How to choose a digital marketing agency in Addis Ababa

Most business owners we meet have been burned once already. They paid for six months of "social media management," got a grid of nice posts, and could not point to a single customer that came from it.

Here is how to avoid that the second time.

1. Ask what they will report on before you sign

If the answer is reach, impressions and follower growth, walk. Those numbers always go up if you spend money. Ask instead: what will you tell me it cost to get one customer?

2. Ask who owns the ad account

You should. Your business should own the Meta Business Manager, the ad account and the pixel. An agency that puts your campaigns inside their own account is holding your data hostage.

3. Ask for one number from a real client

Not a case study PDF. One number, out loud: what does a lead cost in an account like mine, and how long did it take to get there.

4. Ask what happens in month one

A good answer sounds boring: audit, tracking setup, three or four creative concepts, a small test budget, then scaling what works. An answer that promises results in week one is a sales pitch, not a plan.

5. Ask who writes the ads

If content, social and ads sit with three different vendors, your ads will say one thing and your page will say another. Either one team does all three, or someone on your side has to coordinate them. That someone is usually you, and you do not have the time.

6. Ask about the exit

Can you leave with 30 days' notice? Do you keep the creative? Do you keep the audience lists? Say the question out loud and watch how comfortable they are answering it.

7. Ask what they would not do for you

An agency that says yes to everything is selling hours. The team that tells you "do not run ads yet, fix your response time on Messenger first" is the one worth paying.

The short version

You are not buying posts. You are buying a number: what it costs to get one customer, and whether that number goes down over time. Every question above is really just that question in a different coat.