Guide · Nearshore marketing
Hiring a marketing agency in Colombia: what to check first
Eight questions for US and Canadian Shopify brands, before you sign with any agency in Latin America. Ours included.
A nearshore marketing agency in Colombia can run your ads during your working day, because Colombia is on UTC−5 all year with no daylight saving. Before you hire one, check who will run your account, whether the ad accounts stay in your name, how they report sales, and how you can leave. The first four matter more than the country.
We are a marketing agency based in Cali, Colombia, so read this knowing we sell the thing we're describing. The questions work for any agency, and we answer them for ourselves where it applies.
1. Will we work the same hours?
Colombia doesn't change its clocks. From November to March it matches New York; from March to November it matches Chicago, one hour behind New York. Ask for the agency's working hours in your time zone and when they answer messages.
Ours: we work on the Colombian clock. That covers the business day in the US East and Central time zones; on the West Coast it covers your morning and early afternoon.
2. Who actually runs my account?
The person on the sales call is often not the person in your ads account. Ask for the name of who makes the daily changes, and ask to talk to them before signing.
Ours: Joseph Ceballos, the founder, runs your account and your calls, in English.
3. Are the ad accounts and the data mine?
Your Meta ad account, your Google Ads account and your email list should be created in your name, with the agency invited as a user. If the agency owns them, you lose your history when you leave.
Ours: everything is created in your name and stays with you.
4. How will they get into Shopify?
Never share your owner login. Shopify lets you add a staff or collaborator account with only the permissions the agency needs, and remove it in one click.
5. What will the report show?
Ask for a sample report before you sign. If it shows reach, impressions and clicks but not orders and sales, the agency is reporting what is easy to grow, not what pays your bills.
Ours: every 15 days, what you sold and what each ad dollar returned.
6. What proof do they have in my category?
Ask for numbers from stores like yours, and ask whether those stores were clients or something else. Be wary of a ROAS figure with no store, no period and no margin next to it.
Ours: three European sofa-cover stores on Shopify whose ads Joseph ran from inside each brand's team, June 2025 to September 2026. They sold €2,758,690, according to Shopify Analytics. They were not agency clients; the case study shows every number, including the store that sold less.
7. How do I leave?
Read the exit clause before the price. A long contract with no way out only protects the agency.
Ours: a three-month contract, then 30 days' notice to leave.
8. What happens if sales don't grow?
Ask what the agency commits to in writing if your sales stay flat.
Ours: if your store already sells, by day 60 each month you sell at least five times our monthly fee more than before ($7,500 on the $1,500 plan), or we keep working for free until you do (you still pay your ad spend). Details on pricing.
Questions about agencies in Colombia
Is it a good idea to hire a marketing agency in Colombia?
It can be, if the agency works in your time zone, runs your account in English, keeps the ad accounts in your name and reports in sales. Colombia is on UTC−5 all year, so the working day overlaps fully with the US East and Central time zones.
What time zone is Colombia in?
UTC−5, all year. Colombia doesn't use daylight saving time, so it matches US Eastern time in winter and US Central time in summer.
Do Colombian agencies work in English?
Some do. Ask to have the sales call and a sample report in English, and ask who on the team writes your ad copy. At Métricamente, the founder runs the calls and the reports in English.
How do I give an agency access to my Shopify store safely?
Add them as a staff or collaborator account with only the permissions they need, and never share the owner login. You can remove that access at any time.
Keep reading: How much a Shopify marketing agency costs · Meta ads for furniture and home decor brands · All guides
Ask us these eight questions on a call.
30 minutes with Joseph, in English, looking at your store and your ads. You leave with what we would do first, whether or not you hire us. The call is free.