#CaseStudy – Sending a Proposal? Use This Trick
#CaseStudy is all about demonstrating best practices and practical advice. What marketing works and for how much. You can find out right here.
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What did we want to achieve? (context)
We were applying for a website project, we had been sent the brief and we needed to respond with a proposal. Usually, most companies just email over a pdf document and that’s that. It’s what people expect, it’s the norm and it’s boring!
What did we do?
We wanted to do something different to get their attention and demonstrate that everything we do is special, as will be their website. So as well as emailing them the proposal, we also personally hand delivered a gift box to them with the proposal in too. We beautifully designed the proposal with a front cover, printed it off on nice paper, put it in a nice plastic folder, placed it inside a really nice box with lots of chocolate inside and put a ribbon around the box.
What did it look like/what was it?
Here is a photo of the box, lot’s of chocolate was placed inside and there was a opening letter of intention on the outside.
What was the thought behind it?
The idea was that it would create a talking point and make them feel special that we had gone to so much effort to win the job. How could you not resist to open it up and pay it some attention?!
Was there any other contributing marketing?
No, however we did collaborate with another development company to help win the job. The combined skills set most likely worked in our favour.
What were the results? (including time it took, ROI)
The result was that the company immediately chose us and were really excited to start the project. As for costs, the box was free as it was just lying around, however let’s just say a few quid and a few quid for printing, ribbon and chocolate. Less than £10 in total and maybe an extra half an hour worth of work to sort it all out. The job was worth upwards of £2,000-£3,000 with scope for much more. So it was more than worth it to put that little bit more effort in to secure the job.
How could we improve it?
There was a slight hiccup when delivering the box, so make sure you know who needs the proposal and try to deliver it to them directly.
Further comments/Why it worked
Of course, the proposal and credibility of the companies also needs to be solid, the box won’t magically give you the job, but it will give you the edge for sure.
ACTION: Next time you send out a proposal or tender, think about how you can go the extra mile. We once heard that someone once delivered a proposal on an iPad and let them keep the iPad as a gift. The box is much cheaper though haha.
ACTION: Could you collaborate with someone to win a bigger job than you could manage yourself?
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