How to Write an Effective RFP

Part two of the series uncovering (1) why and (2) how to write an effective request for proposal (RFP), through the lens of a digital marketing agency.

THE HOW

Now that we’ve clearly outlined why a company would call for an RFP in the first part of this series, we will look at how to write an effective RFP.

What are you trying to accomplish? RFPs are a necessary evil. They're a way to provide structure and efficiency in finding the right agency partner. If you think about the goal of an RFP process, it's to find the best possible fit between client and agency—to develop a meaningful relationship that will ideally continue and evolve over time, while providing financial growth for both parties. It's the business equivalent of speed dating (often times with the speed timeline). But if an RFP is overly prescriptive, it can sometimes handcuff agencies and result in similar and or less impactful responses—it can read like an order form.

The best client-agency relationships are centered around tackling problems together, not on agencies simply delivering what the client orders. As such, it’s in the best interest of all involved that an RFP be written in a way that allows agencies to demonstrate their unique problem-solving approaches and personalities.

What does the agency response process look like? Responding to an RFP is often a very compelling experience for an agency. You are introduced to a brand facing a challenge you haven’t previously been exposed to. And it’s our job to dig into the business and understand how we can uncover the opportunity and articulate the solution in a creative and easily consumable presentation.

While the scope and size of an RFP may vary, in advertising and marketing, responding can be a complex process. If you haven’t worked on the agency side, you may have wondered what goes into a thoughtful proposal. It’s an exhilarating process. Imagine a dozen inspired marketers, from strategists to visual designers and copywriters, to technologists and analysts, working around the clock—filling up conference rooms with creative concepts, and chalk walls scribbled with sketches and user experience flows. We pull all-nighters and ignite new ideas fueled by insights based on data. We test real-world applications of products and services with a brand’s target audiences. We identify how we can drive objectives through a broad spectrum—transforming simple ideas into innovative approaches that push the boundaries of what even emerging technologies can accomplish. An oxymoron.

As a business, we invest a substantial amount of our time and resources in responding thoroughly to an RFP—this includes internal team member time, conducting focus groups with external parties, working with new tools and technologies and flying teams across the country for pitch meetings. Being equipped with the right information and structure to respond properly will benefit the proposal delivered. The following outlines the information required to support an agency in providing the most thoughtful response possible.

RFP overview: Business context, objectives and vision

Business context: What can you share about the business that is foundational to your prospective agency partners’ knowledge set, beyond what’s available on (let’s be real) Wikipedia?

·     Where is the business today?

·     Where do you want your business to go in the short- and long-term?

·     Who are your key competitors? What do they do well? What do they do poorly?

·     Is there an unmet need in the marketplace? Have you attempted to fill that already? What was the outcome? What can be shared as a learning?

Share the challenge and define the objectives: Rather than leading with the solution you think you need, such as a campaign idea, lead with the business or brand challenge. Is brand perception negative? Are sales down? Is your website not generating enough leads? Let’s take a look at a website as an example: If you are currently converting 1% of site visitors to leads, a goal could be to double that conversion rate to 2% in 12 months. You may have theories regarding why the current site experience is not converting, which is sometimes backed by data. Pose this question to RFP responders—how do I enhance my lead volume and quality? It is the job of prospective agency partners to look at your experience, the data sets, competitive and likened examples to identify the gaps, barriers and constraints in the conversion funnel to define the right solution. My colleague and digital strategist Andrew Begin shares, "The cause for poor performance could be any number or combination of things, from content to information architecture to site performance. Regardless, the best outcomes happen when we set our own preconceptions aside and talk to the user. When we understand the user’s journey and experience, we can identify and remove barriers to conversion and iterate towards our desired outcome."

Vision: This should clearly articulate the result you are looking to achieve. Leveraging our website example, a vision could be:

·     Enhance the user experience for seamless and compelling interaction

·     Remove barrier(s) to purchase

·     Create operational efficiencies in sales

·     Provide the ability to learn from data to help optimize the business

Outline audience segments. Outline the key traits of your audience segment. While the agency should generate insights based on research that uncovers more about your demographic, sharing the premise for how you’ve been targeting and understanding your segment historically and recently will reveal why you’ve positioned your programs as you have.

Define challenges, barriers, and constraints. This should include those you do and don’t control. This is the right time to mention if you or other team members have attempted to solve this problem in the past. If so, why was it not successful?

The ask

Are you looking for an agency partner to demonstrate their skill set through a work sampling? Remember, instead of self-prescribing a solution, indicate the desire to see a glimpse of a process or idea. For example: ask them to “highlight an approach to our challenge.”

Operations: Timeline, Guidelines and Requirements

Describe the systems, tools and processes in place that are firm or flexible, to ensure an understanding of how solutions should align or have the ability to be built upon/developed.

Outline other key partners you currently work with. Even if you prefer to keep the partner names confidential, sharing what types of agencies you have working with you will allow your partner to understand their swim lanes, and where and how they can collaborate to make the most impact.

Requirements: Outline the specifics of what you are looking for in an agency partner, and/or a response that may impact you operationally or provide context on work experience: 

·     Background: What are the specific requirements you seek from an agency partner? Must they have a specific background in set vertical? An office in a specific location?

·     If there is a technical part to the RFP, outline key requirements. Once engaged with an agency partner, a robust technical discovery should take place with an agency business analyst to define all key functionalities. However, this initial glimpse should outline critical features that will impact the scope of work (SOW). For example, say you need a specific ecommerce solution or a marketing automation integration. Again, while the solution isn’t ideally brand-prescribed, there may be components of it that will impact or serve as foundational for the approach.

Timeline, format and contact:

·     What is the RFP timeline? Include each date for proposal submission deadlines, evaluations, presentations and the contract award date.

·     What is the RFP outcome timeline? What are the key milestones within that timeline you are looking to hit? Are there any external events or internal dates that rely on this initiative?

·     Response format: Do you have specific requirements for the final delivery format? For example, do you expect a MS Word document vs. a pdf? This should typically be flexible.

·     Who is the primary point of contact for this engagement?

Budget range: Clearly indicate the budget range you have set aside for this engagement, and any additional vendors such as software. Not addressing this early on can lead to misalignment of expectations in the final proposal.

Once you’ve narrowed down your top prospective agency partners to respond to your RFP and have moved on to an in-person meeting, it’s an appropriate time to request references and the specific team that will be assigned to your initiative.

By clearly outlining these components, your prospective agency partners will have the information they need to effectively respond to your RFP with a thoughtful solution, and bring you one step closer to delivering your ideal brand vision.