Everyone’s Favorite Word Is “Free”
But what happens when the cheapest option becomes the most expensive business decision you make?
This is a true story about a website project failure, a marketing director, a “free” discovery process, and how one bad vendor decision cost a company more than $1 million in missed opportunities.
How One Bad Decision Cost a Business Over $1 Million
Meet Mary, Tom, and ABC Contractors
Mary previously worked with e9digital and understood the value of strategy-driven website development.
After moving to a new company, ABC Contractors, she introduced e9digital to the recently hired marketing director, Tom. His assignment was straightforward:
Build a website that attracts qualified traffic and generates leads.
The Proposal
Before designing anything, our team recommended a paid discovery phase.
The goal of the discovery phase was to:
- Understand the buyer
- Analyze competitors
- Identify differentiators
- Build a positioning strategy
- Create messaging that converts
Another agency offered discovery for free. Guess which one Tom went with?
The Decision
The marketing director chose the cheaper option. However, it turned into a catastrophic website redesign mistake.
Why Discovery Is Critical in the Website Planning Process
Many companies mistakenly believe the website discovery process is for rookies.
In reality, veterans of the website game swear by it.
Discovery is where you determine:
- Who you’re selling to
- What buyers care about
- Why they choose competitors
- What objections prevent conversions
- How your company should position itself
“Without discovery, designing a website is the equivalent of planning a trip by throwing a dart at a map blindfolded and hoping you land on the Bahamas.” — Conrad Strabone, Managing Partner & President | e9digital
With discovery, websites become a tool that helps your business make more money.
Be Careful What You Pay For: The Results One Year Later
A year after the launch, Mary called us back.
The marketing director had been fired because…
The Website Failed
The website looked fine. But it didn’t perform.
Problems from the digital firm that failed by skipping discovery included:
- Generic messaging
- No clear differentiation
- Weak calls to action
- Poor audience targeting
- Little engagement
The sales team avoided sharing the website like the plague.
The Marketing Failed
46.1% of consumers assess a company’s credibility [1] based largely on website design and appearance. Since the website was bad, all the money spent on marketing campaigns produced few qualified opportunities.
The website failed to support the sales process.
Revenue growth came screeching to a halt.
A 90K Mistake
Website ROI wasn’t even part of the conversation because the project cost them so much money.
According to estimates from the company:
- 12 months were lost
- More than $90,000 was spent on salary and vendor costs
- Over $1 million in missed opportunities
- Significant frustration across the organization
The free discovery wasn’t free.
It became one of the most expensive decisions the company had ever made.
The Hidden Cost of Choosing the Wrong Marketing Partner
Most companies evaluate proposals based on cost.
Few evaluate them based on risk.
A website project is also a:
- Sales project.
- Marketing project.
- Positioning project.
- Growth project.
The question isn’t: “What does the website cost?”
The question is: “What will failure cost us?”
Why Businesses Continue to Make These Three Website Redesign Mistakes
When the economy is bad, businesses continue to fall for the “free website discovery” trap when choosing a digital marketing agency for these three reasons.
Mistake #1: Shopping for Price Instead of Results
The cheapest proposal removes the most important work:
- Research
- Strategy
- Positioning
- Competitive analysis
- Buyer insights
Ironically, these are the very things that drive results.
Mistake #2: Assuming Every Agency Is the Same
Many agencies can build pages.
Far fewer can build websites that generate business.
Mistake #3: Treating Strategy as Optional
When discovery becomes an afterthought, the entire project suffers.
Good strategy is rarely visible.
But the lack of strategy becomes painfully visible.
What Great Website Discovery Actually Looks Like
The majority of buyers (75%) prefer a rep-free buying experience [2]. You need a strong discovery process to ensure you create an online platform that gets people from the top of the funnel to making the sale.
A proper discovery process for a B2B website strategy should answer:
Who Is the Ideal Customer?
You need to know the psychology of your customers’ needs inside and out. Do research that helps you answer:
- What are their goals?
- What challenges are they facing?
- What motivates them to act?
What Makes Your Company Different?
Think about what you have to offer that your competitors don’t, including:
- Experience
- Expertise
- Processes
- Results
- Reputation
What Are Competitors Doing?
B2B organizations lose about 13% of potential sales due to poor buying experiences [3]. Take a look at what your competitors are doing to understand where the bar is for your industry. Consider:
- What are they saying?
- What are they offering?
- Where are they vulnerable?
What Does Success Look Like?
If you don’t have a benchmark for your website’s ROI (return on investment), then you’ll never know when to stop spending. Choose a KPI that matters to your business, such as:
- Better-qualified leads
- Increased sales
- Improved retention
- Greater market visibility
Marketing Agency Red Flags: Don’t Hire the Wrong Agency
Watch for statements like:
- “Discovery is free.”
- “We don’t need research.”
- “We’ll figure it out later.”
- “Every client follows the same process.”
- “We’ll start designing immediately.”
All of these are giant alarms that the agency is skipping website strategy before design. And if they’re doing that, the project is already at risk.
Avoid Business Website Mistakes With e9digital
The marketing director thought he was saving money.
Instead, he purchased a year of frustration, lost opportunities, and ultimately his own replacement.
The cheapest option rarely remains the cheapest option.
A website isn’t simply a design project.
It’s a business asset.
When built strategically, it generates trust, supports sales, and drives growth.
Our team at e9digital has more than two decades of experience. We always start with discovery so that we know your website will generate trust, support sales, and drive growth.
Schedule a call today to learn more about our process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is Website Discovery Important?
Website discovery is important because it helps businesses understand their audience, competitors, positioning, and goals before investing in design and development. It reduces risk and improves the likelihood of achieving measurable results.
What Is Included in a Website Discovery Process?
Typical website discovery process activities include stakeholder interviews, competitive analysis, audience research, messaging development, content planning, SEO evaluation, and conversion strategy.
Is Free Website Discovery a Red Flag?
Free website discovery is not always a red flag, but businesses should understand exactly what is being provided. Meaningful discovery requires time, expertise, research, and strategic planning.
How Much Does a Poor Website Cost a Business?
A poor website design costs a business much more than the project budget. It includes missed leads, lost sales opportunities, wasted marketing spend, reduced credibility, and lost time.
How Do I Choose the Right Web Design Company?
Choose the right web design company by looking for one that emphasizes research, strategy, measurable outcomes, proven results, and a clear discovery process rather than simply offering the lowest price.
Can a Website Really Impact Sales?
A website can impact sales because for many organizations, the website is the first interaction prospects have with the company and often influences whether they move forward in the buying process.
How Long Should a Website Discovery Phase Take?
Depending on project size, a website discovery phase can take anywhere from several days to several weeks. The complexity of the business, industry, and goals typically determines the timeline.
What Should I Ask Before Choosing a Digital Marketing Agency?
Before hiring a marketing agency, ask about research methods, strategy development, audience analysis, competitor analysis, reporting, measurable outcomes, and examples of past client success.
Footnotes
[1] https://credibility.stanford.edu/research.html
[2] https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/5193163
[3] https://deloitte.wsj.com/cmo/4-b2b-commerce-strategies-that-can-drive-new-revenue-growth-3994f932
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