The request for proposal (RFP) and the research proposal are essential elements for marketing research planning. The RFP is a formal document issued by a corporate marketing research department to solicit services from research suppliers. The RFP process is a vehicle for qualifying potential vendors, writing and distributing a request for research services, answering supplier questions, conducting a criteria-based bid evaluation, awarding contracts, and providing a critique to suppliers. A proposal is an offer from a research supplier to produce a research product or service for the buyer or sponsor. It is often in direct response to the RFP. The research proposal presents a problem, discusses related research efforts, outlines the data needed for solving the problem, and shows the design used to gather and analyze the data. Both RFPs and proposals provide benefits for the marketing researcher. For the company, the RFP is an opportunity to formalize the process of documenting, justifying, and authorizing the procurement of research. Vendor solutions are evaluated and project performance is monitored and controlled. The supplier's proposal becomes the guide for the investigation as well as the outline for contractual services. The proposal is also a useful tool to ensure that the sponsor and investigator agree on the research question and the direction of the project.
The RFP has modifications (requests for information, application, and recommendation) that make it more suitable for different user needs. Two types of proposals are covered: internal and external. Internal and external proposals have a problem-solving orientation. The staff of a company generates internal proposals. External proposals are prepared by an outside firm to obtain contract research. External proposals emphasize qualifications of the researcher, special facilities and resources, and project management aspects such as budgets and schedules. Within each type of proposal there are varying degrees of complexity; a proposal can vary in length from a two-page memo to more than 100 pages, from a telephone conversation to a multimedia presentation. Proposals can be written with a set of sections or modules. The difference in type of proposal and level of project complexity determines which modules should be included.
Proposals can be formally or informally evaluated. The formal process uses a list of criteria and an associated point scale. The informal process is more qualitative. Important aspects beyond content include presentation style, timeliness, and credibility.
