How to make the RFP (Request For Proposal) process work for you (and your potential agencies)

When it comes to choosing an agency for your marketing, website, or public relations needs, it can often be hard to know who will be the best for you and your company. The RFP process is often a necessary evil in choosing a vendor, but we are providing you with a few tips on how to make it as successful and painless as possible, both for you and for those competing for your business:

Determine your evaluation criteria ahead of time. Before you even send out an RFP, you should determine what criteria you will use to evaluate the proposals you receive and how these criteria will be weighted in relation to each other. This helps to clarify your priorities and establishes a more level playing field for your potential vendors.

Be as specific about your needs as possible. Your RFP should tell your potential vendors what your goals are, what the time frame for the project is and what criteria are being used to judge them. The more specific you can be about your needs, the better chance you have of finding the right vendor for your project.

Don't expect vendors to design for free. Potential vendors should supply you with a portfolio of their work. This should give you enough information to determine if their skills and style mesh with what you are looking for. It is not right to put a vendor in the position of worrying about having their design idea taken from a proposal only to be used by an agency that quoted a lower cost.

Give the vendor a sense of your company. Marketing, web and PR are all specifically tailored to the individual client. You need to give an agency a good idea of who you are if you want them to create a proposal that meets your needs. This seems like common sense, but unless you let a vendor know how you want to be perceived, they cannot help you achieve that with your marketing.

Hopefully, these few tips will make your next RFP process a little less painful, both for you and for those trying to win you over.

Employee Spotlight: Erin Smith

Senior Account Manager, Erin Smith, has certainly had her hands full recently. Between running after her son, Alexander, who turned one in the beginning of March and getting ready for the birth of her second child in early August, Erin has also been managing some hefty projects here at emedia.

One major project Erin managed recently is the Argus Health Fair, which took place on April 7th. She coordinated the design, production and placement of ads, banners and other materials related to the fair. Erin and the rest of the emedia team are happy to help Argus in its mission to improve Bermuda's health and wellness.

Celebrations

Happy Anniversary to Bridget Figur who has been at emedia for one year this month!

Break out your kites and your hot cross buns! Happy Easter!

Hot Off the Press

Bermuda Commercial Bank

Staff Bios created for the BCB Administration Team for new clients.

VIEW PDF >>

Argus Health Fair

The Argus Health Fair was held on April 7th - this is the promo poster for the event.

VIEW PDF >>

Read All About It

Why You Need to Update Your Website

Many businesses make the mistake of thinking that their website is 'done' when it goes live for the first time. A website is like a living organism, it needs attention and care in order to thrive.

We've all been to websites that have their latest information updates and most recent event listed as several years ago. This immediately instills a lack of faith in the information that is provided on the rest of the site. The thinking is that if you haven't listed a new 'upcoming event' since 2005, your prices, list of services and staff contact information probably haven't been updated as well. If viewers don't feel like they can rely on the information provided on your website, your site loses its purpose.

These days, there is really no excuse for an out-of-date website. Programs such as Adobe Contribute make it easy for business owners, or their staff, to update information on a website, even if this person does not have a great amount of technical knowledge or skill. Having new information on your website on a regular basis also keeps people coming back. If the information on the site was the same every time a potential customer went on over the past 6 months, chances are they won't return to your site. But if they are greeted with new information, as well as all of the essential information that they need, they may return regularly to view your updates.

Keeping your website up-to-date is a simple way to make sure that your clientele is getting the most accurate view of your company possible. Contact Jennifer Ward at jen@emedia.bm to find out how you can make your website easier to update and control.