Nine questions to ask a restaurant marketing agency before you sign
Before signing with a marketing agency, a restaurant should settle three things in writing: who owns the ad accounts and the data, what number the work will be judged on and where that number comes from, and how either side leaves. The nine questions below cover each, and a good agency will answer all of them without hesitating.
Why the second agency is harder to hire than the first
Most operators who are careful about agencies got that way honestly. The first one sent a monthly PDF full of impressions and clicks, the room didn't feel any fuller, and when the contract ended the ad account - with two years of history in it - turned out to belong to the agency.
What tends to happen next is one of two things. Either marketing goes back to whoever has a spare hour and a phone, or a second agency gets hired on the same terms as the first, with more suspicion and no better way to check the work. Neither fixes the real problem, which was never effort. It was that nobody agreed at the start what the work would be judged on, or who would own what it built.
Three things to settle before the creative gets discussed
An agency pitch is mostly about ideas - the look of the ads, the voice of the posts. That's the enjoyable part, and it's rarely where things go wrong. Where this gets difficult is everything underneath: ownership, measurement and the exit. Settle those first and the ideas can be judged on their merits. Leave them vague and even good work becomes impossible to defend to a partner or an owner.
Ownership: the accounts and the data
Your Google Ads account, your Meta ad account, your Google Business Profile, your email list and the tracking on your website are assets. They hold the history the ad systems have learned from, the reviews you've earned and the guests you've collected. They should be set up in the restaurant's name, with the agency given access to work in them - and able to be removed from them in an afternoon.
Both Google and Meta are built for this. An agency can be added to your Google Ads account as a manager, and to your Meta business as a partner, without owning either. If an agency insists on running your ads from an account of its own, ask why, and ask what you take with you when you leave. Usually the answer is nothing.
Measurement: what number, and where it comes from
Every agency reports results. The question is whose. Reach, impressions, clicks and the conversions a platform reports are all counted by the same systems that sold you the ads. They're useful for running a campaign and close to useless for deciding whether it was worth running.
The number that settles it is the one at the register: what the guests a campaign brought in actually spent, at which location, on which nights. Not every visit can be traced back to an ad, and an honest report says so - it keeps what can be proven apart from what is estimated instead of blending the two into one flattering figure. Ask a prospective agency to show you a report where those are separate. If they can't produce one, you've learned what you'll be getting every month.
The exit: how either side leaves
A minimum term protects the agency from being judged on a slow first month, and that's fair. What matters more is what happens on the last day: the accounts stay with you, the creative you paid for stays with you, and access is removed cleanly. Have it in the agreement before the first invoice, while everyone is still being agreeable.
Where restauWant sits in this
We should say plainly that we have a stake here. restauWant has a Studio that runs campaigns for restaurants, so these are questions we expect to be asked ourselves. The answers are the ones we'd want from anyone: the accounts are yours, we're added to them and can be removed, and the work is judged on checks at the register, with what's verified kept apart from what's estimated.
The app that does that measuring also works with any agency, or none. If you already have one you like, connecting the register gives you both the same number to work from - which tends to make a good agency better and a poor one obvious. The demo is open if you'd rather look first, and pricing is public.
Nine questions to ask before you sign
- Whose name are the ad accounts in? - They should be yours, with the agency added as a manager or partner.
- Who owns the Google Business Profile, the website tracking and the email list? - Same answer.
- What happens to the accounts, the creative and the data when we part ways? - Get it into the agreement.
- What single number will the work be judged on? - Ideally revenue at the register, not clicks.
- Where does that number come from? - The platform's own report, or your register.
- How do you separate what's proven from what's estimated? - Ask to see a real report.
- Can I see results by location? - A blended number hides the location carrying the rest.
- How is your fee set, and what is the ad spend on top? - A percentage of spend rewards spending more; know which you're agreeing to.
- What are the minimum term and the notice period? - And what you're owed during them.
Should a marketing agency own my restaurant's ad accounts?
No. The accounts should be in the restaurant's name, with the agency given access to work in them. Both Google and Meta are set up for exactly that.
What should a restaurant marketing agency report on?
What was spent, what it brought in at the register, by location, with a clear line between proven and estimated results. Reach and clicks are context, not the result.
Is a long contract a bad sign?
Not on its own. An agency needs a few months to show anything. What matters is that you leave with your accounts, your creative and your data when the term ends.
Can I check an agency's work myself?
Yes, if your register and your ad accounts are connected to something that matches one to the other. That's what the restauWant app does, whoever runs the campaigns.
