Visit Puerto Vallarta magazine published a guide on how not to get burned when hiring a marketing agency in the bay. Its main idea is simple: what protects a business are the questions it asks before signing. Here are eight, taken from that guide. Under each one is how we answer it at PBR Sales & Marketing, including the ones that make us uncomfortable.
1. Do they ask you questions before giving you a price?
The guide calls it a good sign: whoever asks about your business before quoting is usually a better choice than whoever sends a price right away.
How PBR Sales & Marketing answers it
We don’t recommend a service without knowing your business. That is what the diagnostic is for: in 7 business days we rate 7 areas of your business, compare you with 3 direct competitors and walk you through it in a 60 minute session. It costs MXN 2,999, tax included, and if you hire us within the next 30 days, it is credited in full to your first payment.
2. Can they show you work for a business like yours?
The guide suggests asking for results, not just screenshots, from a business in the same industry and of a similar size. It also flags a portfolio that is all logos and mockups, with no working sites you can open on your phone.
How PBR Sales & Marketing answers it
Our work is organized by industry: food & beverage, real estate, hospitality, medical tourism, sports, wellness & spa, and fashion & design. We produce the photos and videos ourselves. This site is our work too, and you can open it on your phone right now. If your industry isn’t there, ask about it in the diagnostic.
3. Whose name are the accounts in?
According to the guide, your Google Business Profile, your ad accounts and your website should belong to your business, not the agency. An unwillingness to give you admin access to your own accounts is a red flag.
How PBR Sales & Marketing answers it
Your domain is registered to your business, and you pay for the domain and hosting yourself, directly to the provider. Campaigns are set up in your own Meta Ads and Google Ads accounts, and you pay for ad spend yourself, directly to the platform.
4. How will they report to you?
Ask how and how often they will report, and ask to see a sample report before you sign anything.
How PBR Sales & Marketing answers it
Every week we review what happened with you. Every month we deliver a short report: what was published, how many people it reached and what moved. If we run your advertising, the monthly report also covers what was spent, what each campaign brought in and the quality of the leads.
5. What does the price include, and what doesn’t it?
Ask for an itemized quote, not a bundle price with no breakdown, and ask what the monthly fee includes and what is billed as an extra: photography, ad spend, additional revisions.
How PBR Sales & Marketing answers it
We give you the price itemized, tax included: the diagnostic, which costs MXN 2,999; the setup, paid once; monthly content, from MXN 9,000 a month; and Meta Ads and Google Ads management, billed separately. Ad spend is not part of any of those items: you pay it yourself, directly to the platform. Need just a photo session, a video, a campaign or a website? We quote it on its own, no package needed. The details are in how much digital marketing costs in Puerto Vallarta.
6. How long is the contract?
The guide considers thirty days’ notice to cancel reasonable, says ninety is common for larger retainers and flags long lock-in periods with steep early termination penalties.
How PBR Sales & Marketing answers it
Monthly services have a 3 month minimum. Month 1 builds the foundation, because the system is only starting to learn who your customer is. Compound results arrive from month 2 onward. Selling you a single month would mean selling you the most expensive and least profitable month, and that serves no one. The diagnostic, the setup and standalone services are paid once.
7. Do they promise guaranteed results?
Guaranteed Google rankings or a guaranteed number of leads are a red flag, the guide says, because nobody controls Google’s algorithm or a stranger’s decision to book.
How PBR Sales & Marketing answers it
No. Google rankings or a number of clients cannot be guaranteed before knowing your business. What we do is tell you in the diagnostic whether we believe we can move your numbers, measure every peso and show you the results every week, good or bad.
8. Do they understand your industry and your season?
The guide gives the edge to a local team that understands the neighborhoods, the seasonality and that the market is bilingual. It places high season roughly from November through April, with a slower rainy season the rest of the year.
How PBR Sales & Marketing answers it
We plan by season: December to April, when the bay is full; October and November, when seasonal residents arrive; and May to September, with rain and domestic tourism, to prospect and produce the material for high season. We write in English and Spanish, and we work in Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit and Guadalajara.
In short
Whoever is going to run your marketing should answer these eight questions in writing before you sign. If an answer doesn’t sit well with you, it is better to know today. Ours are here, and in the diagnostic we apply them to your business.
Source for the criteria: Visit Puerto Vallarta, So You Need a Marketing Agency in Puerto Vallarta? Here’s How Not to Get Burned, published July 31, 2026 and updated August 23, 2026. Accessed October 15, 2026.