Keeping up with the latest trends in digital marketing is a challenging task for many companies. It is a massive undertaking as it covers many business areas – social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click campaigns, content marketing, analysis, affiliate marketing, etc. 

Hiring dedicated specialists for performing in-house digital marketing rarely pays off. This is why many companies opt for outsourcing this challenging task to digital marketing agencies. 

But how do you select an agency that will bring value to your business and answer all your digital marketing requests?

A big part of this process is writing a clear request for proposal (RFP). 

In this article, we will help you understand what you need to do to create a valuable RFP that will convey your digital marketing needs and ensure you hire one of the best digital marketing RFP agencies to help you reach all your business goals.

Let’s start!

What is a digital marketing request for proposal?

A digital marketing RFP is a formal document used during the procurement process that defines the project in detail. This document is then sent to potential partner agencies that can bid for your project by submitting their proposals.

Typically, the RFP template will include the following:

1. Your organization’s background

2. The main point of contact

3. Timeframe and deadlines

4. Selection criteria

5. Budget

6. Information about your target market

7. Project overview

8. Questions you need answered

Let’s see what each of these sections should contain.

1. Your organization’s background

This section should provide your potential partner agencies with a wider context of your company’s overall business goals and general information. Here you can include the following:

• Your company’s brief history
• Mission statement
• Your business’s values
• Main personnel and stakeholders, etc.

2. The main point-of-contact

Your RFP should provide an open communication channel for all potential partner agencies. Assign one point of contact to whom the bidders can reach out if they have any additional questions.

3. Timeframe and deadlines

You should include the project’s deadlines in your RFP to help the bidding agencies plan and submit their proposals within the requested timeframe. These deadlines can refer to:

• RFP documents distribution date
• The final date for submitting proposals
• The date when you will reach your final decision on which agency to hire
• Digital marketing project starting date, etc. 

4. Selection criteria

Explaining the selection criteria, you will be using will help potential partner agencies decide whether or not they are the right choice for accomplishing your digital marketing goals and save you both time and effort.

5. Budget

You should share your budget scope to help the bidding agencies provide more realistic layouts of what they can accomplish within the given scope. This will also help you better evaluate the submitted proposals.

6. Information about your target market

To develop a valuable digital marketing strategy, your potential partner agency should be familiar with your target market. This includes information such as:

• Types of users – who are your customers, investors, prospects, etc.
• Personal traits – demographic, behavioral, geographic, etc.
• The scope of your overall user base, etc.

7. Project overview

Provide as many details as possible about the specific nature of your project to help the bidding agencies create solutions compliant with your goals and expectations. In this RFP section, you can include the following:

• The project’s primary goal
• Secondary goal
• Business requirements
• Creative and design requirements
• Technical requirements
• Customer support requirements, etc.

8. Questions you need answered

Composing a set of questions for the bidding agencies to answer will provide you with much valuable information that will help you decide on which agency is your best fit. 

Some questions you can include in your RFP are:

• What is the structure of your company?
• How many people will work on our project, and what will their roles be?
• What technologies do you use for project management?
• How often will you submit reports on your performance?
• What SEO strategies do you find to be most effective?
• What SEO improvements can you bring to our company?
• What are your preferred SEO tools?
• What is your approach to keyword research?
• How will you optimize our marketing campaign?
• What is your media plan?

How to evaluate the proposals from the bidding agencies

When examining the responses from the potential partner agencies and deciding which one to select, try answering the following questions:

Do they have a valuable experience and expertise in the required digital marketing channels? 

You will find that full-service digital marketing agencies know their way around multiple channels, while niche agencies tend to be specialized in managing a single channel. 

Make sure you choose the agency that knows how to manage channels that are important for your business. 

Do they have a previous experience with your sector or industry?

It is always a good idea to opt for an agency that has a proven track record in your industry. Such an agency will be able to predict any roadblocks that lie ahead and provide a fast and effective solution.

Did their proposal include previous successful projects?

Look for an agency that can prove their previous successes with case studies or positive client feedback and see if their success stories align with your project goals.

Do you share the same values?

An agency that shares your values will most likely understand your company’s needs better and be easier to work with.

Can they work within your budget scope?

Some agencies are pricier than others, so it is important to choose the one that can bring the most value to your company and stay within the budget limits.

Conclusion

Finding an agency that will answer all your digital marketing needs is not an easy task. 

Writing the proper RFP will help you reach the decision with more certainty and reduce the risk of losing time and money on agencies that are unsuitable for accomplishing your business goals. 

We hope our article helped you understand the importance of a digital marketing RFP and provided you with valuable tips on how to select the best agency for your business growth.