Online Marketing Agency Services Scorecard

This matters because the cost of getting it wrong is staggering. The same ANA/4As research found that the average client-side pitch costs approximately £325,000 ($408,500), whilst European agencies spend an average of €650,937 per year on pitching. These aren't just numbers — they represent real resources diverted from actual marketing work.

At Whitehat SEO, we've spent 14 years building agency-client relationships, running the world's largest HubSpot User Group, and observing what separates partnerships that thrive from those that fail. This guide distils the latest 2025-2026 research into a practical framework for making smarter agency decisions.

The Relationship Paradox: Longer Tenures, Persistent Churn

Here's a puzzling finding: agency relationships are lasting longer than ever, yet dissatisfaction and switching remain high. The ANA/4As study revealed that average client-agency tenure has more than doubled to approximately 7 years, up from 3.2 years reported in 2016. Clients without mandatory review periods average 8.1 years, whilst those with frequent reviews average just 3.8 years.

Yet the Setup 6th Annual Marketing Relationship Survey (late 2024) found that 40% of clients plan to switch agency partners within six months. What's driving this apparent contradiction?

The critical insight: delivery quality has overtaken price and strategy as the primary driver of agency departures. This represents a fundamental shift in what clients value — and what agencies should be evaluated on. Agencies that believe leadership changes and budget cuts drive departures are severely underestimating the role of execution failures.

The data also reveals significant variation by agency model. Research from Focus Digital (September-November 2025) found that retainer-based agencies see 18% annual churn with a 56-month average client lifespan, whilst project-based agencies face 42% churn with just 24-month lifespans. By specialisation, PPC agencies experience the highest churn at 49%, SEO agencies at 38%, and full-service agencies the lowest at 25%.

The Budget Reality: Why Agency Spend Is Under Pressure

Marketing budgets are stuck. The Gartner 2025 CMO Spend Survey (402 CMOs across North America, UK, and Europe) found that marketing budgets have flatlined at 7.7% of overall company revenue — unchanged from 2024 and well below the 9.5% recorded three years earlier. Half of CMOs report a median budget of 6% or less.

What does this mean for agencies? The allocation picture tells a stark story:

• Paid media: 30.6% of marketing budgets (the only growing category, up 11% year-on-year)
• Martech: 22.4% (down from 25.4% in 2023)
• Labour: 21.9%
• Agencies: 20.7% — a declining share for the fifth consecutive year

The pressure on agency budgets is intensifying. According to Gartner, 39% of CMOs plan to cut agency budgets, with top actions including eliminating underperforming agency relationships, streamlining rosters, and renegotiating contracts. Perhaps most significantly, 22% of CMOs said GenAI has already reduced their reliance on external agencies for creativity and strategy.

This creates an uncomfortable reality: agencies need to deliver measurably better outcomes to justify their shrinking slice of the budget. The days of agency relationships sustained by relationships alone are over. Modern marketing agencies must connect every activity to business outcomes — pipeline generated, not just traffic reported.

AI Capability: The New Non-Negotiable

AI capability assessment must become a core evaluation pillar — not a nice-to-have appendix. With 60% of marketing leaders already cutting agency spend due to AI, and only 30% of agencies having fully integrated AI according to industry research, the gap between AI-capable and AI-lagging agencies will widen sharply.

When evaluating an agency's AI capability, Whitehat recommends assessing four dimensions:

HubSpot's 2026 Ecosystem Kickoff introduced a new AI Excellence Impact Award and AI Partner Advisory Council, signalling that AI capability will increasingly differentiate partners. Agencies that have invested early in AI integration — not just AI tools, but AI-enhanced processes — will deliver faster execution and better outcomes.

ROI Benchmarks: What Good Looks Like by Channel

With 73% of marketers saying budgets face more leadership scrutiny, agencies that cannot connect activities to business outcomes are increasingly vulnerable. Here's what the 2025-2026 research tells us about channel ROI:

The data overwhelmingly favours agencies that can demonstrate clear, measurable returns. When evaluating agency proposals, insist on:

• Specific ROI projections with the methodology explained
• Case studies with quantified outcomes (not just "increased traffic")
• Clear attribution methodology connecting marketing to pipeline
• Regular reporting cadence with business metrics, not just vanity metrics

For HubSpot implementations specifically, the IDC-commissioned ROI Report (268,000+ customers, 135 countries) shows users generate 129% more inbound leads, close 50% more deals, and launch campaigns 68% faster. These benchmarks provide a useful reference when evaluating agency promises.

Understanding HubSpot Partner Tiers: What They Actually Mean

HubSpot Diamond Partner status represents genuine scarcity. There are only 164 Diamond Partners worldwide — less than 3% of all tiered agencies out of 7,000+ certified partners globally. Only 33 agencies hold Elite tier.

The partner tier system was updated in January 2026 with a transition to "Deal-Based Tiers." Here's what each level requires:

Diamond Partner benefits include one-to-one HubSpot support sessions, early access to tools and beta releases, eligibility for the $10 million Partner Growth Fund, co-selling opportunities with HubSpot sales reps, and Partner Advisory Council access.

Crucially, tiers are evaluated twice annually (January 15 and July 15), so current status is meaningful. Partners must maintain their performance to retain their tier — it's not a one-time achievement.

Agency Team Stability: The Hidden Client Risk

Agency talent retention directly impacts client outcomes, and the data shows persistent challenges. The ANA estimates industry-wide agency turnover at approximately 30% annually — the second-highest rate of any industry after tourism. Campaign US's Agency Performance Review found a modest improvement: average turnover declined from 20% in 2023 to 18% in 2024, though this may reflect a cooling job market rather than structural improvement.

The cost is substantial: SHRM estimates replacing an employee costs 50-60% of annual salary, with total costs ranging from 90-200%. But the impact goes beyond agency economics. When your account manager leaves, institutional knowledge walks out the door.

A telling performance correlation from Predictable Profits (2025): 8-figure agencies invest £5,900 ($7,500) per year per employee in training and achieve 3.4-year average retention versus 2.1 years at 7-figure agencies.

The 2026 Agency Evaluation Scorecard

Based on the research findings, here is Whitehat's recommended framework for evaluating agency partners in 2026. Weight each dimension based on your organisation's priorities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Making the Right Choice in 2026

The agency evaluation criteria that mattered in 2023 are necessary but no longer sufficient in 2026. Five developments should reshape how you choose your next agency partner:

1. AI capability has moved from differentiator to requirement. Don't accept vague AI claims — demand specific tools, processes, and outcomes.
2. Delivery quality matters more than ever. The 14-point surge in delivery-related departures signals that execution should be weighted more heavily than strategy in your evaluation.
3. The hybrid model is dominant. Evaluate how well an agency integrates with your in-house team, not just how they perform in isolation.
4. ROI proof is essential, not optional. With 73% of marketers facing increased budget scrutiny, agencies that can't connect activity to outcomes are liabilities.
5. Platform certifications signal commitment. HubSpot Diamond status represents genuine scarcity (164 worldwide) with meaningful retention requirements.

At Whitehat, we've built our agency around these principles. We're a HubSpot Diamond Partner because we deliver results that retain clients. We run the world's largest HubSpot User Group because we believe in community and continuous learning. And we connect every marketing activity to pipeline because we know that's what matters to your board.

The cost of choosing the wrong agency is too high — both in direct pitch costs and in lost marketing opportunity. Use this scorecard to make a better decision.

References & Sources

1. ANA/4As (2025). Client-Agency AOR Relationship Tenure Study. https://www.ana.net/content/show/id/pr-2025-04-tenure
2. Gartner (2025). 2025 CMO Spend Survey. https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-05-12-gartner-2025-cmo-spend-survey
3. 4As (2025). Client-Agency Relationship Tenure Report. https://www.aaaa.org/resource/4as-ana-2025-client-agency-relationship-tenure-report/
4. Campaign US (2025). Agency Performance Review 2025. https://www.campaignlive.com/article/agency-performance-review-2025
5. HubSpot (2025). ROI Report. https://www.hubspot.com/roi
6. HubSpot (2026). Partner Tiers Explained. https://www.hubspot.com/partners/how-tiers-work