Stop Accepting Bad Marketing Agencies As Normal

I built and sold two ecommerce companies. Then I started advising brands. What I saw made me want to fix a broken system. Too many businesses are stuck with weak marketing help and weak results. That’s not a small problem. It drags down growth across the entire market.

My view is simple: most marketing agencies fail their clients, and we should stop pretending that’s okay. The few that do great work often chase only giant clients. The rest of the market gets burned. I refuse to accept that as the price of doing business.

The Problem No One Should Shrug Off

I’ve sat in enough rooms with founders and CMOs to hear the same story. Flashy pitch. Thin strategy. Poor execution. Then a long contract that traps you while the meter runs. That story repeats far too often.

“There’s 90,000 digital agencies in the US. 99% of them are full of shit… And the few that are any good tend to only wanna work with the Fortune two thousand.” — Erik Huberman

That line might sound harsh. It’s earned. I’ve reviewed plans where the “strategy” was a recycled deck with a new logo. I’ve seen reporting that hides the metric that actually matters: profitable growth. And I’ve heard from owner after owner who says, “We gave it another month because they promised it was about to turn.”

Bad marketing isn’t just wasted spend. It’s wasted time. That delay kills momentum. It costs hiring plans. It distracts the team. For a growth brand, three wrong months can set you back a full year.

Why This Keeps Happening

Good agencies chase large retainers. That’s rational for them, not for you. Smaller brands are left to sift through noise and hope for the best. Hope is not a plan.

There’s also an information gap. Many founders are experts in product and customers, not channel tactics. Agencies exploit that gap with jargon and vanity metrics. Fancy dashboards don’t make cash register sounds.

I’ve been on both sides. Before launching Hawke Media, I grew Ellie.com to a million dollars in four months. I’ve felt the urgency to get real results fast. That urgency is missing in too many service shops.

What Needs To Change

Accountability must come standard. Not as a favor. Not after an escalation. Contracts should be flexible. Pricing should match the actual work. Reporting should be useful and plain. And strategy should be tailored, not templated.

Expertise must be proven, not pitched. Show the wins. Show the failures. Show the lessons learned and how they shape the next test.

Some will argue, “You get what you pay for.” True—if you’re paying for skill, not theater. Price doesn’t equal quality. Clear thinking and tight execution do.

How To Protect Your Brand Right Now

Here’s a simple filter to avoid costly mistakes. Use it before you sign anything.

• Demand a channel-by-channel plan with expected KPIs and timeframes.
• Ask for three client references that match your stage and industry.
• Insist on month-to-month or short terms with clear exit clauses.
• Tie part of fees to milestones or agreed outcomes where possible.
• Require transparent reporting on revenue, CAC, LTV, and margins.
• Make the strategist you meet the person who actually works your account.

These steps force clarity. They also reveal who’s real and who’s guessing.

What Great Looks Like

A strong partner starts with business goals, not channels. They audit data. They build a test plan, prioritize by impact and confidence, then move. They tell you what won, what lost, and why. They don’t hide misses. They learn from them fast.

The right team makes you money. The wrong team makes you busy.

My Stand

I didn’t start another agency to add to the noise. I started one to cut through it. Flexible contracts. A la carte services. Senior operators leading the work. That’s the model I believe in because I’ve seen what happens without it.

We owe founders better than canned decks and excuses. Growth brands power jobs and innovation. They deserve skilled partners, straight talk, and results.

Stop accepting bad marketing as normal. Set higher standards. Ask harder questions. Walk away faster. Your money—and your time—are too valuable to waste.

Final Thought

If you’re burned out on broken promises, don’t lower your bar. Raise it. Be rigorous in selection, relentless in measurement, and quick to course-correct. Great partners exist. Make them prove it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How can a founder tell if an agency is the right fit?

Look for a custom plan tied to your goals, real references from similar companies, and direct access to the strategist who owns your results.

Q: What early warning signs suggest an engagement is going sideways?

Shifting timelines, vague reporting, focus on vanity metrics, and constant “it’s about to click” promises without clear test logs or learnings.

Q: Are long-term contracts ever a good idea?

Only when performance milestones, exit options, and senior attention are guaranteed. Flexibility keeps both sides sharp and aligned.

Q: What metrics should matter most for growth brands?

Track revenue, CAC, LTV, contribution margin, and payback period by channel. Those show whether efforts drive profitable growth, not just clicks.

Q: How do small teams compete with big-brand agency budgets?

Prioritize high-impact tests, cut slow losers fast, repurpose winning assets across channels, and work with partners who tie fees to outcomes where possible.