How to Choose an ABA Marketing Agency
Choose an ABA marketing agency by what it will actually deliver, the proof behind its claims and how clearly it splits the work with your team. The Relay Co suggests giving every agency the same brief, then comparing scope, costs, account ownership, reporting and who follows up with each family before you sign.
Which kind of help matches the work?
Choose production support when your team can run the accounts but needs scripts, filming and edited videos. Choose social media management when the posting calendar needs an owner. Choose Meta ads management when the work includes ad spend, budget calls, creative tests and campaign reports.
Some ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) clinics have an in-house marketer who brings in specialists. Others need one partner to cover ads, landing pages, follow-up and reporting. Either way, write down who writes, films, approves, posts, pays the platforms and calls the families. A video quote and an ads management quote are not the same thing.
What should you decide before asking for proposals?
Write a short brief: one ABA service, the area you serve, the ages you serve, the insurance plans you accept, how many new clients you can take on and the problem you want to solve. A clinic that needs more qualified inquiries has a different first project from a clinic that needs a clearer website.
Send the same brief to each agency. Include your website, current channels, any video you already have, the questions parents ask most and the reports you can actually access. Say what your team can give, such as a filming day or time with a BCBA to review content.
This guide is written by Relay, which sells ABA marketing. Use the same questions on us and on anyone else. The goal is a clear scope, whichever partner you pick.
How do you compare what will actually be delivered?
Swap vague package names for a list of work. “Social media management” could mean posting images you supply. It could also mean scripting, filming, editing and posting original videos. Those are very different jobs.
Use the worksheet below. For each row, write down the agency’s answer, the proof you got and what is still unclear. Do not score an answer the agency has not given.
Production
Ask which videos, images, carousels, landing pages or emails are included. Ask about filming, editing, revisions, review and timing.
Ask for: a sample brief and a full list of deliverables.
Campaign management
Ask who handles research, setup, creative tests, landing pages, budget changes and reports. Confirm which changes need your approval.
Ask for: the first campaign plan and who does what.
Search and content
Ask how parent questions turn into pages, who checks clinical claims and how the agency decides to fix a page instead of adding a new one.
Ask for: a question-to-page plan and one specific suggested fix.
Follow-up and reporting
Ask how inquiries reach your clinic, who calls the family, which steps are tracked and who supplies intake numbers.
Ask for: a sample report with clear definitions and a written handoff process.
How do you judge an ABA case study?
Ask what was counted, over which dates and from which channels. Leads, qualified leads, tours, completed intakes and new clients are different numbers. A case can be anonymous and still explain how it was measured.
Ask whether the result covers the whole campaign or one channel. If the claim is about cost, ask which costs were included. One result is not a promise that every clinic will get the same.
Relay’s 63-lead ABA campaign story describes 10 video ads plus organic and search work. It reports a combined lead count, not 63 new clients or a typical cost per lead. In another Relay case, one ABA clinic completed 7 new-client intakes from 29 qualified leads in 2 weeks. Ask every agency for the same level of detail.
Which costs and ownership terms need a written answer?
Separate the agency fee from ad spend, filming, website work, software and add-ons. Ask which costs repeat each month. Compare the full cost, not just the management fee.
Confirm who owns and has admin access to the website, domain, ad accounts, Google Business Profile, videos and analytics. Ask how files and access are handed back if you leave. Write down notice periods and renewal terms.
At Relay, ads usually start around $50 a day in ad spend, plus a monthly management fee we scope on a call. Work is month to month, and we work with one ABA clinic per city. Your clinic owns the system we build.
Who calls the family after the form?
Write the handoff in plain words. Who gets the form? Who calls or texts the parent? Who checks location, age, service and insurance? Who books the tour? Who records what happened? If the agency does not do a step, name someone at your clinic who will.
Relay’s ABA clinic service includes ads, follow-up with families, a fit check and tour booking. We check the family’s location, the child’s age against your served range, the service they want and whether you accept their insurance. Your team gives the tour and runs intake. Clinical decisions and benefit checks stay with your clinic.
Ask how claims and content are reviewed and which tools handle family information. Look at the real process instead of accepting a general promise that everything is compliant.
What should the first review show?
Agree on what will be delivered and which numbers you will use to decide what comes next. For a campaign, that means what ran, ad spend, inquiries, qualified inquiries, tours and intakes. For SEO, it means the changes made, what was indexed, relevant searches and inquiries you can trace.
Read any guarantee closely. Ask what it covers, when the clock starts, what conditions apply and what you get back. For example, Relay’s guarantee is 20 completed new-client intakes within 90 days of ads going live, or we return our management fee. Ad spend is not refunded. A guarantee on leads is different from one on completed intakes.
Before the review ends, name the next decision, the numbers behind it and who owns it.
Before comparing totals, use the clinic marketing cost guide to line up the scopes. Ask how the agency uses a wrong-lead diagnostic when form fills do not match your services.
Put the plan to work.
Relay turns your service priorities into videos, social content, paid campaigns, email, and search pages. For clinic engagements, we also call leads, check practical fit and book the agreed visits. Your team handles clinical decisions, benefits and intake.