Very few marketers are taught how to evaluate an agency proposal, whether it is a formal written response to an RFP, a presentation or some other format.
We’ve reviewed thousands of agency proposals and are often with clients in “the room where it happens”. We’ve learned a lot and had deep conversations with many of the best marketers in the business about what they found compelling (and not compelling).
Here is a simple process marketers can use to evaluate agency proposals.
Marketers have Business Issues that they need to address. They don’t really want to hire agencies or spend money on marketing or advertising but will if it is purposeful.
Business Issues are “the key challenge(s) or opportunity(s) a company is facing.” These can be CSuite issues like profit or revenue, marketing issues like acquisition or loyalty, or a number of other challenges or opportunities. Does the agency understand the key Business Issue that is driving the need for the proposal?
What is the business context that impacts how we think about the issue? Did the agency show knowledge in areas like:
– your customers?
– channel highlights, points of distribution and/or number of stores?
– the annual business calendar?
– your competition and how your brand stacks up?
– digital presence?
– social presence?
– product/service quality?
– media & marketing investment?
– new products recently launched or planned?
– revenue and/or market share trends?
Did the agency understand the context of the Business Issue and use that knowledge to best tailor the specifics of their proposal?
Did the agency do the disciplined strategic analysis necessary to identify an insight that can drive a compelling solution?
A compelling strategic insight is the magic that can elevate and increase the likelihood the agency’s proposed solution can deliver the needed impact. Did they analyze the competition, target audience and Brand? Did they use that discipline to develop an insight that can help drive a compelling solution?
