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Four Marketing Hacks for 2026

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Presentation Slides

The following is a summary of a presentation we gave to a local networking group in the Owen Sound, Ontario area earlier this year (2026). 

Title

Presentation Content

In 2026, “information” is a free commodity increasingly fueled by AI. Prospective clients and customers don’t need more data; they need your judgment and local context.

What follows focuses on how professional service providers can win by being the most trusted, human, and visible expert in their region.

Because, while digital tools offer convenience, the “human factor”— empathy and demonstrated expertise—remains the primary driver of trust and long-term loyalty for consumers.

 

Trust is a Must

In PwC’s 2025 Customer Experience Survey, 42% of consumers stated they would pay more for a friendly, welcoming experience, and 56% said “help from real people” was a top driver of trust in a business.

But How?
Numerous touch points contribute to a consumer decision, yet there are four actionable “hacks” you can implement immediately to start building a
stronger, more authentic connection with your prospects:

  1. Niche-down
  2. Digital curb appeal
  3. Ask & answer content
  4. Engineered referrals

 

Strategy #1: Niche-down

“Doing it all” makes you invisible to AI search. Solving specific problems gets seen and generates value in moments of actionable need. 

The Generalist Trap

AI search engines are aggressively filtering for specific experts. If your bio says “Realtor in Grey-Bruce,” you are competing with everyone. If it says “Waterfront Cottage Specialist on the Bruce Peninsula,” you become a specific entity that AI and clients can easily recommend.

What To Do

Start by looking for untapped niches in your field/area and reflecting on your offerings. Do you fill a gap? Can you easily? Then, review your digital touch points. How can they be made more specific and solutions-focused? Commit to a niche for 90 days and measure your results.

 

Strategy #2 – Digital Curb Appeal

SEO visibility is narrowing, with AI search results often only giving two local options. Having a strong SEO foundation has never been more critical.

Lost & Not Found

As AI begins to “filter” the best options for users, only the most optimized and authoritative businesses will be surfaced. (As many as ~68% less businesses could appear.) Being at the top now requires a “data-first” strategy driven by your Google Business Profile.

What To Do

Ensuring your Google Business Profile (GBP) is complete, optimized, and populated with relevant content can increase engagement ~5x. Weekly photos and keyword-rich “updates” are a great start, and responding
to reviews is a must. This month, take ownership of your profile (if you haven’t) and schedule a few posts!

 

Strategy #3 – Ask & Answer Content

78% of consumers would rather watch a short video than read an article.
Stop “creating” content and start documenting your expertise.

Talk It Out

Short-form video is rapidly becoming the preferred way for consumers to learn about a company. The right videos can generate genuine connections with viewers while positioning individuals and brands as thought leaders/solution providers in their spaces.

What To Do

Your “Sent” folder contains the exact questions your clients are worried about. Record one low-effort, iPhone-recorded 60- second video answering one of those questions each week and publish it to your socials (and GBP!). Do this for 4 weeks, and measure your engagement. (It’ll go up!)

 

Strategy #4 – Engineered Referrals

Referred leads convert at 3–5x the rate of paid ads. Automating the “Ask”
when consumers feel the most relief can help generate more.

Just Askin’

Referral marketing delivers an average ROI of 3,000% when implemented as a formal system. (Seriously.) Referral leads also close faster and have a 16% higher lifetime value than leads from any other channel. But when was the last time you got one? Or asked for one?

What To Do

Reflect on your sales process; find the true “peak happiness” moment for your customers. Write a simple email (with a link to your GBP review section) asking for a referral and schedule a reminder to send it whenever a customer reaches that peak happiness moment. PS: texts work, too.

 

Presentation Summary

Here are the core takeaways from our chat:

  • Niche Down: Move from a generalist mindset to a specialized local entity.
  • Feed GBP: Own & optimize your Google Profile.
  • Ask & Answer: Turn your sent emails into trust-building educational videos.
  • Referral Automation: Systematize your ask at the point of peak happiness.

If you would like to learn more about improving your marketing efforts, please contact us—we’d love to chat!

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The Fractional Advantage: Scaling Marketing Without the Full-Time Salary

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For many small to mid-sized businesses in Canada, the marketing department is often a department of one—and usually, that person is the owner. You know your business better than anyone, but as you scale, the time required to manage a WordPress site, stay current with SEO trends, and run effective paid digital campaigns becomes a bottleneck.

The traditional solution has been to hire a full-time marketing manager. However, in today’s economic climate, adding a high-level salary plus benefits to the payroll is a significant commitment that many SMBs are hesitant to make. This is where the fractional marketing model is changing the game for Canadian businesses.

A fractional approach allows you to access senior-level marketing expertise on a part-time or project basis. It bridges the gap between doing everything yourself and the overhead of a full-time executive hire. Here is why this model is becoming the preferred way for agile businesses to grow in 2026.

Access to Specialized Expertise

Marketing is no longer a single skill set. To be successful today, you need a mix of strategic planning, technical web development, data analysis for paid ads, and creative content production. It is rare to find one individual who excels at all of these tasks at a high level. By utilizing fractional support, you aren’t just hiring a generalist; you are gaining access to a team of specialists who can be deployed exactly when and where you need them most.

Cost-Effective Scalability

One of the greatest pressures on Canadian SMBs right now is managing fixed costs. A full-time marketing hire is a fixed cost that remains the same regardless of your seasonal needs or shifting goals. Fractional marketing is inherently scalable. If you are launching a new product or expanding into a new province, you can increase your marketing support. When things stabilize, you can scale back. This flexibility ensures that your marketing budget is always aligned with your actual business activity.

Strategy Over Execution

Many business owners fall into the trap of “random acts of marketing”—posting on social media because they feel they have to, without a clear path to a lead or a sale. A fractional marketing partner brings an outside perspective and a strategic framework to your operations. Instead of just “doing” marketing, they help you identify which channels actually drive ROI in the Canadian B2B space and which ones are simply draining your resources.

Faster Time to Market

Hiring a full-time employee can take months of recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding. In contrast, a fractional partnership can often be integrated into your business within weeks. This speed allows you to respond to market trends and competitor moves in (near) real time. Whether it is refreshing your website copy to reflect new privacy regulations or pivoting your ad spend toward a high-performing niche, fractional support provides the agility that a traditional corporate structure often lacks.

The goal of marketing shouldn’t be to add more work to your plate; it should be to create a system that works for you. By leveraging fractional expertise, you can compete with larger corporations without their overhead.

Grow, Efficiently

Growing your business shouldn’t mean taking on the overwhelming overhead of a full marketing department. We offer fractional marketing support tailored to the unique needs of Canadian businesses. 

Whether you need high-level strategy, WordPress expertise, or consistent content production, we provide the skills you need without the full-time commitment. Let’s talk about how our fractional model can help you scale efficiently and effectively.

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Google-Proofing Your Local Business in the Age of AI

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If you have recently searched for a local service, you likely noticed that the results page looks different from what it did even a year ago. Instead of a simple list of websites, Google often provides a conversational summary at the very top. This is part of the shift toward Search Generative Experience, and for small to mid-sized businesses in Canada, it represents a significant change in how customers find you.

The challenge for many Canadian SMBs is that these AI-driven summaries can sometimes push traditional organic listings and the “Map Pack” further down the page. If your business isn’t mentioned within that AI summary, you risk becoming invisible to a large segment of your local market.

To stay competitive, you need to move beyond traditional SEO and focus on building digital authority that AI models can easily recognize and trust. Here are some simple pointers on how you can “Google-proof” your local presence today.

Prioritize Localized Context

AI models prioritize information that feels authentic and specific. Generic website copy that could apply to a business in any city no longer cuts it. To stand out, your content should reflect your actual footprint in your community. Mentioning specific Canadian neighbourhoods, local landmarks, or even addressing how our unique climate impacts your services provides the “local signals” that AI looks for when verifying a business’s relevance to a user’s query.

Optimize Your Digital Footprint

Your Google Business Profile remains your most important asset, but in 2026, it will serve as a primary data source for AI summaries. Ensure your profile is not just complete, but active. Regularly uploading high-resolution photos, responding promptly to reviews, and posting updates about your local involvement tells Google’s AI that your business is a reliable, living entity. When an AI tool looks for a trustworthy recommendation in your area, these consistent activity signals make you a much safer bet.

Focus on Information Gain

One of the biggest shifts in modern search is a preference for unique information. If your blog posts simply repeat the same advice found on ten other websites, an AI tool has no reason to cite you. Instead, share your specific expertise. This could be a case study of a project completed in a specific Canadian municipality or a guide on navigating provincial regulations. By providing “information gain”—data or perspectives that aren’t available elsewhere—you increase the chances of being featured as a source in generative search results.

The Power of Local Backlinks

Trust is built through association. When local chambers of commerce, community blogs, or Canadian industry associations link to your website, it acts as a digital endorsement. For an AI trying to determine who the leader is in a specific city, these local connections are far more valuable than generic links from international sites. Engaging with your local community online isn’t just good networking; it is a critical component of your technical SEO strategy.

Adapting to AI doesn’t mean you need to reinvent your business. It means ensuring that the local expertise you already possess is clearly visible to the algorithms now managing the front door of the internet.

Let’s Get You Found

Is your business ready for the shift toward AI-driven search? We specialize in helping Canadian businesses build the digital authority needed to stay visible in an evolving landscape. From optimizing your Google Business Profile to creating localized content that search engines trust, we can help you navigate these changes. Connect with us today to discuss a local SEO strategy that puts your business at the forefront of the AI era.

Outsource Marketing Guide

The Canadian Business Owner’s Guide to Outsourcing Marketing

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It’s 2:00 PM on a Tuesday. Are you focused on growing your business, or are you trying to figure out why your company’s Instagram account is locked?

For many Canadian business owners and executives, marketing has become a second full-time job. You know you need to be visible online to survive, but the complexity of digital marketing has exploded. Ten years ago, you just needed a website. Today, you need SEO, paid ads, content strategies, email automation, and social media presence.

If you are reading this, you are likely at a crossroads. You are tired of the “start-stop” nature of your marketing. You are tired of managing juniors who require constant guidance. You are wondering if there is a better way to get results without the headache.

This guide is for you. We will break down the real costs, the pros and cons of your options, and how to transition from “marketing chaos” to a streamlined strategy that generates leads while you sleep.

 

Part 1: The “Do-It-All” Myth

The biggest trap Canadian SMBs fall into is believing that one person can do it all. We often see job postings looking for a “Marketing Coordinator” that require:

  • Graphic Design skills
  • Copywriting proficiency
  • Google Ads certification
  • SEO technical knowledge
  • Video editing experience

In reality, these are five different careers. When you try to hire a “unicorn” to handle everything, you usually end up with a generalist who is stretched too thin to excel at anything. The result? Mediocre content, wasted ad budget, and employee burnout.

The Reality Check: Effective marketing today requires a system, not just a person.

 

Part 2: Your Three Options (Pros & Cons)

When you decide to get serious about marketing, you generally have three paths. Here is how they stack up in the Canadian market.

Option A: The In-House Hire

You hire a Marketing Manager to sit in your office.

  • Pros: They are dedicated solely to your brand; immediate access for meetings; deep cultural integration.
  • Cons: High cost (salary + overhead); reliance on a single person’s skill set; disruption if they leave (which is common in this industry).
  • Best for: Large corporations with the budget to build a multi-person department.

Option B: The Freelancer Model

You hire a contractor for specific tasks.

  • Pros: Low cost; flexibility to scale up or down.
  • Cons: You become the project manager. You have to piece together a writer, a designer, and a developer. If the freelancer vanishes, your marketing stops.
  • Best for: Very small businesses with limited budgets needing one-off tasks.

Option C: The Marketing Agency Partner

You hire an external team to handle strategy and execution.

  • Pros: Access to a full team of experts (writers, strategists, ad specialists) for less than the cost of one employee; continuity (no sick days or turnover issues); scalable results.
  • Cons: Less “face time” in the office; requires trust in the partner’s process.
  • Best for: Small to mid-sized businesses that want enterprise-level results without the management headache.

 

Part 3: The Financial Logic (The “CFO” Argument)

Let’s look at the numbers. Many business owners assume an agency is expensive, but when you factor in the “fully loaded” cost of an employee in Canada, the math changes.

The Cost of an In-House Manager (National Average):

  • Base Salary (Intermediate Level): $75,000 – $90,000 CAD
  • EI & CPP (Employer Contributions): ~$4,500+
  • Health Benefits & Tech Stack: ~$3,000 – $5,000
  • Recruitment & Onboarding Costs: ~$5,000
  • Total First-Year Cost: $87,500 – $105,000+

And remember: for that $100k+, you only get one set of skills. If you need a website update, you might still have to pay an external developer.

The Cost of an Agency Partner:

Most comprehensive agency retainers for SMBs range from $3,000 to $7,000 per month ($36k – $84k annually).

The Bottom Line: For less than the cost of one mid-level manager, you get an entire department—Strategist, SEO Expert, Writer, and Designer—working on your account. Plus, it’s a business expense, not a payroll liability.

 

Part 4: 5 Signs It’s Time to Outsource

How do you know if you are ready to make the switch? If you recognize any of these symptoms, it’s time to call a partner.

  1. Feast or Famine: You do marketing when you are slow, but stop when you get busy. This destroys your pipeline consistency.
  2. The “Black Box” Anxiety: You are spending money on ads, but have no idea if they are actually working.
  3. Content Paralysis: Your blog hasn’t been updated in 6 months because “nobody has time.”
  4. Skill Gaps: You have a great team, but no one knows how to resolve the technical SEO issues on your website.
  5. Management Fatigue: You are tired of the same conversation about “getting more leads” without any change in strategy.

 

Part 5: How to Choose a Canadian Marketing Partner

Not all agencies are created equal. If you decide to outsource, look for these “Green Flags”:

  • Transparency: Do they own your data? (You should always own your Google Ads and Analytics accounts.)
  • Strategic Focus: Do they ask about your business goals (revenue, profit), or just vanity metrics (likes, clicks)?
  • Canadian Context: Do they understand the local market, CASL (anti-spam) compliance, and Canadian privacy laws?
  • Reporting: Will they provide a clear monthly report that explains where your money went and what it returned?

 

Conclusion: Reclaim Your Time

Your expertise is running your business—whether that’s logistics, finance, manufacturing, or services. Your expertise is not debugging WordPress plugins or researching hashtags.

Outsourcing your marketing isn’t just a cost-saving measure; it is a strategic move to reclaim your time and ensure your business growth is in the hands of professionals who do this every single day.

Cost of Hiring Marketing Manager

The True Cost of Hiring a Marketing Manager in Canada vs. An Agency

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Marketing can seem expensive until you factor in the cost of a bad hire.

If you are a Canadian business owner looking to scale, you have likely considered a marketing agency’s monthly retainer—perhaps $4,000 to $7,000—and hesitated. It feels like a lot of money to send out the door every thirty days.

The natural alternative is to hire someone in-house. “If I hire a Marketing Manager,” you think, “I own their time. I can see them working. It’s a better investment.”

But is it?

In 2025, the “sticker price” of an employee is deceptively low compared to their “fully loaded” cost. When we peel back the layers of Canadian payroll taxes, benefits, technology, and recruitment costs, the math tells a surprising story.

Here is the actual financial breakdown of hiring a mid-level Marketing Manager in Canada versus partnering with an agency.

 

1. The Base Salary (It’s Higher Than You Think)

According to Randstad’s 2025 Salary Guide and data from Jobted, the average salary for an intermediate Marketing Manager in Canada hovers between $80,000 and $90,000 CAD.

If you want a Senior Marketing Manager—someone who can actually build a strategy rather than just execute one—you are looking at $95,000 to $120,000+.

For this comparison, let’s be conservative and assume you find a great candidate for $85,000.

  • Running Total: $85,000

 

2. The “Government’s Cut” (CPP & EI)

In Canada, employers pay a premium in addition to salary. These rates have increased for 2025.

  • Canada Pension Plan (CPP): Employers must match employees’ contributions. For 2025, the rate is roughly 5.95%. With the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) rising to $71,300, your employer contribution will max out at around $4,034.
  • Employment Insurance (EI): As an employer, you pay 1.4 times the employee’s premium. For 2025, the maximum employer contribution is approximately $1,508.

We also cannot forget Vacation Pay (typically 4% or 2 weeks) and WCB/WSIB premiums (which vary by province and add 1-2%).

  • Add ~$6,000 in mandatory government costs.
  • Running Total: $91,000

 

3. The “Standard” Benefits Package

To attract a skilled marketing professional in a competitive Canadian market, you cannot offer just a salary. You need a health and dental plan.

According to industry averages, a comprehensive benefits package costs an employer 15% to 30% of payroll. Even a modest plan will cost roughly $2,500 to $4,000 per year per employee.

  • Add: ~$3,000.
  • Running Total: $94,000

 

4. The Tech Stack (The Hidden Monthly Fees)

This is the cost most business owners forget. A carpenter needs a hammer; a marketer needs software. If you hire in-house, you pay for the licenses.

Here is a basic “survival stack” for a modern marketer:

  • SEO Tools (e.g., SEMrush or Ahrefs): ~$170/month ($2,040/year)
  • Design Software (Adobe Creative Cloud): ~$80/month ($960/year)
  • Email Marketing Platform (e.g., HubSpot Starter or Mailchimp): ~$50-$200/month
  • Stock Photo/Video Subscription: ~$40/month

Annual Tech Cost: ~$3,500 – $5,000

  • Add: ~$4,000.
  • Running Total: $98,000

 

5. The Cost of Recruitment (and Turnover)

The average tenure of a marketing leader is shrinking. According to Spencer Stuart and Talentfoot data, the average tenure for marketing leadership roles ranges from 2.5 to 4.3 years, with mid-level managers often moving even faster.

Every time you have to hire, it costs you:

  • Recruitment Fees: If you use a headhunter, that’s 15-20% of the first year’s salary ($12k – $17k).
  • Your Time: Hours spent reviewing resumes and interviewing.
  • Training Gap: A new hire takes roughly 3 months to become fully productive. That is 25% of their first year’s salary paid for “learning,” not “doing.”

 

The Final Comparison

Let’s look at the final numbers side by side.

Cost Item

In-House Manager (Intermediate)

Professional Agency Partner

Annual Cost

$98,000+ (Salary + Burden + Tech)

$48,000 – $84,000 (Fixed Retainer)

Skill Set

One Person (Generalist)

Full Team (Strategist, Writer, SEO, Designer)

Software Costs

Paid by You

Included

Reliability

Sick days, vacation, turnover risk

365-Day Continuity

Training Cost

3 Months Ramp-up

Day 1 Value

 

The Verdict

Hiring in-house makes sense when you are large enough to build a 3-5 person marketing department. But if you are trying to replace an entire department with one person, you are setting them (and your budget) up for failure.

For significantly less than the cost of one stressed-out employee, an agency provides you with a team of experts and a strategy that doesn’t pause when someone goes on vacation.

Stop paying for overhead. Start paying for results.

 

Sources & Data Methodology

  • Salary Data: Based on Randstad Canada’s 2025 Salary Guide and Jobted Canada averages for “Marketing Manager” roles in major Canadian metro areas.
  • Tax Data: 2025 CPP and EI contribution rates sourced from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) (CPP Max Employer Contribution: $4,034; EI Max Employer Contribution: $1,508).
  • Benefits: Industry averages sourced from KASE Insurance and BBD (15%-30% of payroll).
  • Tenure: Average CMO and marketing leadership tenure data sourced from Spencer Stuart and Talentfoot (2024/2025 reports).
Marketing Manager Quits

What to Do When Your Marketing Manager Quits (Again)

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It’s the email every business owner dreads. Subject: “Can we chat for a minute?”

You know what’s coming. Your Marketing Manager is resigning.

If this has happened to you more than once in the last few years, you are not alone. You are experiencing the “Marketing Revolving Door.”

For Canadian small- to mid-sized businesses, the average tenure of a marketing leader is declining. Just as they begin to understand your product, brand voice, and industry, they leave. And you are back to square one: posting on LinkedIn, vetting resumes, and bracing yourself for three months of lost momentum.

Here is why this cycle keeps happening, and how you can finally break it.

 

The “Two-Year” Trap

According to data from Spencer Stuart and SaaStr, the average tenure for marketing leaders (CMOs and VPs) has dropped significantly, often hovering between 1.8 and 3.3 years depending on the industry. For mid-level managers in high-pressure SMB environments, it can be even shorter.

Why is turnover so high in this specific department?

It is rarely because you are a “bad boss.” It is usually because the modern marketing role is broken.

 

1. The “Unicorn” Expectation

Many businesses hire one person and expect them to be a Writer, Designer, Strategist, Web Developer, and Ads Manager. This leads to rapid burnout. In a 2024 survey by The Better Content Club, more than 60% of marketers reported feeling “overwhelmed” by the scope of their roles.

 

2. Isolation Island

Marketing is a creative, collaborative field. When you hire a “Team of One,” that person often feels isolated. They have no one to brainstorm with, no one to critique their work, and no senior mentor to help them grow. They eventually leave to join a larger team where they aren’t working in isolation.

 

3. The Ceiling

In a small business, a Marketing Manager often hits a “growth ceiling” within 18 months. Once they have set up the basics, they get bored. They leave to find a new challenge, taking all your institutional knowledge with them.

 

The Hidden Cost: “Brain Drain”

We often talk about the financial cost of turnover (recruitment fees, training time). But the strategic cost is far more damaging.

When your Marketing Manager quits, they take the “keys to the castle” with them:

  • The Login Sheet: We have seen countless businesses locked out of their Facebook Ad accounts because an ex-employee set them up using a personal email.
  • The “Tribal Knowledge”: They know which blog posts generate leads and which trade shows are a waste of money. When they leave, that data vanishes, and your new hire has to learn it all over again through expensive trial and error.
  • Momentum Loss: It takes an average of 3 months to hire a replacement and another 3 months for them to reach full productivity. That is half a year where your growth is paused.

 

The Solution: Continuity as a Service

This is the strongest argument for the Agency Partner Model.

When you hire an agency, you aren’t hiring a person; you are hiring a system.

 

1. You Buy “Institutional Memory.”

An agency uses a CRM and project management tools to document everything. If one writer on the agency team leaves, the Strategy Director (and the rest of the team) is still there. Your marketing history, brand voice, and campaign data stay with the agency—and by extension, with you.

 

2. No More “Ramp-Up” Periods

Agencies are designed to scale. If you have a busy season, we add more hands to the deck. If you are slow, we pull back. You never have to worry about whether your Marketing Manager is “busy enough” or “too busy.”

 

3. The “Bus Factor” of Zero

In risk management, the “Bus Factor” is the number of team members who can be hit by a bus before the project fails.

  • In-House Hire: Bus Factor = 1 (High Risk)
  • Agency Partner: Bus Factor = 0 (Zero Risk)

 

How to Stop the Cycle

If you are currently staring at a resignation letter, or if you are just tired of worrying about when the next one will drop, you have two choices.

Option A: Post the job ad again. Hope you find a “unicorn” who is willing to work alone, do five jobs at once, and stay for five years. (Good luck).

Option B: Change the model. Move your budget from “payroll” to “partner.”

By outsourcing, you transfer the burden of retention, training, and HR headaches to us. We handle the burnout. We handle the career growth. We handle the sick days.

You just handle the leads.

 

Sources & Data Methodology

  • Turnover Rates: Executive tenure data sourced from Spencer Stuart (CMO Tenure Study 2024) and SaaStr (GTM Executive Tenure Data), indicating average tenures of 1.8 to 4.2 years.
  • Burnout Statistics: Marketer sentiment and burnout rates (60%+) sourced from The Better Content Club (Why Career Marketers Are Leaving).
  • Cost of Turnover: Financial impact data supported by Express Employment Professionals Canada (Average cost of turnover ~$29,000+ per employee).
  • Hiring Timelines: “Time to Fill” and “Time to Productivity” estimates based on standard HR benchmarks (Society for Human Resource Management).
5 red flags

5 Red Flags to Watch for When Hiring a Canadian Marketing Agency

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“We spent $30,000 and have nothing to show for it.”

In our line of work, we hear this sentence far too often.

Many Canadian business owners have been “burned” by a marketing agency in the past. Perhaps they promised you the moon and delivered a PDF. They may have locked you into a 12-month contract and then stopped answering the phone. Or worse—maybe they held your data hostage when you tried to leave.

If you are hesitant to trust a new partner, you are right to be cautious. The barrier to entry for starting a “marketing agency” is low; anyone with a laptop can claim to be an expert.

To protect your business (and your budget), here are the 5 Red Flags you must watch for before signing a contract in 2025.

 

Red Flag #1: They Want to “Own” Your Ad Accounts

The Scenario: You ask about your Google Ads or Facebook Ads account, and the agency says, “Don’t worry, we run that through our master account.”

The Trap: If an agency creates the ad account in its name, it legally owns the data. If you ever decide to fire them, they can (and often do) shut down the account. You lose years of historical data, keyword optimization, and “pixel” learning. You have to start from zero.

The Green Flag: A reputable agency will ask you to create the account (or help you do so) and then request “Admin/Partner Access.” You should always retain control of your own data.

 

Red Flag #2: The “Guaranteed #1 Ranking” Promise

The Scenario: The sales rep looks you in the eye and promises, “We will get you to the top of Google in 30 days.”

The Trap: No one controls Google. Not even Google employees can guarantee a #1 ranking because the algorithm changes daily. Agencies that promise this are usually using “Black Hat” tactics (spammy tricks) that might get you a quick boost but will eventually get your website penalized or banned from search results entirely.

The Green Flag: An honest partner will promise “improvements in visibility” and “qualified traffic growth,” but they will never guarantee a specific ranking slot.

 

Red Flag #3: They Don’t Mention CASL (Compliance Ignorance)

The Scenario: You discuss email marketing, and the agency suggests purchasing a 10,000-email list to “blast” with a cold offer.

The Trap: In Canada, we operate under CASL (Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation), which is one of the strictest in the world. Sending commercial emails without consent can result in fines of up to $10 million for businesses. If your agency doesn’t know the difference between “Express Consent” and “Implied Consent,” they are putting your company at legal risk.

The Green Flag: A Canada-focused agency will immediately prioritize compliance, unsubscribe mechanisms, and data privacy (PIPEDA) as part of its strategy.

 

Red Flag #4: The “Vanity Metric” Report

The Scenario: You receive a colourful, high-impact monthly report with large numbers such as “Impressions,” “Reach,” and “Clicks.” It looks great, but your bank account hasn’t changed.

The Trap: These are “Vanity Metrics.” They make the agency look busy, but they don’t pay the bills. Ten thousand impressions are worthless if they don’t lead to a single phone call or sale. Bad agencies hide behind these numbers to obscure the fact that they aren’t generating revenue.

The Green Flag: A strategic partner focuses on Business Metrics: Cost Per Lead (CPL), Conversion Rate, and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).

 

Red Flag #5: The 12-Month “Handcuff” Contract

The Scenario: Before they have proven a single result, they require you to sign a non-cancellable 12-month retainer.

The Trap: While long-term strategies are essential, a strict 12-month lock-in with no exit clause is often a sign that the agency relies on contracts, not performance, to keep clients. If they stop working in Month 3, you will still pay them through Month 12.

The Green Flag: Look for agencies that offer 90-day pilot programs or month-to-month contracts with a reasonable notice period (e.g., 30 days). Good agencies know that if they get results, you won’t want to leave.

 

Summary: Trust But Verify

Hiring a marketing partner should feel like hiring a CFO or a legal counsel. You need transparency, accountability, and a shared focus on your bottom line.

If you are interviewing agencies right now, ask them: “Who will own the Google Ads account?”

Their answer will tell you everything you need to know.

 

Sources & Data Methodology

  • Data Ownership: Best practices for Google/Meta account ownership sourced from Google Ads Help and HubSpot Agency Guidelines (Client should always retain admin ownership).
  • Compliance: Fines and regulations regarding CASL (Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation) sourced from the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission).
  • Agency Red Flags: Common warning signs (Guaranteed rankings, vanity metrics) aligned with Google’s “Do you need an SEO?” advisory documentation.