BEST - Best practices for Web Development, Design & Marketing service providers in generating RFPs

Best practices for Web Development, Design & Marketing service providers in generating RFPs with the following "BEST" :-
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B for Best practices for the vertical industry? Standard RFPs can be created for specific type of customers in a specific vertical industry. This standard can only be achieved through collection and compilation of past project RFPs. Cost estimates for these past projects can be reviewed from time to time to take into account economic conditions and company overheads. And when new requirements are requested and quoted, the new requirements can either be placed into the standard RFP and costed accordingly or they can be considered as add-ons and sold to new prospective customers separately as options. It is essential to ensure the database is administered and updated regularly. The purpose of offering vertical industry solutions is to basically offer best practices for the industry where the client is in and thus, leaving the customer to only need to discuss their specific corporate needs, rather than the general needs which is normally common in the specific vertical industry.

E for Evaluation? Different customers may have different evaluation criteria. Likewise, standard evaluation criteria can be provided to the customer for their review. Any additional evaluation requirements can be added on and thus, additional costing for these additions can be processed separately in isolation. This would reduce much time in costing as there would already be a standard costing for different types of evaluation, specifically for different types of vertical industry.

Standards (templates) solutions and add-ons? As above, the best practices for the specific vertical industry in terms of web development, design and marketing can be provided as part of the specific vertical industry menu of services offered. Design and marketing templates can also be made available for customers to view and select accordingly. These standard designs and templates will naturally carry certain price tags and further cost estimates need only be done for add-ons or changes to the standards. Specialization in specific vertical industries is key to resource, cost and time optimization for web development, design and marketing solutions as previously acquired knowledge and previously developed solutions can be re-applied to new projects.

Timeline? As in all services, time is the essence. As such, make sure that all the standard services offered should also have specified time frames. And time required for any additional requirements should be computed and included to the standard time lines accordingly. These should then be discussed with the customer and if they require shorter lead times, then additional cost will apply. Additional cost can be computed based on availability of appropriate resources and technology acquisition, if applicable. This may take some time to assess. As such, it is always wise to sign up with affiliates or alliances (normally smaller companies or freelance individuals who can support the development work on a need basis).