Why Small Businesses Are Replacing Their Marketing Agencies (And What They're Doing Instead)

Small businesses across Richmond and beyond are firing their traditional marketing agencies after years of overpromises and underdelivery. They're replacing them with fractional marketing teams that provide strategic leadership, transparent pricing, and actual results—all without the bloated agency fees.

If you've been considering the same move, you're not alone. The frustration is real, the pattern is predictable, and frankly, it's about time someone called it out.

The Pattern That Keeps Repeating

When business owners talk about their agency experiences, the same phrases keep coming up:

"We tried marketing before..."

"The agency promised the world, delivered PowerPoints"

"We spent $90K and got zero new customers"

"They treated us like just another account number"

Sound familiar? These aren't isolated incidents—they're symptoms of a broken agency model that prioritizes internal profit over client success.

The Five Agency Failures Driving Small Businesses Away

1. Scattered, Disconnected Marketing That Goes Nowhere

Most agencies operate in silos. Your social media person doesn't talk to your ad buyer. Your content creator has never met your sales team. The result? Marketing that feels disjointed because it is disjointed.

Small businesses need marketing that connects the dots between strategy, sales, and operations. Traditional agencies rarely deliver this because they're structured to sell you individual services, not comprehensive solutions.

2. Hidden Fees and Media Markups You Never Agreed To

Here's what most agencies don't want you to know: They're making money on every media buy through commissions they never disclose. That Facebook ad campaign? They're keeping 15-20% off the top before your budget even hits the platform.

These hidden revenue streams create a fundamental conflict of interest. When agencies profit from your ad spend rather than your results, guess which one they optimize for?

3. The Overpromise-Underdeliver Cycle

The pitch meeting is incredible. They'll transform your business, dominate your market, make your phone ring off the hook. Six months later? You're staring at engagement metrics that don't pay your bills and "brand awareness" that doesn't translate to revenue.

Traditional agencies are built to win clients, not to grow them. Once they have your contract, the incentive shifts to retaining you with just enough progress while maximizing their profit margins.

4. No Strategic Leadership, Just Tactical Execution

You hired them to solve your marketing problems, but they keep asking you what to do next. You're getting execution without strategy, tactics without leadership, and deliverables without direction.

The reality? Most agencies aren't equipped to provide strategic marketing leadership. They're execution shops masquerading as strategic partners, leaving you to figure out the "what" and "why" while they handle the "how."

5. Pricing That Makes No Sense

Why does a monthly retainer cost $5,000 one month and $7,500 the next? Where exactly is your budget going? What are these "strategy fees" and "management costs"?

Opaque pricing isn't accidental—it's by design. Complex fee structures and variable costs make it nearly impossible to track ROI or compare options, keeping you dependent and confused.

What Smart Business Owners Are Doing Instead

The businesses walking away from traditional agencies aren't abandoning professional marketing help. They're upgrading to a better model: fractional marketing leadership with full execution support.

The Fractional Marketing Model Explained

Instead of hiring multiple vendors or paying agency markups, businesses are bringing on fractional Marketing Directors or CMOs who:

• Provide strategic leadership that aligns marketing with sales and operations

• Build and execute comprehensive plans rather than disconnected campaigns

• Operate as part of your team, not as an outside vendor checking boxes

• Deliver transparent pricing with one flat monthly rate

  
  

Think of it as having a seasoned marketing executive and their support team working exclusively for your business—without the six-figure salary, benefits package, or hiring headaches.

Why the Fractional Model Works Better

You get leadership, not just labor. Someone who understands your business, connects with your sales process, and takes ownership of results.

You pay for value, not vendor margins. No hidden commissions, no media markups, no surprise fees. Just honest pricing for honest work.

You gain flexibility without sacrifice. Scale up or down based on your needs, cancel anytime if it's not working, and adjust strategy as your business evolves.

You see results faster. With strategic clarity and focused execution, most businesses see improvements within 30 days—not the typical six-month "ramp-up period" agencies sell.

The Wabash & Lake Difference: Fractional Marketing Done Right

When Joe Doran started Wabash & Lake in 2016, it was specifically to fix what he saw broken in the agency world. After years of working at a media and advertising group that cared more about internal profit than client success, he built something different.

We refund ALL advertising commissions back to you. Every penny we'd typically make from your media spend goes directly back into your marketing budget. Why? Because we make money when you grow, not when we spend more of your budget.

One flat monthly rate. Always. No hidden fees, no surprise invoices, no complex billing structures. You know exactly what you're paying and exactly what you're getting.

We become your marketing department. Not an outside agency you manage, but an integrated part of your team that shows up with the same commitment and urgency as if we were your full-time employees—because in every way that matters, we are.

Speed matters. While traditional agencies "strategize" for months, we're up and running in the first month with quick wins while building long-term success.

Is It Time to Make the Switch?

If you're reading this and recognizing your own agency frustrations, you already know the answer. The only question is whether you're ready to try something better.

Traditional agencies aren't going to change. The model is too profitable, the incentives are too misaligned, and frankly, they don't have to change as long as business owners keep accepting mediocrity.

But you don't have to accept it anymore.

Ready to stop wasting money on marketing that doesn't work? Book a free conversation with our team and discover exactly how fractional marketing leadership can turn your marketing into a revenue-generating machine. No high-pressure sales pitch. Just honest conversation about whether we're the right fit for your business.

Because after 9 years and dozens of successful partnerships, we've learned one truth: Your success IS our success.

About Wabash & Lake Consulting

Based in Richmond, Virginia, Wabash & Lake Consulting provides fractional marketing leadership to small businesses nationwide. Founded on principles of radical transparency and client-first service, we deliver strategic marketing direction and full execution support without the typical agency BS. Learn more about our approach.