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Web Analytics System
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Web Analytics
System RFP
Guidelines and template
Econsultancy London
4th Floor, Wells Point 79 Wells Street London W1T 3QN United Kingdom Telephone: +44 207 269 1450 http://econsultancy.com [email protected]
Econsultancy New York
350 7th Avenue, Suite 307 New York, NY 10001 United States Telephone: +1 212 971 0630 Econsultancy Singapore 20 Collyer Quay #23-01 Singapore 049319 Telephone: +65 6653 1911 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © Econsultancy.com Ltd 2015
Web Analytics System RFP Guidelines and template Page 3
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Contents
1.
About Econsultancy ... 4
1.1.
About this document ... 4
2.
Introduction ... 5
2.1.
RFP differences ... 5
2.2.
Guidance notes ... 6
3.
Process ... 7
4.
Web Analytics System RFP Template ... 8
4.1.
Introductory comments ... 8
4.2.
RFP template ... 8
4.2.1.
Introduction ... 8
4.2.2.
Business objectives ... 9
4.2.3.
Key performance indicators ... 9
4.2.4.
Business requirements ... 9
4.2.5.
Reporting and analysis requirements ... 9
4.2.6.
Technical requirements ... 11
4.2.7.
Other information required ... 11
4.2.8.
Timescale ... 12
4.2.9.
Selection criteria ... 12
Web Analytics System RFP Page 4
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1.
About Econsultancy
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1.1.
About this document
If you have any comments or queries about this RFP then please contact Econsultancy’s Research
Director, Linus. [email protected].
Other related Econsultancy content
Measurement and Analytics Report
https://econsultancy.com/reports/measurement-and-analytics-report
The Past, Present and Future of Website Optimisation
https://econsultancy.com/reports/the-past-present-and-future-of-website-optimisation
Business Intelligence Meets Web Analytics: Breaking Down the Silos
https://econsultancy.com/reports/business-intelligence-meets-web-analytics-best-practice-guide
The Presentation Style of Web Analytics Data and Decision-Making
https://econsultancy.com/reports/the-presentation-style-of-web-analytics-data-and-decision-making
Web Analytics Buyer’s Guide
https://econsultancy.com/reports/web-analytics-buyers-guide
Web Analytics Requirements – Digital Marketing Template Files
Web Analytics System RFP Page 5
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2.
Introduction
An RFP (Request for Proposal) is a document outlining the background to your objectives and a detailed list of business requirements for a given project. Typically, an RFP is sent to your likely group of suppliers/partners in order to solicit their proposals to work with you.
RFPs can be extremely valuable in optimising the chances that suppliers deliver the solutions that you need, encouraging the following:
Internal agreement: allow you to discuss and finalise your requirements with all of the
internal (and agency) stakeholders before involving a further supplier.
Accurate proposals: allow suppliers to clearly understand your needs so they can provide you
with the most accurate estimates of their best solution.
Comparable solutions: ensure that each supplier receives the same set of requirements and
therefore replies with a similar and comparable set of proposed solutions.
The purpose of this document is to outline some of the most important elements that might need to be considered by a client company when putting together a request for proposal from an analytics company. The factors considered here are by no means exhaustive, but equally, depending on circumstances, not all of these will always need to be considered.
Consider this document to be a starting point from which you can ‘pick and mix’ elements to include in your RFP.
2.1.
RFP differences
Different types of RFPs: differences between an RFP, an RFI, an RFQ
and an ITT
Although you may see these terms used interchangeably, they are decidedly different documents. Consider where you are in your process and what you want to achieve out of the exercise and then start by being accurate about what sort of document you are asking your potential suppliers to answer:
RFI (Request for Information)
– This document can simply be a fact sheet, often being used for initial planning purposes. In
the case of small projects, this document can be used for decision making as well.
RFQ (Request for Quote)
– This document is often appropriate if the requirement is to make a decision mainly based
on pricing for a fairly commoditised product, such as web hosting or print services. Normally an RFQ is used if you’ve already prepared your requirements and the decision will be made using a quantitative analysis of the bidder’s pricing proposal.
Web Analytics System RFP Page 6
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– The document that we are discussing here is slightly more complex. It often involves
various evaluation criteria, based not only on price, but on the complete fit of the solution to the organisation’s goals and objectives.
ITT (Invitation To Tender)
– This is a more formal version of an RFP, often used by governments and large
organisations when wanting to finalise a decision from a shortlist of suppliers. Because responses to an ITT can be legally binding on the part of the bidder, these documents are often fairly prescriptive and can run to hundreds of pages.
The rest of this document deals with the RFP only and outlines the section headings and some of the factors to consider, in the form of a template. Text is often for your consideration of how to structure the content of your questions – and should always be replaced with your own text.
2.2.
Guidance notes
When investing in marketing technologies such as web analytics systems you are probably making a decision which may have a lifespan of two to three years.
This is different to say selecting an agency for a media campaign or a consultancy to carry out a usability study on a one-off basis.
The potential costs of making a sub-optimal decision can be significant in terms of money and time invested. The pain of switching from one supplier to another is getting greater and greater. The purpose of this template to provide some recommendations and considerations in the development of the request for proposal (RFP) that you send out to potential system vendors. Web analytics systems are experiential products, you never quite know what you are going to get until you have implemented, and are used to using it.
The aim of this document is to help reduce the risks involved in the selection of a new system by helping to present the RFP in such a way that you have a clear way of deciding the best candidates from the proposals that you receive.
Web Analytics System RFP Page 7
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3. Process
The process you go through for selecting your web analytics system will be dependent to some extent on the time that you have available to make the decision and the level of resources
available to manage the process. Given that you do not want to be in the position of going through the process again in a year’s time, it does make sense to spend a bit of time getting it right first time round. However, we all live in the real world and there may not be the time and resources available for the full process.
In an ideal world the process might look something like this:
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Web Analytics System RFP Page 8
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4.
Web Analytics System RFP Template
4.1.
Introductory comments
The RFP is the key screening document to get you from a list of five or six potential suppliers to a possible two or three. The web analytics system market is quite fragmented with many potential vendors who might fit the bill.
One challenge many buyers find is that it can be difficult to tell the difference between them and that is why crafting a good RFP is important.
A poor RFP will fail to get your message across to potential vendors about what is important to you and the danger is that you will get a bland and standardised response. A good RFP will help discriminate between the vendors on the dimensions that are important to you.
By investing some time and effort in creating a good RFP you should hopefully reduce the risks in the selection process and also the amount of time involved. Here are general tips and tricks in the development of your RFP:
Keep it as brief as realistically possible, whilst ensuring that it has sufficient information in it for the vendor to work against.
Be as…
4.2.
RFP template
The following template is a suggested format for a web analytics system. It should obviously be adapted to your own circumstances but is designed to capture most of the information and requirements that need to be defined in your RFP.
Remember the purpose of the RFP is to help you select those vendors who are most likely to meet your needs and bring them forward for further discussions.
4.2.1.
Introduction
In this first section give a general introduction to your business and the background to the reasons why you are going through the selection process. Things you might include here are:
Size/turnover of business
Scope of…
Web Analytics System RFP Page 9
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4.2.2.
Business objectives
In this section outline what the current objectives for the online channel are e.g. grow sales, reduce costs, improve customer service etc. What are the plans to…
4.2.3.
Key performance indicators
How do you measure the success on your websites? What are…
