How to Write a Marketing Request for Proposal (+ Template)

At some point, businesses need to hire a digital marketing agency to spruce up their marketing initiatives. Finding the most suitable marketing company to work with involves reaching out to firms to communicate your goals and requirements.

This blog posts details how to write a marketing request for proposal (RFP) so you can shortlist the agencies that can offer the services you need. Keep reading to learn more about these topics and download our free marketing RFP template.

• Tips for writing a marketing request for proposal
• What is a marketing RFP?
• What are the benefits of a good marketing RFP?
• What to include in a marketing RFP

How to write a marketing request for proposal

Get bids from qualified agencies with a well-written request for proposal (RFP). Here are tips on how to write a marketing request for proposal:

How to write an effective RFP for marketing services

1. Specify your goals
2. Make a list of what you want in an agency
3. Do your research
4. Shortlist agencies of interest
5. Use our marketing RFP template

Let’s go through each one:

1. Specify your goals

Before you can begin to write a marketing request for proposal, you must have a goal in mind.

Without one, your RFP for marketing services will have no direction, and you could come off unclear and unsure. Think about your current marketing campaign (if you have one) and where you want it to go. How do you want your current campaign to evolve and change?

If you don’t currently have a marketing campaign, you should still have a goal in mind. Whether it’s growing your following on social media or showing up higher in search engines, your goal should be top of mind when writing your RFP for marketing services.

2. Make a list of what you want in an agency

You may have specific characteristics you’re looking for in a marketing agency, and you must take note of these from the start.

For example, you may be interested in working with an agency that works with clients in your specific niche or an agency that offers an ultra-specific service. You might want to work with an agency that’s within close range so that you can have lunch meetings or an agency that has five-star reviews on Google.

3. Do your research

Before you write an effective RFP for marketing services, you must know the typical offerings of digital marketing agencies.

Do your research to learn more about the services that most marketing agencies offer. You also want to research baseline prices for the marketing services you’re interested in.

Since you’ll provide a marketing budget on your RFP, you’ll want to have a well-rounded, realistic idea of how much you can expect to pay for the services you want.

4. Shortlist agencies of interest

Before you start writing your RFPs for marketing services, you should have a good idea of where you want to send them. After doing your research, make a shortlist of agencies that you’re interested in working with for your marketing campaign.

Only list agencies that you’re serious about — that way, you’ll have less consideration to do later. After creating your shortlist, you’re ready to create your marketing RFP.

5. Use our marketing RFP template

If you want to learn how to write a marketing RFP from the ground up, consider using our RFP template. Doing so ensures that you don’t leave anything out and that you get all the information you’re looking for from marketing companies.

What is a marketing RFP?

A marketing request for proposal, or marketing RFP, is a written document that businesses share with marketing agencies to get quotes for a project or campaign.

An excellent RFP clearly provides the important project details for both the hiring company and marketing agency. It must include the following:

• Project scope
• Specific deliverables
• Deadlines
• Budget

What are the benefits of a good marketing RFP?

A good marketing RFP offers businesses several benefits, including the following:

• Improved efficiency: A good RFP creates a standard process of bidding for agencies. When agencies have all the relevant information about the project and the hiring business, they can provide all the details in their bid. It reduces email exchanges and streamlines communication between both parties.
• Cost-effective procurement: A well-written marketing RFP also reduces your business’s overall procurement cost because it can help you find the best marketing agency that will produce the results you need, whether it’s for a long- or short-term project. As a result, you won’t have to hire a secondary agency or freelancer to fill in gaps or undo mistakes.
• Better decision-making: A good marketing RFP leads to better decision-making because you can easily compare different agencies’ capabilities, advantages over one another, and costs.

What to include in a marketing RFP (with free marketing RFP template)

You’ll get the most benefits from your marketing RFP if you use an RFP template.

You can get a digital copy of our marketing RFP or you can read on to learn what to include in a marketing request for proposal:

1. Statement of purpose

If you want a marketing agency to take you seriously, you’ll have to present them with a statement of purpose. This statement tells agencies why you’re interested in a proposal and can include things like:

• Why you need a proposal
• When you plan to choose an agency
• The current status of your marketing campaign
• Your point of contact

Your statement of purpose can be short and sweet — just to let an agency know why you need a proposal.

2. Company information

For a marketing agency to properly quote you, it’s important to provide as much company information as possible. You should give essential company information, including:

• When you were founded
• Your target audience
• The products and services you sell
• Experience you’ve had with other agencies
• Short- and long-term goals you have in mind

This information will give marketing agencies an inside look at who you are and what you want to become, which can help them give you a more accurate proposal.

3. The work that you’re looking for from a marketing company

Now is when you get into the meat and potatoes of your RFP for marketing services. In this section, provide agencies with an overview of the work that you’re looking for from them. It can include things like:

• Basic marketing services you’re interested in
• What you want an agency to accomplish weekly, monthly, and yearly

Be as honest as you can when talking about your expectations. If you downplay the results you want, you’re bound to be disappointed.

4. Reporting expectations

How often do you expect an agency to report back to you? Are you looking for weekly reports, bi-weekly reports, or monthly reports? Here are some things you can talk about in this section:

• How agencies should contact you and your team
• What communication methods you prefer
• What kinds of reporting you require for each marketing strategy
• How often you expect to receive reports

When you’re honest about your reporting expectations, you’ll be more likely to be matched with an agency that can fulfill your needs.

5. Budget

Your budget plays an extremely important role in your marketing RFP template, since it can be something that makes or breaks your interest in an agency.

If their services’ cost is over your budget, you likely won’t work with them. If your budget is too low for what an agency offers, they won’t take you on as a client. Include information like:

• Your total marketing budget
• Budgets for specific channels
• Your terms of payment
• How you’ll approach contract renewals and expansions

Be honest when it comes to your budget to save both you and the agency time and effort.

6. Terms of contract

Outlining exactly how you want your contract to go is an important piece of information for agencies and will let them know that you know exactly what you want. Include information like:

• Your tentative start-service date
• Your tentative end-service date (if you plan to)
• If you require a non-disclosure agreement
• Qualifications for termination of service

7. Questions for the agency

Do you have any specific questions that will make or break how you feel about an agency? Now is your time to ask them! Consider asking questions like:

• What is your experience?
• Have you worked with a company in my industry?
• How long will a campaign take to drive results?

You’ll talk on the phone with an agency before starting your campaign, but this is a great opportunity to get questions answered upfront.

8. How you’ll decide

Make it clear how you will choose an agency. This information lets agencies know that you’re decisive and that you have a plan for your selection. You can let an agency in on information like:

• Factors that have the biggest influence on your decision
• Factors that are non-negotiable when you’re choosing an agency
• Factors that will hurt an agency’s chances

9. Timeframe for reviewing proposals

Let agencies know when they can plan to hear back from you, along with a general timeline for your vetting process. You should provide information like:

• Your deadline for proposals
• How long you’ll take to review proposals
• When you plan to decide

10. Points of contact

You should inform agencies about points of contact (POCs) at your business, and request POCs from them. This information will keep all lines of communication open and effective throughout the process.

You can provide information like:

• POC at your business
• Department of each POC
• POC’s contact information

And you can ask for information like:

• Who you should contact with questions
• Who would be handling your campaign
• How many points of contact you’d have throughout your campaign

11. Reply requirements

You’ll then want to let agencies know how they should reply to you. You should include information like:

• What format you’d prefer your response (PDF, email, etc.)
• How an agency should format their response

This information eliminates the guesswork for agencies and could potentially speed up the reply process.

Download our free marketing RFP template

At WebFX, we know how important it is to select the right digital marketing agency for your specific needs. That’s why we’ve provided you with our free marketing RFP templates and examples to help! We hope our marketing RFP template helps you find the digital agency of your dreams.

Need more help? Contact us online or call us at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist!