Shred the RFP: 9 Best Practices for Picking a Custom Media Partner

Relying on an RFP process can often lead to you selecting the company that is the best at responding to RFPs, not necessarily the company that is best at creating and implementing a custom media strategy.

So, how can you whittle down the options without an RFP? Focus on these nine best practices to choose the right outside firm:

1. Start by drafting an internal needs analysis. Be sure to get the input of relevant stakeholders. Articulate your agreed goals. Set a budget. Create a checklist of all the custom media programs you might consider: print, digital, video, social media, etc., along with your expected ROI.

2. Search firms using the keywords “custom media, custom marketing, custom content, custom publishing.” Also visit the Custom Content Council’s website, where you may consider your custom media provider options, review the work of the Council’s members and narrow the field of worthy providers.

3. Analyze the prospective firms’ websites: if you don’t like what you see on their sites, you probably won’t like what they’ll do for you.

4. Contact providers. Start the dialogue by describing your organization and explaining your objectives, target audience and budget.

5. Visit the home offices of two or three potential providers. Meet their teams, see their work, talk about segmentation and media and explore their work processes.

6. Consider fit with your culture. Determine which provider will likely produce the most effective custom content product to engage your customers and prospects and achieve your objectives.

7. Talk about budget—right from the start—and try to make an apples-to-apples comparison and get the highest-quality product within your budget.

8. Narrow your selection. A clear leader may emerge from this process. Engage that company in honest dialogue. If the fit is compelling, ask for a detailed proposal. If not, move on to your second and third choices.

9. Contact client references. No one can give you a more honest, candid testimonial than a current or former client, for better or worse.

[image: mhaw]

Tom

Admittedly, I am surprised this doesn’t have much of a slant. These are good things to consider in a process which is typically vague. Also, be sure to recycle once shredded.
bill

Great overview, I agree with each one of these. In addition, I’d add “10. Look Thoroughly at Their Breadth of Work.”
http://www.tdagroup.com Michael Fox

Agreed with all the above. Would add – look for a leader, not a follower. To get the best value from your custom media experience, you should be able to lean on your provider’s expertise, creativity, and innovative thinking, rather than a company that just responds to what you ask for.
Megan

This is interesting- I have worked in a “traditional” custom media environment, as well as a company producing custom media through crowd sourcing. I think crowd sourcing has been a really interesting market to explore. You definitely get varied work at a generally less expensive price, but it’s kind of a gamble as to whether the quality is good enough for your needs. I would go with a custom media company nine times out of ten, so these are great tips.
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Shred the RFP

Written by: Richard Creighton