34Fall 2006marketing research35Writer’s LockIn the past, a marketingresearch project mighthave been awarded toa firm simply on thebasis of client prefer-ence and an informaldiscussion. However, in today’s marketplacethere is an increased focus for proving returnon investment for marketing expenditures.Procurement departments are becoming moreinvolved in the management and oversight ofoutsourcing decisions, including marketingresearch services. The process of vendorselection is becoming more structured, andfor many clients, more complex. As organiza-tions strive to ensure that the highest-qualitymarketing research service is delivered at themost economical price, the competitive bid-ding process is becoming commonplace. Inthis environment, the request for proposal(RFP) plays a vital role—shaping the contextfor vendor selection.Clients are employing additional tools tohelp simplify the vendor selection process:the “preferred vendor list” (to reduce theeffort required to track varying levels of com-petencies among vendors) and the “masteragreement” (to make the establishment ofcontracts for individual projects less labor-intensive for frequently called-upon vendors).Although these are proving useful, neither issupplanting the RFP. The RFP and its value. The RFP outlinesgeneral research parameters and project-specific needs. It can be delivered in writtenform (e.g., e-mail, formal document) or verbalform (e.g., telephone conversation, voice-mailmessage). The client’s goal is to submit anRFP to multiple vendors, and receive compre-hensive proposals that are logically and con-sistently structured—for easy head-to-headcomparison. This development process can belabor-intensive, and requires an expenditure ofresources from both parties. However, thebenefits are worth the time and effort. (See“Benefits of proposal” sidebar on page 38.)Vendor response. When you receive anRFP, you must plan an effective response—one that accomplishes two main objectives:(1) furthering your understanding of theclient’s needs and (2) making a positiveimpact on the client, one that favorably positions your firm for winning the business.How can you do this? Learn to write a winning proposal! The subsequent recommendations involvesequential activities. Predictably, success willbecome more common when you follow several suggestions. My knowledge comesfrom collective successes and failures.Learn how to craft a winning proposal.By Matthew E. Singer1. Reflect on the Client Organizations vary in their reasons for, and approaches to,outsourcing marketing research. Therefore, your approach todeveloping a proposal must incorporate any unique perspec-tives that define the individuality of a potential client. If youhave submitted proposals or worked with an organization,then you should have a good sense of what contributes to pro-posal acceptance, and why previous proposals were rejected.2. Read and Decipher Don’t review the RFP once; do it a number of times, withan eye toward identifying areas that might require additionalclarification from the client. Build a checklist: Record conclu-sions that you can safely make based on the RFP’s informa-tion, keep assumptions to a minimum, and establish questionareas. Your checklist serves as a tool for guiding a directedconversation with the client. 3. Make Preliminary ContactBefore you write a draft, arrange for such contact with theRFP’s author. There are multiple objectives for establishing dia-logue at this early stage; the most important one is to conveygratitude for considering your firm for the project. Confirmthat you represent your firm’s interest in submitting a proposal,establish your desire to gain more specific information aboutthe upcoming marketing research, and determine a convenienttime to engage in further conversation.4. Use Your Checklist As a GuideThe goal of a teleconference is to verify conclusions andaddress all those question areas from the RFP. Use your check-list to ensure that you don’t overlook any important issues.The following discussion points represent important areasfor proposal development that should comprise your checklist.Although the flow of the conversation might not exactly reflectthis outline, you should address each topic with the client.Understand the client’s objectives. Review the project back-ground and proposed objectives with the client, to ensure theaccuracy of your comprehension. Develop a thorough under-standing of the information gaps that drive the need forresearch; bring to the surface underlying business issues thatmust be considered when designing a methodology. If not clearly addressed in the RFP, discuss objectives withthe client. Consider asking:• What are the key questions/information needs that researchmust address? • What are the vital business decisions that the research find-ings will affect? • How will the results be used?• What other marketing factors are contributing to the needfor research? • Has previous research been conducted on related topics? • Are there secondary or tertiary objectives that also need tobe addressed? Tip: Identify and address all of the key decision points thatthe research must target. Ultimately, this additional informa-tion will contribute to greater levels of client satisfaction. Therewill be fewer modifications to methodology subsequent to pro-ject initiation, and a decreased likelihood of cost overruns.Pursue a research method. Your leeway is restricted when theclient outlines the approach to research in specific terms. Yet evenwhen the RFP specifies a desired methodology, determine howreceptive the client might be to receiving additional recommenda-tions—especially if you believe a different approach would be bet-ter-suited to accomplish objectives. Consider asking:• Are specific needs driving the suggested research designoutlined in your RFP? (1) Are in-person interviews the pre-ferred method because you want team members to have theopportunity to observe feedback firsthand, or because real-time communication among team members in the backroom is an important part of an iterative testing process?(2) Are telephone interviews desired because you want toquickly address a geographically diverse sample popula-tion? (3) Is a Web-based survey the most efficient way toensure that important respondents, with many demands oftheir time, are able to participate at a convenient moment?• Will respondents be presented written documents or