Real‑world examples of practical client intake form examples for marketing consultants

Example of a simple, high‑conversion client intake form for solo marketing consultants

Let’s start with the kind of form a solo marketing consultant might send right after a discovery call is booked. This is one of the best examples of practical examples of client intake form examples for marketing consultants who want to keep things light but still gather the right info.

Picture a short form embedded on your website or sent via a link in your calendar invite. It might include:

Basic business snapshot
Instead of a long questionnaire, you ask just enough to understand who you’re dealing with:

• Legal business name and brand name (if different)
• Website URL and main social channels
• Industry and approximate annual revenue range

These questions give you context without scaring people off. You’re not asking for tax returns; you’re asking for the marketing basics.

Decision‑maker and contact details
You want to know who actually signs off on marketing spend:

• Primary contact name, role, and email
• Who makes final decisions on marketing budget?
• Who will you work with day to day?

This is an example of intake questions that quietly protect you from endless “let me run this by my boss” delays later.

Top 3 business goals for the next 12 months
Instead of a vague “What are your goals?”, you can offer prompts:

• Grow revenue by X%
• Launch a new product or service
• Increase qualified leads
• Improve customer retention

This is one of the examples of practical examples of client intake form examples for marketing consultants that shifts the conversation from “we need social media” to “we need more qualified leads from social media.”

Current marketing channels and what’s working
Here, you’re not looking for perfection, just a rough self‑assessment:

• Which channels are you using now? (email, SEO, paid ads, social, events, referrals, etc.)
• What feels like it’s working well?
• What feels like a waste of time or money?

You can even add a 1–5 rating scale for each channel to make it faster. This simple structure is one of the best examples of how to keep your intake form focused on decisions you’ll actually make in your strategy.

Real examples of intake questions for digital marketing and paid ads projects

If you specialize in digital marketing or paid ads, your intake form needs more detail on numbers and tracking. Here’s an example of a section you might add specifically for performance‑focused work.

Budget and timelines
You want to avoid the classic “We want \(1M in sales from a \)500 ad budget” scenario. So your intake might ask:

• What is your monthly marketing budget right now?
• How much of that can be allocated to paid ads in the next 3–6 months?
• Are there any hard deadlines (product launches, events, seasonal peaks)?

This is a practical example of using intake questions to align expectations before you ever send a proposal.

Tracking and analytics setup
Most marketing consultants in 2024–2025 are working inside a measurement‑first world. You can’t do much without data. A few smart questions:

• Do you have Google Analytics 4 set up and working correctly?
• Do you track conversions (purchases, form fills, demo bookings, etc.)?
• Which tools are you using now? (Google Analytics, HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.)

If you want to stay current, you can link to Google’s GA4 documentation as a reference point for clients who are behind: https://support.google.com/analytics

Lead quality and sales process
For performance marketers, volume is nothing without quality. So your intake can ask:

• How do you currently qualify leads?
• Who handles inbound leads and how quickly do they respond?
• What does a typical sales cycle look like (days/weeks/months)?

This is one of the real examples of practical examples of client intake form examples for marketing consultants who live and die by ROI. You’re not just asking about clicks; you’re mapping the whole path to revenue.

Best examples of intake form sections for content and brand marketing consultants

Content and brand‑focused consultants need different information than performance marketers. You’re looking for voice, story, and positioning as much as numbers. Here’s how that can look in practice.

Brand voice and messaging
Instead of asking, “Describe your brand,” which usually leads to vague answers, try questions like:

• If your brand were a person, how would you describe their personality?
• Which brands do you admire, and why?
• Are there any phrases or claims we must use or must avoid for legal or compliance reasons?

This is a subtle example of how intake forms can shape better creative work. You’re asking questions that lead to usable copy, not corporate buzzwords.

Target audience clarity
Marketing consultants often discover that clients “sell to everyone,” which usually means “sell to no one.” Your intake form can gently push for focus:

• Who are your top 2–3 customer segments?
• What problem are they trying to solve when they come to you?
• What objections or hesitations do they usually have?

You can even reference external research on consumer behavior from sites like the U.S. Small Business Administration (https://sba.gov) to reassure clients that segmentation is standard practice.

Existing content and assets
Before you reinvent the wheel, you want to know what already exists:

• Do you have brand guidelines or a style guide?
• What content formats are you already using? (blog, video, podcast, email newsletter, etc.)
• Which pieces of content have performed best in the last 12 months, and why do you think they worked?

This is one of the examples of practical examples of client intake form examples for marketing consultants who focus on content strategy. It quickly surfaces what to keep, what to scrap, and what to repurpose.

Real examples of intake forms for fractional CMOs and marketing agencies

If you operate more like a fractional CMO or small agency, your intake form will be more detailed because you’re stepping into a leadership role, not just a one‑off campaign. Here’s an example of how that might look.

Organization and team structure
You’re not just asking what they sell; you’re asking who you’ll be working with:

• How is your marketing currently organized? (in‑house team, freelancers, agencies)
• Who owns marketing strategy today?
• Are there any internal politics or constraints we should know about?

That last question might feel bold, but in practice it leads to honest conversations about what’s really going on.

Historical performance and previous partners
Many clients come to you after a failed agency or consultant relationship. Your intake form can surface that history:

• Have you worked with marketing agencies or consultants before? What went well? What didn’t?
• Do you have reports or dashboards from the last 6–12 months that you can share?
• Are there any campaigns you’re particularly proud of or disappointed in?

This is one of the real examples of practical examples of client intake form examples for marketing consultants who provide higher‑ticket strategic services. You’re trying to avoid repeating past mistakes.

Decision‑making and approval process
To avoid bottlenecks:

• How often can we meet to review strategy and performance?
• Who has final approval on creative and budgets?
• Are there legal, compliance, or regulatory reviews required? (common in healthcare, finance, and education)

If you work in regulated industries, it can be helpful to link to government or institutional guidelines, such as U.S. Federal Trade Commission advertising guidance (https://ftc.gov) or, in healthcare marketing, HIPAA basics from HHS (https://hhs.gov). This grounds your questions in real compliance needs.

Examples of practical intake questions shaped by 2024–2025 marketing trends

Marketing in 2024–2025 is shaped by privacy changes, AI tools, and shifting buyer behavior. The best examples of intake forms reflect that reality instead of pretending it’s still 2015.

Here are a few trend‑aware questions you can weave into your own form:

Privacy, data, and consent
With ongoing changes to cookies, tracking, and privacy laws, you might ask:

• How do you currently collect and store customer data?
• Do you have a written privacy policy and cookie policy on your site?
• Are you collecting explicit consent for email and SMS marketing?

You don’t need to be a lawyer, but you should know whether your client is at least trying to follow best practices. For reference, you can point them toward resources like the Federal Trade Commission’s guidance on online advertising and privacy: https://ftc.gov.

Use of AI in content and campaigns
AI tools are everywhere now, and that affects how you plan and price your work. Intake questions might include:

• Are you currently using AI tools (like ChatGPT, Jasper, or others) for marketing content?
• Do you have internal policies about AI‑generated content and disclosure?
• Are there quality or brand‑voice issues you’ve noticed with AI‑assisted content?

This is one of the examples of practical examples of client intake form examples for marketing consultants that acknowledges reality: your clients are probably experimenting with AI, and you need to understand how.

Attribution and realistic expectations
Attribution has gotten messier with iOS privacy changes and cross‑device behavior. To keep expectations grounded:

• How do you currently measure marketing success? (last‑click, first‑touch, multi‑touch, “we don’t really know")
• Which metrics matter most to leadership? (pipeline, revenue, ROAS, MQLs, etc.)
• Are you comfortable with directional data, or do you expect exact attribution across channels?

These questions might feel advanced, but they’re some of the best examples of intake prompts that prevent blame games later when metrics don’t line up perfectly.

How to structure your own intake form using these real examples

By now, you’ve seen multiple real examples of practical examples of client intake form examples for marketing consultants: lean forms for solos, deeper ones for agencies, and trend‑aware questions for 2024–2025. The next step is to assemble your own version.

A practical way to do this is to think in short sections rather than one long wall of questions. For instance, your form might flow like this:

• Section 1: Business basics and contact info – short, factual, easy wins
• Section 2: Goals and challenges – a few open‑ended questions with prompts
• Section 3: Current marketing and tools – channels, budgets, analytics setup
• Section 4: Audience and brand – only if relevant to your services
• Section 5: Logistics and decision‑making – timelines, approvals, legal/compliance

Within each section, choose just the questions you’ll actually use in your proposal or strategy. If a question doesn’t change how you work, it probably doesn’t need to be on the form.

You can also keep a “long form” version for bigger engagements and a “short form” version for quick discovery calls. Many consultants store these as templates in their CRM or proposal tools, then tweak them per client.

FAQ: examples of practical client intake forms for marketing consultants

What are some simple examples of questions to include in a marketing client intake form?
Simple but powerful examples include: “What are your top 3 business goals for the next 12 months?”, “Which marketing channels are you using now, and what feels like it’s working?”, and “Who makes final decisions on marketing budget and approvals?” These are small questions that dramatically improve your first strategy conversation.

Can you give an example of a good intake form length for marketing consultants?
For most marketing consultants, a good starting example is a form that takes 5–10 minutes to complete. That usually means 8–15 questions, mixing short multiple‑choice items with a few open‑ended prompts. For fractional CMOs or agencies handling large retainers, longer intake forms are common, but you can break them into phases instead of one giant form.

What are the best examples of tools to host a client intake form?
Real‑world examples include using your CRM’s built‑in forms (HubSpot, Zoho, etc.), simple form tools (Typeform, Jotform, Google Forms), or client portals in project management platforms. The “best” choice is the one your clients will actually complete on their phone or laptop without friction.

How often should I update my marketing client intake form?
A practical example many consultants follow is reviewing the form once or twice a year. As new trends emerge—like changes in privacy rules, analytics platforms, or AI tools—you can add or update a few questions. Think of your intake form as a living document that evolves with your services and the market.

Where can I find more examples of marketing and business intake templates?
You can adapt ideas from small business resources and entrepreneurship programs at universities. For instance, the U.S. Small Business Administration (https://sba.gov) and many business schools, such as Harvard Business School (https://hbs.edu), publish guides on market research, customer discovery, and business planning. While they’re not labeled “client intake forms,” they offer question frameworks you can borrow.

If you pull together the best pieces from these examples of practical examples of client intake form examples for marketing consultants, you’ll end up with something far more useful than a generic template. Start small, keep only the questions you actually use, and refine your form after every few clients based on what you wish you’d known sooner. That’s how your intake process quietly becomes one of your most valuable marketing tools.