | A specific plan and proposed experiments |
Mistakes Customers Make Themselves
Blame does not always fall on the agency. From our experience, these are common mistakes on the side of business owners that spoil the relationship:
- Expecting big results from a very small budget in a short time.
- Changing direction and requests every week before any plan gives its result.
- Comparing with a competitor's results without knowing their budget or circumstances.
- Neglecting to reply to customers then blaming the ad.
- Choosing only the cheapest agency then complaining about quality.
- Not informing the agency of offers and changes in inventory or prices.
The First Three Months with the Agency: What to Expect?
| Month | What happens | What you verify |
|---|---|---|
| First | Understanding the business, setting up accounts, defining the audience, and launching first tests | That the accounts are in your name and tracking works |
| Second | Analyzing first results, removing the weak, and improving messages and images | That the report explains what changed and why |
| Third | Concentrating the budget on the strongest and proposing a growth plan | That the cost per customer trends toward stability or decline |
If after three months you do not see an improvement in understanding, data, and reports even if sales are limited, this is a suitable time for a frank review with the agency, or for changing it according to the contract terms.
An Illustrative Scenario: How the Decision Changes with the Answers
Suppose an owner of an educational center in Damascus received two offers. The first promises a hundred new students within a month at a low fee and asks for the page passwords. The second explains a two-month trial plan with a clear all-inclusive price covering ads and management and a weekly platform report, and asks to be added only as a page manager. A lower price and a bigger promised result do not mean a better offer, since the second is the one that preserves the center's ownership of its page and explains how success is measured. This is an illustrative example and not a real case, but it summarizes the way of thinking.
Agency, Freelancer, or In-House Team?
| Option | Advantages | Disadvantages | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | Lower cost and flexibility | Dependence on one person and limited capacity | Small projects and a specific task |
| Agency | A complete team and varied expertise | Higher cost and personal attention may fall | Businesses needing continuity and variety |
| In-house team | Deep knowledge of your business | Salaries, tools, and management | Large companies with steady workload |
What Does a Good Contract Include?
- A precise description of services, monthly deliverables, and delivery schedule.
- The total price and what it includes (ads, management, and reports) clearly, with payment method and currency.
- Ownership of accounts, content, and files, and your right to receive them in full at the end.
- A short trial period and fair termination terms for both parties.
- Confidentiality and not using your data or work for anything other than serving you.
Small Businesses with Limited Budgets
If your budget is limited, do not ask for everything at once. Choose one channel that suits your business (Instagram for a store, Google for a service people search for, Facebook for a wide audience) and start with it for three months with clear measurement. Expand afterward based on what works. And a good agency tells you honestly if your budget is not enough for what you want and suggests an alternative.
Choosing an Agency in Syria: Considerations Specific to the Syrian Market
When choosing a marketing agency in Syria, questions appear that others in different markets do not ask: does the agency understand local buying habits? Does it know the availability of ad services for your account and country? How does it handle payment and delivery in Syria? And does it have real experience in cities such as Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, and Latakia?
- Ask for examples of work the agency carried out for businesses in Syria that can be verified.
- Ask how its plan adapts to network, payment, and delivery circumstances in Syria.
- Make sure of the clarity of the total price, what it includes, and the actual spend reports.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it better to use an agency inside Syria or outside?
What matters most is its understanding of the Syrian market, its clear reports, and its ability to reply fast, whether inside Syria or outside.
How much do agencies charge?
They vary by services and workload. Ask for a detailed written offer, and compare at least three offers on the same items.
Should I start with a long contract?
It is best to start with a short trial period, then extend the contract if you see results and transparency.
Should I ask the agency for access to my accounts?
Yes, you should remain the top owner of the accounts and see everything happening in them at any time.
How do I know the reports are correct?
Ask to see the platform dashboards directly and compare the actual message and order numbers you have with what is in the report.
Can Ghayat manage my account?
Yes, we offer digital marketing services to businesses in Syria and Turkey, and we welcome you asking us these same questions.
Related articles on this topic
Related Ghayat services
Sources and References
Related articles
How Do You Build a Brand Identity People Trust? Logo, Colors, Message, and Voice: A Practical Guide for Startups in Syria and Turkey
A Marketing Guide to Entering the Syrian Market: Practical Steps for Companies and Entrepreneurs from Turkey and Abroad to Understand the Audience, Build Trust, and Start Smartly
Marketing Multiple Branches and Franchises: How Your Brand Expands from One City to Another Without Losing Its Identity in Syria and Turkey
