25 January 2010

5 Tips for writing Better RFP's

When asked for our elevator pitch, I describe RainCastle first and foremost as business problem solvers, with brand strategies and websites the mediums we happen to use to solve the problems. We've been most successful when clients have shared their business problems and we've collaborated on the solution. Inherent to this equation is the combination of our strategic value and tactical execution.

While most of our business is referral based, we do receive a fair number of RFP's. It's safe to say that most RFP's I receive are not focused on strategic value but more on keeping costs down. It is more often about the "apples to apples" comparison rather than strategic problem solving, i.e. what we will deliver rather than what problems need to be solved. This leads me to suggest 5 tips for writing better RFP's.

Define the business goals of the project.
It may sound obvious, but I receive quite a few RFP's that run down a laundry list of deliverables with little or no context. Describe the business problem, what has occurred because of the problem and what result you'd like to see from this project.

Define a basic set of services to enable a reasonable comparison
Clarify the format of the response in such a way as to ease your evaluation process. Providing clear instructions about the format of the response will go a long way to making your evaluation easier.

Allow for unique solutions or perspectives in a separate section
Make sure respondents know that unique perspectives are welcome and have their place in the response process. Too many RFP's are designed to keep vendors at bay and avoid engagement for fear of showing favortism. But the vendors are in the position to help, so engaging with them should be advantageous and not adversarial. Gaining their unique perspective is a critical part of finding the right team that will help you differentiate your business.

Meet the teams and have questions ready
Although technology makes remote communication a regular part of conducting business in 2010, team chemistry can't be underrated. If possible, RFP writers should meet the vendor teams and engage in a mutual Q&A, which will help ascertain if the chemistry is right between all team members.

Decide the criteria for a Winner, before issuing the RFP.
Most RFP's I've seen are written toward identifying the lowest cost bidder. But when asked about criteria, the generic response I've heard is, "we're looking for a combination of cost, approach and thinking." Be clear in your own mind how you weight vendor responses. Is it 80% price, 20 % approach or vice-versa. Also, be cognizant if those percentages change as you meet the different vendors. It's not uncommon to start with one set of goals and parameters and allow the process to change your priorities. If you maintain awareness of this, you can maintain control of the process thus resulting in the right vendor selection.

For writers and recipients of RFP's, I would be pleased to hear your thoughts.

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Posted by Paul Regensburg at 7:40 PM   |  1 Comment

15 January 2010

Waxing Poetic about RFP's

There once was an RFP
That seemed simplistic to me
It distilled strategic needs
Into tasks, steps and fees
Real value no one could see

With the focus these days on ROI and metrics to ascertain the value a website or a brand has to your business, it's surprising to me that more companies don't reflect an "attention to value (‘ATV' for you acronym lovers)"in their RFP process. While most of our business has always been referrals from current or past clients and others with whom we've worked, we routinely receive RFP's, which are sent out to a collection of firms more or less like ours.

Wikipedia defines a "request for proposal" (referred to as RFP) as "an invitation for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service. A bidding process is one of the best methods for leveraging a company's negotiating ability and purchasing power with suppliers. The RFP process brings structure to the procurement decision and allows the risks and benefits to be identified clearly upfront."

The operative words are "leverage" and "structure." "Value," or something synonymous is conspicuously absent in the description and consequently in the process. While I understand that leverage is advantageous for keeping costs down, and structure can be useful for making accurate comparisons among vendors, the need for control that these attributes enforce often tends to come at the expense of teasing out who in fact will be the vendor most apt to solve your business problem - who is the "value provider."

Wikipedia goes on to say, "The creativity and innovation that suppliers choose to build into their proposals may be used to judge supplier proposals against each other, at the risk of failing to capture consistent information between bidders and thus hampering the decision making process." When the primary goal of an RFP is to provide an "apples to apples" comparison rather than to engage with vendors in search of the true value provider, the result is "hit or miss" at best.

This is a significant topic, which I will be exploring further. I'm eager to hear your points-of-view.

Photo: Pete McArthur

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Posted by Paul Regensburg at 1:05 PM   |  1 Comment

04 January 2010

The seven Characteristics of a Differentiated Website

I separate the experience of creating "a website that differentiates" from creating a website. In 2009, anyone can create a website. Surprisingly few can create a differentiated website. What are the characteristics that make a website differentiated?

Brand strategy - brand strategy or positioning are fancy terms for professional differentiation. Listen to your customers, incorporate that intelligence into your own language and practice, share the kool-aid with your organization and feel great about being able to explain what you do with confidence while riding the elevator and talking to an impatient prospect. The website will come so much easier and faster when the brand is right.
Audience focus - A website that differentiates makes brand strategy relevant to specific audiences so visitors enjoy a personal experience. Take a look at www.unica.com and see how on the homepage, they segment their audiences and provide customized content. For our client Open Connect, we took a different approach to audience, introducing what we call "Pain-based Navigation^TM." Visitors to the website are presented 5 business problems Open Connect identified as leading to the majority of their business. The visitor can quickly identify their problem and follow intuitive navigational paths to yield answers or speak to a representative.
Dynamic Content - Differentiated content is key word rich, contains links to relevant content and is concise and to the point. Dynamic content can include text, images, video, audio and "non-gratuitous" Flash. If content is based in a solid brand strategy, crafting it will be a smooth process. Without that foundation, content will be the thing that slows down a website process.
Marketing - The web serves as the hub for an integrated marketing ecosystem that may include email marketing, direct marketing, webinars, events, PR and more. Landing pages on the website enable one to track responses to marketing programs and respond with the right offers.
Offers orientation - Differentiated websites encourage engagement and make it easy to contact you with ubiquitous, but not obtrusive phone numbers, contacts and forms.
Search - Having a differentiated website means a lot more people can find you. Optimizing for search makes that happen. Pay per Click (PPC) advertising can drive more traffic to your site as well. Just make sure your site's content delivers.
Design - The current trend in business leans heavily in favor of analytics and database-driven marketing, yet we and other firms like us are often judged on the appeal of the sites we create. Never underestimate the emotional power of design to motivate behavior and attitude. Design sells. Visit www.apple.com as a reminder.
I encourage you to share any differentiated websites you've found or your experiences and anecdotes on putting one together.

Photo by Pete McArthur.

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Posted by Paul Regensburg at 9:23 AM   |  2 Comments