This guide provides an actionable table for restaurant, café, hair salon and boutique hotel owners to evaluate two proposals without bias. The numerical scoring below is a decision method recommended by NEFES. It reflects the business's chosen priorities, not market research or a Google SEO score.
Step one: Clarify which workload the business wants to hand over
If you only need an editor for four photos a month, a full-service agency may not be necessary. However, if you want someone to manage the entire Instagram and Facebook content, current menu information, Reels, publishing and customer messages, you need to define each task separately.
Example needs statement: “We will prepare regular content using our restaurant's real food photos, the weekly plan will be sent to us for approval, the content will be published, menu questions will be answered with up-to-date information, and we will receive a report at the end of the month.”
Comparing prices alone without such a clear statement means making a decision with incomplete information.
Step two: Build an equal-scope table for eight criteria
| Criterion | Questions to ask for Offer A | Questions to ask for Offer B |
|---|---|---|
| Real photography | Who provides the raw footage? | What is the scope of shooting/editing? |
| Reels | Is there scripting and editing? | Is there actual video shooting too? |
| Post/Story | What are the formats and actual delivery? | Is the quantity of each format clear? |
| Publishing | Is a plan presented, and is it actually published? | What is the approval and connection method? |
| DM/comments | Which questions, at what times? | How does the handover to a human work? |
| Brand information | How are the menu, logo and prices updated? | How is incorrect information corrected? |
| Reporting | How are platform metrics presented? | Are sales and reach reported separately? |
| Total cost | Are shooting, licensing and advertising included? | Are there additional items? |
For each service in the table, select included, conditional, extra cost or out of scope, and record any conditions.
Step three: Weight the decision score according to the business
The scoring method below is an example evaluation tool. Each criterion receives an importance weight from 1 to 5 based on the business's needs. How clear and suitable each offer is for that criterion is also rated from 1 to 5.
| Criterion | Example importance weight | How to decide? |
|---|---|---|
| Authentic photos and product accuracy | 5 | Is the business's product shown accurately? |
| Publishing and approval responsibility | 5 | Is the work actually taken over from the business? |
| Reels production | 4 | Are the necessary raw footage and editing included? |
| DM/comment coverage | 4 | Is it clear who owns the questions and how they are handed over to a human? |
| Reporting | 3 | Is measurable data correctly labeled? |
| Fees and additional costs | 4 | Are the total monthly workload and fee clear? |
Calculation: In each row, multiply the importance weight by the offer's suitability score. Add up the row scores and divide by the total weight. For example, on the visual accuracy criterion alone, 5 importance × 4 suitability = 20 weighted points. This result is not an objective agency ranking; it is a way to quantify the business's own preferences.
In particular, do not give a high score to a service that is not written in the contract just because it “probably exists.” First ask about and clarify any scope that is not explained.
Step four: Calculate the true total of the two prices
Total monthly cost = agency fee + ad budget + shooting/tool/license costs not included + the value of the time the business spends approving content.
The monetary amount set for the business's time is entirely the business's own assumption. If two offers deliver the same amount of content but one creates long approval back-and-forth every day, a monthly fee that looks lower from the outside can in practice create a greater management burden.
For a breakdown of social media service costs, use the guide on shooting, Reels, DMs and ad budget.
Step five: The best choice may differ across three scenarios
Neighborhood café owner: If weekly authentic display photos and product Stories are enough, shooting and implementation speed become more important.
Burger shop: If a signature product, preparation video, order link and menu consistency are important, Reels and product accuracy carry high weight.
Boutique hotel: If room type, season, foreign-language descriptions and the handoff from DM to accurate reservation information are critical, communication handover and information verification come to the fore.
Because of these differences, it is not right to automatically declare the same agency the first choice for every business.
Step six: Five decision questions to ask after the proposal
- In this offer, who actually produces the photos/videos, where does the source material come from?
- After the content is designed, who publishes it and who approves critical pricing?
- If incorrect product or campaign information is published, is it clear who is responsible for correcting it?
- Is the “customer” reported at month-end an actual reservation, or just a DM?
- If I leave the service, do I keep the rights to use the account, photos and latest creatives?
If these five questions do not have written answers, they need to be clarified before signing the contract.
How does NEFES position itself in the evaluation?
NEFES brings together an authentic photo source, brand memory, post/Story/Reels production, approval, publishing, communication and reporting in a single service experience. However, the specific scope to be purchased is defined by the written offer; every feature is not presented as automatically included in every offer.
This decision table can be used to evaluate any agency, including NEFES. The right choice is not only the lowest fee, but the clear and reliable delivery of the tasks the business actually wants to hand over.
Adapt this guide to your business
Move both offers onto the same deliverables list: how many pieces of content, which formats, how many channels and how many revisions? Do not count an unexplained item as zero cost; first clarify the scope, then compare the totals.
