Once again, a call for RFP reform has garnered strong reaction from Marketing‘s readers.
Carol Levine‘s column “The Ecstasy and Agony of the RFP” appeared in Tuesday’s PR Filter newsletter and on MarketingMag.ca. The co-founder and managing partner of Energi PR observed “how it often fails to accomplish its goal,” and offered a lists of best practices and offered a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes discussion that takes place inside agencies contemplating whether to submit a proposal.
“In the world I live in RFPs have taken on a life of their own, consuming vast amounts of time and effort on both sides of the equation. I find it hard to accept that the process could take much credit for a successful client/agency relationship.
Finding the right PR partner might be easier if we considered the end game and looked at how successful businesspeople make really important decisions. They use research, word of mouth, track record, reputation, references or, more often than not, chemistry and gut. As for budget, if you pick the firm aligned to your corporate culture and their understanding of your business, I’d venture you’ll arrive at a mutually satisfactory budget, assuming your expectations are reasonable.”
Reader response came from across the marketing industry.
• “Excellent article – spot on! I have a couple of bugaboos myself…the fact that RFPs tell us what the clients ‘want’ and not necessarily what the clients ‘need’ and the fact that the same person buying PR strategy/services, is the same person buying the paper clips!” – Esther Buchsbaum
• “Great article Carol! I agree that the whole process has to be much more transparent. It would be great to establish an industry standard, as was done with measurement. Educating clients is key to getting the most out of the process – for everyone involved.” – Carolyn Kilbourne
• “Clearly, most companies that are putting out the RFP’s don’t trust the process or the players. As a result we end up with a broken, inefficient and one sided process favouring the client. If these companies put into play Carol’s list of best practices efficiency, better solutions, deeper relationships and value would be the result!” – Robert Lingley
• “A great common sense list. Always wondered why more clients didn’t utilize search consultants for such pivotal decisions. Folks with some objectivity about what clients needs versus what they want (great point Esther). Folks who might provide agency solutions you hadn’t considered. Also search consultants can keep all participants “honest” throughout – on both client and agency side. I’m real interested in why the first point wasn’t ‘hire a search consultant before sending out your RFP'” – Hilton Barbour
• “Really enjoyed the article Carol. This applies beyond just PR firms too. Especially like the comment about disclosing who’s pitching. Agree there’s no downside to knowing the competition.” – Kyle Miller
• “If you want to know what kind of work we do – look at our portfolio. If you want to know what we’re like to work with – talk to our clients. If you want to know what kind of people we are – let’s go to dinner. That would be a great RFP process and likely get the clients and agencies the relationships they want and deserve.” – Shawn King
• “Responding to RFP’s is not different than applying to appear on The Bachelor. True love isn’t found via ‘auditioning’ dozens of potential suitors, no matter how attractive they are and how amazing the dream dates are. The only way to find meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships are with time and trust and working together in real world scenarios. Fixing the RFP process isn’t the solution. Blowing it up and finding ways to engage marketing services firms with small projects that lead to bigger projects is the only way to go. Just like dating – engagement – marriage. Unfortunately, until more people recognize the system is fundamentally flawed, I don’t anticipate much change.” – Chris Kneeland
• “The RFP process is as bad as asking for spec work. While we do respond to some — not all — RFPs, we do not provide spec work. We’d rather take the high road on it and not get the business.” – Scott Hanson
• “Well stated Carol, in our experience as search consultants we too find that too many direct client searches are not founded on the critical factors that drive strong relationships between marketers and their service providers. Clearly it is important that the agency can deliver against the defined SOW, however there is not enough time devoted to understanding the cultural fit of the two companies through further interaction between the thought leaders. In our opinion, cultural fit is the most critical factor driving successful relationships.” – Mike Fyshe
Add your thoughts to the conversation by reading “The Ecstasy and Agony of the RFP” and visiting the comment section.
