Welcome to our newsletter for February - March 2005.

This issue focuses on the key principles and techniques underlying effective tender documentation.

Please forward this newsletter on to colleagues and friends who may also find it of interest.

As always, we want to ensure your continued interest in receiving our newsletter - so if you wish to unsubscribe, please email us at:
info@davismarketing.com.au.

Dianne Davis
Principal and Managing Director

www.davismarketing.com.au

Visit www.cmomagazine.com – a comprehensive online resource, focused on the needs and interests of Chief Marketing Officers and senior marketing executives.

See for instance in the December 2004 edition, the article “The Missing Link – Creating a connection between marketing and tangible business benefits is job one for the CMO”.

Ideagen is an Australian consultancy focused on fostering creative thinking and innovation within organisations. They produce a regular newsletter (example of an item below) that is fresh, sometime a little whacky, but always stimulating.

Hyperactive Bob at Makkas

Hyperactive Technologies is testing a new technology that warns workers at fast food restaurants when they're about to get swamped with customers and even tells them how much food to put on the grill. The system, dubbed "Hyperactive Bob" uses rooftop cameras that scan the parking lot and drive-thru lanes and extrapolates future demand based on the number and types of cars it sees. (For instance, a minivan is more likely to generate multiple orders than a sports car.) One McDonald's manager reported that wait times have been trimmed by 25 to 40 seconds per customer - an eternity in fast-food world.

Future improvements include software that keys in on the type of vehicle entering the parking lot to determine whether the customers they bear are more likely to order a Big Mac or Chicken McNuggets.

The trigger: Just imagine if your business could predict sales accurately. What benefits would this deliver? Just imagine if you could predict when you are about to lose a customer!

To view their latest newsletter and register, go to: www.ideagen.com.au

In the latter part of 2004, Perks Davis (the strategic alliance between Davis & Associates and Perks Design Partners), presented a lunchtime seminar for APSMA in Sydney on “The Art of Effective Tender Documentation”.

Given the considerable investment made by services organisatons in tendering, we summarise key points from this seminar for our newsletter subscribers:

Tender Documents - 9 Common Problems
• Documents are too features rather than benefit-focused
• Generic content: lack of delineation around client/prospect needs & critical business issues
• Don’t meet specific information requests (i.e. non-compliant)
• Documents - overly wordy, repetitious
• Lack of strong, concise Executive Summaries
• CVs – inconsistent, not sufficiently tailored or benefit-oriented
• Frequent claims & assertions without credible substantiation
• Lack of personalisation
• Lack of visual relief / techniques.

Getting the Fundamentals Right
• At its core, the tender document is a piece of “sales communication”
• The Value Proposition (should permeate the document) and needs to be concise and consistent. Three core elements underpin a Value Proposition:

1. Differentiates your organisation (i.e. it distinguishes you in a way that is relevant to your market)
2. Resonates with clients / prospects (i.e. incorporates client benefits)
3. It’s credible – your organisation can reliably deliver on it.

• The document shows a strong understanding of client / prospect needs
• It is interesting to read (impactful language, visually appealing)
• It is easy to read and comprehend
• It is easy to navigate
• Differentiating – in it’s message, language and look.

Brand Alignment
• The tender document needs to be consistent with your organisation’s brand strategy (in particular, it must reinforce and support your core brand positioning and brand personality).

Key Drivers in Tender Decision-Making
Research shows that the key drivers in tender decision-making, include:

• Demonstrated understanding of a client/prospect’s industry & business
• Strong service delivery & ethos
• Possessing the required technical expertise
• Delivering genuine “value for money”.

Document Structure
• While many government & corporate tenders stipulate a tight structure, where that structure is not so fixed, it should reflect the key drivers (and thus influences) for tender decision–making. For example, a suggested ordering would be:

• Other standard sections – “Adding Value”, “Firm Resources & Capabilities”, “Firm Policies”, “Detailed CVs” – should ideally appear in the latter part of a tender document.

• Finally, include a Document Content Checklist (i.e. summary of information in the document & corresponding page / section numbers), both for reader navigation and quality control (compliance with information requests).

Document Content
In terms of content, undertake the following checks:

CHECK – that what truly differentiates your organisation (i.e. your Value Proposition) is reinforced throughout the entirety of the document.

CHECK – that the document consistently demonstrates an understanding of specific client/prospect needs and key business issues.

CHECK – that content is tailored to the organisation and the industry (e.g. refer to information provided during meetings & briefings, refer to decision-makers by name and specifically acknowledge their needs, incorporate your own research on industry trends/drivers/developments).

CHECK – that you haven’t recited features but, rather, demonstrated how your organisations’ resources and capabilities provide tangible benefits and meaningful outcomes.

CHECK – for excessive wordiness and repetition (e.g. use impactful wording, short sentence structures, short-form communication techniques – diagrams, breakout quotes, testimonials).

CHECK – for unsubstantiated claims and assertions (e.g. “We are a leading..” “We have the best people...”, “Our culture is unique...”, “We are experts..”). Rather, use 3rdd party endorsements, client testimonials, independent surveys and case studies to highlight expertise and capabilities.

Tone of Voice
• Write about your organisations’ services, products, experience and capabilities from a client-benefit perspective (i.e. “what’s in it for them”).

• Personalisation – use “you”, “our” and “we” to connote partnering and involvement; refer to key decision-makers by name (creates a sense of already working together).

• Use impactful language – avoid clichés and jargon, wherever possible. To this end, generate word lists for use in tenders – reflecting vibrant, fresh language.

• Copy templates are most appropriate for more ‘generic’ sections / content (e.g. firm & office profiles, industry client lists & assignments / projects, practice profiles, firm procedures & processes) and small-medium sized tenders.

Visual Tone of Voice
• Consider how much of the client/prospect visual identity you want to
acknowledge
• Consider reader ease of navigation
• Establish a consistent typographic hierarchy (headings, sub-headings)
• Photography should be of quality and consistent with your brand values
• Avoid clip art, low quality stock photography, visual clichés (e.g. “shaking hands”)

Covers
• Consider the wrapping / cover – customised, one-off covers & binding
• Use every opportunity to demonstrate your brand values (paper stock, dividers, binding methods, die cuts, e-versions)

Tender Presentation Levels
Develop different presentation levels, from generic through to customised:
We suggest three levels:

Level 1 Precedent-driven Standard corporate covers & dividers Can be built by anybody within your organisation

Level 2 Precedent-driven, with some customised elements Content built internally, with limited external advice

Level 3 Fully customised Built in high-end publishing program E-printed or offset, depending on volume

Typography
• Typography is a critical tool for conveying visual identity. Key considerations include:
- Corporate typefaces vs. system fonts
- Balance & scale of different typefaces
- Legibility & readability.

Tender Toolkit Checklist
Build a visual toolkit that covers:
• Typefaces
• Typographic hierarchy
• Typographic styles (e.g. caps, sentence case etc)
• Colour palettes (primary & secondary)
• Image library
• Team photography
• Diagrams (charts, tables, diagram styles)
• E-versions – pdf, html
• Template styles & precedents
• Graphic elements – wallpapers, textures, illustrations, symbols
• Bullets & indents
• Breakout boxes, quotes, pullouts & testimonials
• Covers, dividers, binding.

For a full copy of our seminar presentation, go to our website at www.davismarketing.com.au – and in “In the News” section see under ”Speeches”.

Dianne Davis was featured in an article in BRW (9/12/04)on likely trends and developments in marketing for 2005, and in B&T (21/1/05) on the Labor party’s brand and market positioning.

Davis & Associates and Galt Advisory’s research into internal perceptions of brand amongst leading Australian law firms (see Dec 2004- Jan 2005 newsletter)will be featured in the
March 2005 issue of the UK’s leading professional services marketing magazine,
Professional Marketing. While on the theme of Australian professional services, the February 2005 issue will feature PKF Australia’s marketing direction and strategy.

In November 2004, Dianne Davis was elected to the Board of the Health Industry Group Training Company (HIGTC). HIGTC is a nationally accredited not-for-profit organisation responsible for managing apprenticeships and skills development in the health and community services sectors. It provides services in NSW, ACT, South Australia and Queensland.