I recall last year, having sat in my office and browsed through what seemed to be the hundred the agency web. My coffee was now cold, and I was as far heedless in reaching a decision as I was three hours before. Sound familiar?
You are most likely to be experiencing the same frustration should you be looking currently in Delhi to find an agency that is creative. The city has hundreds of agencies- some with swanky offices on Connaught Place, others with small Nehru Place establishments. All of them say that they are the best, all of them have shiny portfolios, and frankly speaking? After some time they are all beginning to resemble.
What no one explains to you out the door is that choosing the wrong agency does not simply end up costing you money. It wastes months of your time, kills your momentum, and sometimes damages your brand reputation in ways that take years to fix. I’ve watched friends launch products with agencies that just didn’t get it. Beautiful designs, sure. But zero understanding of what actually makes their customers tick.
The thing is, about half of all businesses end up switching agencies within twelve months. That’s not because entrepreneurs are picky—it’s because most people don’t ask the tough questions before signing those contracts. They get swept up in the pitch, the promises, the excitement of finally getting their marketing sorted.
Let me save you from that headache. These five questions have helped dozens of business owners I know find agencies that actually deliver. None of that fluff, no corporate talk- it is just plain conversation about what you have to know.
1. Have You Done Anything Like This Before?
Look, I get it. The award-winning beer campaign they have done is amazing. However, when you are selling accounting software to a small business what does that beer advertisement inform you about whether they are able to assist you?
Specificity goes far beyond its value when it comes to the process of deciding which creative agency to select. Directly question them: Have you dealt with companies like us? What did you do for them? What were the actual results?”
By results, I do not mean, the client was happy, or it got good engagement. I mean real numbers. Did website traffic go up? By how much? Did it bring in leads? What was the number of customers it made?
One of my friends is a founder of a D2C skincare brand. She even nearly employed an agency since their Instagram was fantastic. Then she requested to see the samples of their e-commerce work. As it turns out, they had never even conducted a campaign that had to push online sales. She dodged a bullet there.
The most appropriate agencies will give you three or four projects which suit what you require. They will explain to you the reasons as to why they made certain choices. They’ll admit what didn’t work. That honesty? That’s what you’re looking for.
2. Am I Even Going to Work with You?
Here’s what stings—it happens all the time. The pitch meeting features this brilliant senior creative person who just gets your vision. You’re excited. You sign up.
Then you never see them again.
Suddenly you’re working with junior team members who are learning on your dime. Nothing against juniors—everyone starts somewhere—but you signed up for the expertise that was promised, not the team that was available.
Before you commit, insist on meeting everyone who’ll touch your project. The writer who’ll craft your messaging. The designer creates your visuals. The account person you’ll be texting at weird hours. These are the people you’ll actually build something with.
I learned this the hard way with a website project. The agency principal sold me on their “strategic approach.” After two weeks, I understood that I worked with a person, who had graduated six months ago, and was, honestly speaking, overwhelmed. The project was completed in four months longer than it was scheduled.
The team that you will be assigned is what counts more when you are in search of the best creative agency in the city of Delhi than the reputation of the agency. Chemistry counts. You’ll know within the first real conversation whether these folks understand your world or not.
3. What's Your Plan for Understanding My Business?
Nothing isolates the professionals from the pretenders faster.
Some agencies will pitch you ideas in the first meeting. Red flag. They don’t know your business yet. They haven’t talked to your customers. They haven’t looked at your competitors. They’re guessing, and hoping their guess looks creative enough that you won’t notice.
The agencies worth your time will dig deep before putting pen to paper. They’ll want customer data. They’ll ask to interview your sales team. They might even want to talk to a few of your actual customers. This takes time—usually a few weeks—but it’s how good work happens.
Last month, I watched an agency present a strategy to a fitness startup. They’d interviewed twenty gym members, analyzed three competitors, and identified gaps nobody had noticed. The campaign they built from that research? It worked because it wasn’t based on creative hunches. It was based on what real people actually cared about.An agency that claims to be able to begin working the moment they start will not be doing their homework. Marketing which works is not achieved through inspiration but understanding.
4. What Happens If This Doesn't Work?
No one would wish to discuss failure when on honeymoon. But you know what? Marketing fails sometimes. Campaigns flop. What looked like excellent ideas on paper do not work in the real world.
Ask them: “How do you go about it when it is not working? How quickly will you tell me? What do we do then?”
The most creative agency in Delhi is not going to guarantee any results. Anyone who does is lying. Honesty, frequent visits, and the ability to turn on their heels when necessary will be what they will guarantee.
I have witnessed enough companies who are holding on to agencies when running campaigns that are obviously ineffective, yet no one would want to acknowledge it. Five thousand rupees later and six months later they are back to square one. Good agencies build in review points. Monthly performance calls. Quarterly strategy sessions. They track actual metrics—not vanity numbers like impressions, but stuff that matters to your business. And when something’s not hitting targets, they bring it up first.
5. How Do We Stay in Touch?
Sounds simple, right? Yet countless agency relationships fall apart because of poor communication.
The questions that will be narrowed to a few: Do they use email or WhatsApp? What is realistic in case you need something at 7 PM? Will you have one point person or will you be thrown around? How often will you meet?
I have a friend who is a restaurant owner who employed a company that only conducted formal weekly meetings. Hospitality is hectic, he requires immediate response to time-bound promotions. The affair took two months after which the frustration was too much.
On the other hand, my cousin owns a corporate training organisation. She needs structure and documentation. An agency that communicated primarily through casual WhatsApp messages to drive one to their limit, to get on one’s last nerve.
Neither approach is wrong. They just need to match how you work. These are questions to ask before hiring an agency that seem small but become massive when you’re three months into a six-month contract.
The Bottom Line
Finding the right creative agency in Delhi isn’t about who has the fanciest office or the longest client list. It’s about fit. It’s about finding people who’ll treat your brand like it matters—because it does.
These five questions won’t give you all the answers. But they’ll start the right conversations. They’ll help you see past the pitch deck and understand how an agency actually operates when the excitement fades and the real work begins.
Take your time with this decision. Meet multiple agencies. Pay attention to how they answer these questions. The ones who get defensive or vague? They’re showing you who they are. Believe them.
The right agency will welcome tough questions. They’ll respect that you’re protecting your business. And when you find that agency—the one that listens more than they talk, the one that asks about your goals before showing off their portfolio—hold onto them.
Your brand deserves partners who care as much about your success as you do. These questions will help you find them.
