Do agencies suck?

Do agencies actually suck? Hiring e-commerce teams in 2025

As a business owner, deciding whether to hire a marketing agency is no small task. On one hand, agencies promise expertise, efficiency, and results. On the other hand, you may have heard horror stories about high costs, lack of transparency, and unmet expectations.

So, how do you know if partnering with an agency is the right move for your business? Let’s break it down, from understanding your needs to evaluating the potential benefits and drawbacks of agency relationships.

Check out our latest panel from Commerce Roundtable on “Do agencies actually suck?”

Step 1: Assess Your Current Situation

Before diving into the agency world, take a step back and evaluate your business’s needs.

Ask Yourself:

1. What Are My Goals?
   Are you looking to scale, improve ROI, or enter new markets? Agencies can be a powerful ally in achieving specific objectives, but clarity is key.
2. Do I Understand Media Buying Basics?
   Even if you don’t plan to manage campaigns yourself, having a foundational understanding of media buying helps you make informed decisions. Knowing how budgets, targeting, and ad performance work ensures you can collaborate effectively with an agency.
3. What’s My Monthly Ad Spend?
   If you’re spending less than $50,000 per month on ads, agency partnerships may not deliver the ROI you’re seeking. At this stage, focusing on internal resources or freelancers might make more sense.

Step 2: Weigh the Pros and Cons

The Benefits of Hiring an Agency:

• Specialized Expertise: Agencies bring deep knowledge of platforms, strategies, and industry trends.
• Time Savings: Outsourcing frees you to focus on growing your business.
• Scalability: Agencies can handle increased workloads as your business grows.

The Drawbacks to Consider:

• Cost: Agencies can be expensive, and some brands feel they don’t get their money’s worth.
• Transparency Issues: Not all agencies are upfront about pricing or deliverables.
• Control: You may feel disconnected from day-to-day campaign decisions.

Step 3: Identify When It’s Time to Work With an Agency

Agencies can be game-changers, but timing matters.

Signs You’re Ready to Hire:

• You’re Spending More Than $50,000/Month on Ads: At this level of spend, the business is at 
• You Need to Scale Quickly: If you’re preparing for major growth or launching in new markets, agencies can help manage the increased demand.
• You Lack In-House Expertise: When your team doesn’t have the skills or bandwidth to handle advanced marketing efforts, it’s time to seek external help.

Step 4: Choose the Right Agency

Not all agencies are created equal. To find the right fit:

Know Your Needs

Define your goals, metrics for success, and areas where you need support. For example, are you looking for help with creative development, performance marketing, or both?

Vet Agencies Thoroughly

• Look for proven expertise in your industry.
• Ask for case studies and references.
• Evaluate their transparency about pricing and deliverables.

Set Clear Expectations

Establish what success looks like upfront and ensure the agency aligns with your vision.

Step 5: Balance In-House Capabilities With Agency Support

While agencies can be a great point of leverage and cost-efficiency to support a growing brand, the agency is only as good as the person managing the agency relationship at the end of the day. 

Like with any freelancer, employee, or even software partner, agencies need guidance and direction to align with the brands larger business goals – and depending on the size and scale of your business, that requires either the founder or a few key in-house hires to drive certain decisions within the company. 

Critical roles you should hire in-house for whether you’re working with an agency or not: 

• Head of Growth, Head of Digital, or some version of that. This is someone who understands the paid media channels and the unit economics of your business to support the day to day media buying activities. 
• Head of Brand or Creative Director. If this person is not the founder, it should be someone who internally understands creative and can act as a filter for any third-party creative that’s being generated by the various creative teams. 
• E-commerce Manager. This person should be responsible for all things e-commerce: updating the website, managing apps, launching promotions, working alongside agencies, and coordinating with 3PLs. 

Roles you should not hire in-house for: 

• Email & SMS specialist. The cost to bring email & SMS marketing in house for most brands is over 6-figures in cost per year. Email marketing is an essential channel for most brands, so the cost to hire qualified email experts in-house is too expensive for most brands and will drive no incremental value from the channel. You should consider partnering with an agency that understands both retention and paid media to manage these channels for you. 
• Web developer. Unless your website is fully customized and requires significant technical support, it is often much more cost effective to work with a development agency to manage any necessary implementation. Like all agencies, development agencies have the benefit of implementing software at scale which can drive down the cost to implement and the risk of costly errors on site. 
• Creative strategy. Depending on the size of your brand, you should strongly consider having your creative strategy be managed (or ideally fully integrated) with your paid media agency. 
• PR or influencer management. Like email & SMS, managing these channels and relationships effectively can be a very expensive and time consuming activity for any brand owner or in-house marketing team. It is often best to partner with an experienced agency to manage these. 
• Copywriting and graphic design. Ideally you have as many sources of creative as possible. Creative will vary by channel type, so it’s often best to have the respective team manage each creative pipeline accordingly. This will give your in-house Head of Brand more time to focus on brand vision and messaging, seeding new creative sources, or planning larger creative initiatives that require more coordination across the entire brand. 

Final Thoughts

Deciding whether to work with an agency is a significant choice for any business owner. By assessing your needs, understanding the pros and cons, and taking the time to vet potential partners, you can make an informed decision that supports your business’s growth.

Remember, the key to a successful agency relationship is collaboration. When you treat your agency as a strategic partner, set clear expectations, and invest in the partnership, you can achieve powerful results that propel your business forward.

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