I am going to say something that might get me banned from a few marketing conferences.
Most “Full-Service” Digital Marketing Agencies are designed to fail you.
If you are a business owner paying ₹50,000, ₹1 Lakh, or even $2,000+ a month to a big, fancy agency, you probably feel a familiar frustration:
- “Why are they so slow?”
- “Why do I only talk to the Account Manager, never the expert?”
- “Why does the report look pretty, but my bank account looks the same?”
I know exactly why.
Because I’ve been there.
I’m Rakesh Mondal. Before I became a Growth Partner for brands, I worked inside some of the top agencies in the industry (read about my background in My Journey: From Startup Founder to Growth Partner.
I saw the “Big Agency” model from the inside. And today, I’m going to expose the “Bait and Switch” tactic that is burning your budget.
The “Bait and Switch” Mechanism
Here is the standard agency playbook. I’ve seen it execute a thousand times.
Step 1: The Pitch (The Bait)
You meet the “VP of Strategy” or the “Agency Founder.” They are smart. They use big words like [Semantic SEO – Link to Post 2] and promise you the moon. They show you case studies from their top 1% of clients.
You sign the contract, thinking this guy is going to handle your business.
Step 2: The Handover (The Switch)
The moment the ink is dry, the “VP of Strategy” vanishes.
Your account is quietly handed over to a “Account Manager” (who is just a customer service rep) and the actual work is assigned to a Junior Executive or an Intern.
The Reality:
You are paying premium fees for an intern to “learn on the job” using your budget as their practice ground.
- They don’t know how to set up Advanced GTM Tracking .
- They don’t understand your business model.
- They are juggling 30 other clients, giving your business about 2 hours of attention per month.
The “Bloat Tax” (Where Your Money Actually Goes)
When you hire a big agency, you aren’t just paying for marketing. You are paying for:
- Their expensive office in a prime location.
- Their HR department.
- Their sales team’s commissions.
- Their Friday office parties.
The Math:
If you pay an agency ₹100,000, typically only ₹20,000 goes towards the actual talent working on your project. The other ₹80,000 is “Overhead.”
When you work with a Specialist (like me), there is no bloat.
You aren’t paying for my office rent. You are paying for Strategy and Execution.
Every rupee goes into the campaign.
The “Report” Trap
Agencies are masters at sending 50-page PDF reports that say absolutely nothing.
They dazzle you with:
- “Impressions increased by 15%!”
- “Bounce rate improved by 2%!”
These are Vanity Metrics.
They report on these because they are terrified to talk about Revenue.
As I explained in Traffic is Useless if Your Bucket is Leaking, if they aren’t fixing your Offer and your Funnel, they are just wasting traffic. A big agency will never tell you your Offer is bad because that requires “Consulting,” and they only sell “Packages.”
They will keep pouring water into your leaky bucket as long as you keep paying the retainer.
Why the “Lean Team” Model Wins in 2026
The world has changed. With the rise of AI and Automation, you don’t need an army of 50 people to run a campaign.
You need One Sniper.
You need a strategist who:
- Does the work personally. (I don’t outsource your strategy).
- Obsesses over ROI. (I track leads, not just clicks).
- Moves Fast. (No waiting 2 weeks for a “meeting” to change a headline).
I operate as a Growth Partner.
I don’t have “clients”; I have partners. If you don’t grow, I don’t sleep.
The Litmus Test
If you are currently working with an agency, ask them these 3 questions today:
- “Can you show me the exact person working on my SEO, and can I speak to them directly?”
- “How much of my retainer goes to ad spend/execution vs. management fees?”
- “What is our Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) for last month?”
If they stutter, stumble, or give you a generic answer… you are being scammed.
Stop Funding Their Overhead
It’s time to fire the “Intern Army” and hire a Strategic Partner.
I don’t offer “Gold/Silver/Bronze” packages. I offer a custom roadmap to dominate your market.
Ready to see the difference?
Let’s take that budget you are wasting and turn it into profit.
