What to ask when you're comparing promotion agencies

What reporting will we get, and when?

Ask whether there's a live dashboard during the campaign, or just a report at the end. Then ask what it breaks down.

A good answer covers total entries, plus entries by retailer or banner, by state and by product, opt-in rates and how participation moves over time. Ask for an example dashboard and a sample post campaign report. If the reporting can be split by retailer, your sales team can take it straight into the next customer meeting.

Watch for: “we'll send a summary at the end”, or retailer and product splits quoted as a custom extra.

Who answers our customers' questions?

Your customers will have questions. Where's my reward? Why was my claim rejected? Did I win? Find out who answers them.

Ask whether support is in-house or outsourced, whether it's phone and email or email only, and how fast people get a reply. Then ask the one that matters most: who handles winner disputes, complaints and escalations, and how do they keep you in the loop?

Watch for: email only support, no stated response time, or complaints landing back in your inbox.

How are receipts checked?

If your promotion asks people to upload a receipt, the checking process decides how much of your budget goes to real customers.

Ask whether automatic receipt reading (OCR or AI) is included, how much manual checking happens, how duplicate receipts are caught and how quickly an entrant hears back. Fast, fair answers keep genuine customers happy. Slow ones fill your social channels with “still waiting” comments.

Watch for: fully manual checking, no duplicate detection across emails or payment details, or results that take days.

Who owns the data?

You should. Always ask who. Then ask what you'll receive at the end of the campaign, in what format and how long the agency keeps it before deleting it.

Watch for: vague answers on ownership, or no stated retention period.

Have you done this before, at this scale?

Ask for examples in your category and your channel, ideally with numbers that say what they measured. A national convenience promotion isn't the same job as a single-retailer cashback.

Watch for: case studies with no figures, or figures with no explanation of what was counted.

How we'd answer

For the record, here's what comes as standard with orsom PROMOTIONS: