Common Marketing Agency Warning Signs in 2026
Over the past few months, we have had several conversations with B2B leaders who felt something was not right about their current marketing agency. In a recent case, a company was paying a significant monthly retainer, yet lacked clarity, responsiveness, and ownership of their digital content and assets.
These conversations aren’t about one bad agency or one bad decision. They’re about a marketing landscape that has changed quickly, especially with AI, and agencies that haven’t kept pace.
If you’re working with a marketing agency today, watch for these common warning signs that we are seeing come up again and again.
A Must Have Resource: The High-Performing Marketing Agency
A high-performing digital marketing agency is an essential part of a B2B company’s marketing.
The rate of marketing change in 2026 is incredible, with AI driving serious disruptions. A smart B2B marketing agency has you covered and will stay on top of these disruptions and keep your marketing focused and on track. The agency will be a trusted partner, filling in the gaps on your team and supercharging your marketing results with key services and expert guidance.
After years of owning and leading Intuitive Websites, I can say with confidence that the current pace of change is unlike anything I’ve seen before. In real conversations with prospects today, many are questioning whether their agency is adapting fast enough to the impact AI is having on marketing. The rate of marketing change in 2026 is incredible, with AI driving serious disruptions. A strong B2B marketing agency stays ahead of these changes and acts as a trusted partner, filling gaps and helping teams stay focused on results.
Your goal is to find the right marketing agency partner.
Start by asking this question: is your current agency providing the value you need?
If they are doing any of these five things, then it may be time to switch to a new agency.
1. Slow to Respond
Things happen, people get busy, email inboxes get loaded up, but slow responses or a lack of timely communication from your agency is unacceptable. Your agency must be obsessed with quick responses and timely, proactive communications with your team.
An occasional message response may take longer than 24 hours, but that should not be the norm. If your agency is taking too long to respond and not communicating in a proactive way, it is a sign you are not valuable to them.
2. Lack of a Dedicated Account Manager
Your agency Account Manager is your main contact and must be your advocate. A few signs of trouble to come are a lack of a dedicated person in this role at the agency, high turnover in the position, or unclear directives on your key contact at the agency. This can lead to issues, such as missed deadlines, poor planning and incorrect priorities.
3. Little Expertise in AI
You should be hearing a lot about AI from your agency and they should have a plan for how to use AI internally in your marketing and externally to get your brand found in AI search. This should be a regular topic of discussion in meetings and your agency should share with you the AI tools they are using to drive marketing results.
Digital marketing agencies are carrying the AI torch for marketing and if this is not apparent, then you are certainly missing opportunities for more efficient marketing and growth. For example, if your agency has not created a customized ChatGPT to be the “brain” for your marketing, then you are missing huge opportunities.
4. No Bench of Experts on the Agency Team
Many agencies have a key focus or background. This is fine if you are only looking for that particular skill set, but marketing in 2026 must be comprehensive and most companies will need support from a comprehensive agency to fill in all the gaps.
Here are the key specialties your B2B agency must be able to cover with dedicated skill sets and talented experts.
Marketing Strategist – The ability to lead with marketing strategy.
Sales and Marketing Alignment – Open discussions and excellent coordination between the marketing and sales teams.
Data Experts – The ability to track results and show ROI from digital data and reports.
Website and Graphic Design – Effective website design and strong graphic design across various assets to showcase your brand.
Website Development and High-End Website Hosting – WordPress development and hosting support.
Content Marketing – Content plans and calendars for websites, email and across social platforms to generate movement in your sales funnel.
AI Expertise – Knowledge of AI to improve marketing results with tools like custom ChatGPT integrations and more.
SEO – Skills at getting brand exposure from both AI and traditional organic search.
Social Media Marketing – Strategies for effective social media, content calendars, social graphics and data monitoring for ROI.
Paid Ads and Marketing Campaigns – How to use Google and LinkedIn Ads to drive marketing results around specific content themes.
Email Marketing and CRM Expertise – How to effectively use tools like HubSpot in your email marketing to assist in reaching your sales goals. They will partner with their email marketing platform (HubSpot, Klaviyo, Keep and others) of choice. At Intuitive Websites, we partner with HubSpot and have dedicated team members ready to implement HubSpot’s many tools for our clients.
A strong B2B agency will have dedicated team members in each of these areas.
These teams are often led by an experienced leadership group who are demonstrated thought-leaders in digital marketing.
5. Struggles with Content Marketing Strategy
Content and thought leadership are critical pillars to marketing success. If your agency struggles with content marketing, it may be relying on templated, one-to-many content production. This is when the same AI-generated or lightly edited content is reused across multiple clients, with only minor changes to industry language or keywords. While this approach may seem efficient, it results in generic messaging, low credibility, and poor conversion rates.
If the content produced by your agency is showing up on other websites or mass produced by AI, then be ready for trouble ahead and low conversion rates.
Your content should be authentic and come directly from the thought leaders within your company. Your agency should support this process through interviews, original content development, competitor research, and strategic guidance.
If your agency struggles with content marketing, then it is time for a change.
Do You Own the Agency’s Work?
This is bonus reason number six!
If you do not fully own your website or have administrator access, it is time to consider a change. Some agencies retain complete control over client websites and do not even provide administrator rights, leaving clients unable to update content, manage hosting, or make changes without agency involvement. This lack of access limits flexibility and creates unnecessary risk. You should have full ownership and control of your website, hosting environment, digital content, graphic designs, and all other digital assets. Your agency should provide administrator access and train your team to maintain and manage the website so you are never locked in or dependent.
Avoid agencies using website platforms you cannot easily move to a new host or take control of when needed.
The Right Marketing Agency will Help Your Company Grow
We often hear agency horror stories when we onboard new clients. It’s important to take your time and be selective when choosing a digital marketing agency. Look for an agency that provides real value, gives you ownership of all work, and stays on top of a marketing landscape increasingly shaped by AI.
Marketing agencies are more essential than ever to your company’s success in 2026.
You can expect to see a solid return from a strong agency partner as they leverage the efforts of several skilled marketing pros to fill in the gaps on your team with an affordable budget.
Reach out to a specialist at Intuitive Websites to discuss how we onboard new clients and how our Digital Marketing and Website Assessment is a great way to move your marketing efforts forward.
