#7. The Lack of Mid-Career Professionals

This trend ranked seventh-most concerning among SMPS Fellows. However, when looking at the percentage of Fellows who are Extremely Concerned (scored a 4 of 4 in the survey), it ranked first at almost 36% of survey participants. The “Missing Middle” is real, and firms are struggling to deal with it daily. This holds true not only in marketing and business development roles, but across all functions of AEC firms. Factor in the demographic changes driven by Baby Boomer retirements, and we’re experiencing a perfect storm in which senior leadership is retiring or approaching retirement, and there simply aren’t enough emerging leaders ready to move into their places. Furthermore, the college enrollment cliff has arrived, and colleges will soon be graduating fewer professionals into marketing, sales, architecture, engineering, and construction roles. We’ll be lacking talent at all levels of our firms, with the middle getting stretched dangerously thin.

#8. Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Operations/Production

Concerns surrounding AI integration ranked eighth in the survey. Firms that have used technology as a differentiator in the past risk getting left behind if they are not first to market with AI and automation in their delivery methods. But getting there is not without risk, and there are clear and present dangers related to relying on unproven technologies. Yet, given the current staffing shortages, which are projected to increase, emerging AI technologies offer a potential solution. Early adopters may be able to leverage technology as a differentiator - at least for the first few years, as they did with Building Information Modeling. Small and mid-sized firms may have more agility than their larger counterparts, but they also have more to lose. Marketing and BD leaders can offer lessons learned, as they have generally been earlier adopters of technology.

#9. Differentiating from the Competition

On the topic of differentiation, this age-old challenge ranks as the ninth highest concern among SMPS Fellows. One of the downsides of integrating AI and automation, whether in marketing or operations, is that every firm may essentially become the same, just a homogenized commodity with a different logo. Firms that are overly reliant on technologies for traditionally creative endeavors — whether writing marketing copy or designing buildings — may soon find they have lost any differentiation they once enjoyed. And although marketing leaders cannot necessarily control this on the operations side, they can on the marketing side. Humans matter and will continue to matter because technology can only replace so much in the workplace.

#10. Wage Growth.

Rounding out the Top 10 concerns is Wage Growth. In recent years, marketing and business development professionals have seen their salaries rise — in many ways, “catching up” to where they should be. And yet, increased compensation is only sustainable to a certain level, and the salary demands of entry-level and mid-career staff are often out of alignment with corporate budgets, leaving critical roles unfilled. How will this change with the integration of emerging technologies? That remains to be seen; however, with the promise of technology comes the potential challenge of lower budgets as CFOs expect technology to provide an increasingly heavy lift at the expense of expanding or at least maintaining marketing and BD staff size. AI is an entirely new frontier, and marketing leaders must be prepared to advocate for their teams and the value they deliver — while continually upskilling and reskilling team members as their roles evolve with technological advancements. In fact, the Need to Better Train Staff ranked twelfth in our survey.

Research compiled by Stambaugh Ness staff Barbara Stiles, FSMPS, CPSM and Scott Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM in June 2025.