An effective marketing request for proposal specifies a company's immediate goals.
Companies may outsource marketing assignments to a specialty firm or agency. To begin the selection of a specific firm, a manager will construct a "request for proposal," or RFP for short. An RFP is essentially an invitation to interview, pitch or submit a bid for an assignment. Carefully constructed RFP letters or packages will be complete and thorough to ensure that agencies fully understand, and can fulfill, the company's immediate needs.
Overview: Clearly State the Request
Clearly state the nature of the business and a basic overview of marketing needs. This is a brief summary of the proposal that establishes the scope of the assignment in a few sentences. The following steps will outline more details about questions to ask, so only a brief introduction is needed. As an example, "Company B is a women's apparel retailer located in Springfield. We are looking to increase sales and traffic, while making room for next season's inventory. Would you provide options on conducting a high impact advertising and sales promotion for the holiday season?"
Explaining the Need for a Marketing Service
Explain the need for a marketing service. Provide details regarding products, brands, services, target customers, geographical boundaries and staff. State if there is a marketing program in place and refer to existing samples (direct the reader online or to an addendum). The most common marketing proposals are for advertising (including television, radio, print, mobile and online), direct mail, sales promotions, consumer research and event marketing. However, a marketing campaign can include several of these options to build brand awareness and retain or increase sales.
Disclose Company Challenges
Request for proposals should always include a problem statement or company challenges.
Discuss challenges regarding sales, loss in profit, competitive market share position and inventory, where applicable. For example, a challenge statement might read as follows: "Since the arrival of a new competitor, Company C, we have experienced a 15 percent decrease in sales compared to last year. We would like to research new opportunities to expand the reach of our brand and reclaim lost customers."
Give Budget Guidelines
Reveal budgetary guidelines. Specify a budget cap or commission rate, if applicable. Budget caps are usually a flat fee; commission rates usually refer to agreeing to share a percentage of the sales generated from the marketing campaign.
Produce Supporting Business Background Analysis
Produce a more thorough background statement about the business. Expound on company goals tied to the marketing RFP. These goals could specifically state the dollar amount of revenue that is needed to cover operational costs, the need to get rid of old or stale inventory, or the desire to increase traffic and conversion rates in the store or online.
Reveal Concerns about Adopting a Marketing Strategist.
Courteously explain major concerns regarding the challenge. Marketing campaigns can be costly, unpredictable or unproductive. Multi-location companies need to be explicit about parameters, locations or groups. Be candid, but diplomatic, about perceived limitations on hiring a marketing partner.
Demonstrate Strong Interest
Always be cordial, and demonstrate strong interest in obtaining a proposal from the marketing agency being reviewed.
Explain why their company was chosen to complete an RFP. Marketers want to know if they were carefully selected or if a company haphazardly submitted RFPs to every marketing agency in the phone book. If requesting from a new vendor or company referred by someone, this shows that the RFP is highly important. Companies can also get favorable feedback if they mention this and the potential for future opportunities.
List Core Competencies and Requirements
Identify core competencies. Develop a list of open-ended questions. Some examples include, "What additional integrated marketing services can you provide, such as public relations management?", "What additional information or research would you need in order to complete your assessment?", "Can you provide samples or references from previous clients?", "How much time will be allocated to this project?" and "Will we have access to a marketing manager on-site, and how will we communicate?"
Summarize
Recap a list of three to five key goals in a list. Use the information mentioned in the overview at the beginning of the proposal. For example, "Here are measurable goals we hope to achieve: 1) Increase sales by 15% over last year's comparables; 2) Maintain a 20% profit margin on merchandise sold; 3) Reduce inventory levels by 15% to make room for new arrivals; 4) Increase traffic and customer registration by 10%." These goals do not always have to be sales related; they can include hundreds of other objectives such as maintaining a competitive position in the market, researching or testing a new product, gaining consumer insight, producing graphics or video for a commercial, or even recruiting new employees.
Create Urgency and Conclude the RFP
Define the time limit for submitting a response to create urgency. A courteous example would be, "In order to adequately prepare for the holiday season, we must begin planning within three months. We would appreciate your reply within three weeks of the date on this request." Conclude with a cordial salutation and a "Thank you."
