Below are key excerpts from Dianne Davis' presentation to the 4th Annual APSMA (Australian Professional Services Marketing Association) Conference 2001 on "Tendering: Key Practices, Processes and Tools":

1. Relative Importance of Key Components of the Tender Process on Tender Decision-making:

Rank		Component	Value
1/2		Scoping / Information Gathering	30%
1/2		Strategy: Value Proposition/ Relationship Management	30%
3		Oral Presentation	25%
4		Documentation	15%

2. Critical Success Factors in Effective Tendering:

3. Assessing Tender Opportunities

4. Key Actions-Defensive Tenders

To receive the complete presentation email us at: info@davismarketing.com.au

Common scenario: a senior consultant or the principal of the PR agency fronts the pitch and services the account -for at least the first few months anyway - then, as time goes by, you find more and more medium-level to junior consultants working on your account. Not only do they have little real understanding of your firm or industry, they have little credibility with your senior people.

Yet the very reason you appointed the agency in the first place was because of the quality of the senior players and their knowledge of your industry.

Another common scenario: A PR consultancy positioning itself as a broad-based marketing and communications groups, offering to undertake a range of services it sometimes has little real experience and /or expertise in (e.g. brand strategy, market research, CRM, marketing planning).

The core skill set you seek and expect from a PR agency should essentially revolve around:

- storyline and editorial development for media coverage
- media relationship development and management
- media training
- issues management (including thought leadership initiatives)
- crisis management
- sourcing targeted speaking and sponsorship opportunities
- related events management.

If you want external brand counsel or marketing planning expertise, it is sagacious to engage specialists in these areas.

Accordingly, in appointing a PR consultancy, it is vital to conclude a clear and mutually beneficial external supplier agreement that specifies:

- The precise nature of the services to be offered (i.e. what you do and don't want,and are prepared to pay for)

- A clear set of KPIs linked to wider strategic brand and marketing objectives, including contribution to brand awareness and brand equity,the volume and value of leads / inquiries, revenue generation, relationship management etc

- The key consultant/s who will work on your account and their specific role/s (and an agreement that should the main consultant /s not be able to continue working on your account,they will be replaced by suitably qualified and experienced personnel)

- The basis for remuneration (it's time that performance-based elements were increasingly built into PR agency remuneration,rather than the still common industry practice of fixed monthly retainers).

Davis and Associates won the following projects during September and October:

• Strategic brand counsel on the re-branding of law firm Middletons Moore & Bevins to Acuiti Legal
• Strategy consultant on brand positioning project for ASX Perpetual
• Marketing adviser to St.John of God Health Services as part of a strategic review of one of the group's core business operations
• Adviser to a leading law firm on the recruitment of the national Marketing Manager
• Brand positioning project for listed recruitment group, Recruitment Solutions.

An August 2001 study of US consumers by WorldComm - Modalis Research Technologies on satisfaction levels with customer service across multiple channels, found significant variances between usage and satisfaction.

For example:

• 90% of survey respondents used a telephone to obtain customer service, but only 46% rate its effectiveness with high satisfaction
• 69% have used email for customer service purposes, but just 43% give it a high satisfaction rating
• 64% have used "in person" contacts, but only 49% were highly satisfied.

At the other end of the spectrum, were online chat, instant messaging and mobile/wireless internet devices. While only small numbers of customers used these channels, they received strong satisfaction ratings relative to usage levels. For instance:

• 12% used online chat for customer service, with 62% of survey respondents giving it a high satisfaction rating
  
  
• Instant messaging was used by just 6% of the survey sample, but it received a top rating from 45% of users
  
  
• Only 4% used a mobile / wireless internet device for customer service, yet it was rated highly by 36% of users.

Item 5: Clawing Out A New Market - Now a Bank for Pet Lovers

Petloversbank.com is a new US online bank aimed specifically at pet-owning households. Backed by commercial bank, Foothill Independent, Petloversbank targets a strategic niche with specific financial responsibilities flowing from pet ownership, and in the words of its executives "celebrates the joys of the bond between people and their pets". Visitors to the bank's site can open a PetLovers checking account, conduct a range of online banking activities, access links to various pet product and service providers, receive special benefits and offers, and communicate with pet industry professionals. The target market is sizeable: according to the American Pet Association, there are 136 million dogs and 75 million cats in US households, with an estimated 5% growth rate between 2000-2010.