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Tag:   Marketing tenders

Marketing Tenders: A Guide to Finding and Winning Contracts

Posted on by John Hudson

In today’s competitive landscape, marketing agencies face a unique challenge: how to secure high-value contracts that drive growth and establish their brand as an industry leader. One of the most effective ways to do this is through marketing tenders—formal requests from organizations looking to partner with agencies for their marketing needs.

Whether you’re new to bidding or a seasoned pro, understanding how to navigate marketing tenders can make all the difference in securing those lucrative contracts. In this blog, we’ll walk you through how to find the right marketing tenders, craft an irresistible proposal, and ultimately win the contracts that will propel your agency to new heights.

What Are Marketing Tenders?

A marketing tender is a formal invitation issued by a company, government agency, or non-profit organization that seeks proposals from marketing agencies to fulfill specific needs, such as digital marketing, branding, content creation, or event management. These tenders provide detailed information about the project, including the scope of work, deadlines, and selection criteria.

For marketing agencies, responding to tenders is an excellent way to land large-scale contracts, expand your portfolio, and grow your client base. However, winning a marketing tender requires more than just submitting a proposal; it demands a strategic approach, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of the client’s needs.

How to Find Marketing Tenders

Finding the right marketing tenders is the first step toward winning valuable contracts. Here are some effective methods to help you identify the right opportunities:

  1. Tender Portals
    Many governments and private sector organizations publish tenders on dedicated portals. Websites like Creative Tenders offer an extensive collection of marketing-related opportunities that you can easily filter by location, project size, or industry.
  2. Networking
    Building relationships with key decision-makers in your industry is crucial. Attend industry events, webinars, and seminars to stay informed about upcoming tenders.
  3. Public Sector Tenders
    Government agencies often issue marketing tenders for public campaigns, awareness programs, or digital initiatives. Websites such as Contracts Finder (for UK government tenders) can be a valuable resource.
  4. Industry-Specific Listings
    Keep an eye on tender opportunities specific to your niche, whether it’s healthcare, education, or tech. Websites, newsletters, and publications tailored to specific sectors often list tender opportunities.
  5. Partnering with Other Agencies
    Collaboration is key. Partner with other agencies that may already have access to exclusive tenders, helping you tap into new markets and opportunities.

Crafting a Winning Proposal

Once you’ve found the perfect marketing tender, the next step is to craft a proposal that stands out. Your submission should not only meet the requirements but also demonstrate why your agency is the ideal partner for the job. Here’s how to structure a compelling proposal:

  1. Follow the Tender Instructions Carefully
    One of the most common reasons bids are rejected is failure to follow the tender instructions. Ensure your proposal answers every question and includes all requested documents.
  2. Showcase Your Expertise and Experience
    Highlight your agency’s expertise in the relevant marketing services. Use case studies, success stories, and testimonials to demonstrate your ability to deliver outstanding results.
  3. Offer Clear, Realistic Pricing
    Marketing tenders often have budget constraints. Be transparent and competitive with your pricing while ensuring you offer value for money. Providing clear breakdowns of your costs can also help build trust.
  4. Tailor Your Proposal to the Client’s Needs
    Research the organization issuing the tender and understand their specific marketing needs. Tailor your proposal to address their objectives, challenges, and goals, demonstrating that you have a deep understanding of their requirements.
  5. Highlight Innovation
    Agencies that can offer innovative solutions often stand out from the competition. Propose creative ideas that go beyond the conventional and showcase how you’ll deliver unique results for the client.
  6. Proofread and Edit
    A proposal filled with typos, errors, or vague language reflects poorly on your agency. Ensure your submission is polished, professional, and easy to read.

Tips for Winning Marketing Tenders

Winning a marketing tender is about more than just a great proposal. Here are some additional tips to improve your chances of success:

  1. Start Early
    Tender deadlines can be strict, so give yourself enough time to prepare and submit a high-quality proposal. Starting early also allows you time to seek clarification if you don’t understand any aspect of the tender.
  2. Leverage Your Relationships
    If you’ve worked with the client before or have connections within the organization, don’t hesitate to leverage these relationships. Personal recommendations can go a long way in the decision-making process.
  3. Keep Track of Previous Submissions
    Review any tenders you’ve responded to in the past, whether you won or lost them. Analyze feedback and identify areas where you can improve.
  4. Focus on Long-Term Relationships
    Agencies that aim to build long-term relationships with clients often stand out. Highlight how your agency is dedicated to ongoing partnership and continuous improvement.
  5. Stay Organized
    Keep your tendering process organized. Use software or spreadsheets to track deadlines, requirements, and key contacts to ensure no details are overlooked.

Marketing tenders are an excellent opportunity for agencies to secure high-value contracts, grow their portfolio, and enhance their reputation. By knowing where to find tenders, crafting tailored and compelling proposals, and applying proven strategies, your agency can increase its chances of winning contracts that align with its goals.

At Creative Tenders, we specialize in providing marketing tenders to help agencies like yours find and win contracts. Whether you’re new to tendering or an experienced bidder, we provide the tools, resources, and expertise you need to succeed. Ready to start winning more marketing tenders? Explore our platform today and gain access to a wide array of opportunities!

FAQs:

1. What are marketing tenders?
Formal requests for proposals from organizations seeking marketing services.

2. How can I find marketing tenders?
Check tender portals, industry listings, public sector websites, and network.

3. What should be in a marketing tender proposal?
A clear response, your expertise, competitive pricing, and tailored solutions.

4. How can I win a marketing tender?
Start early, tailor your proposal, offer innovation, and leverage relationships.

5. Are marketing tenders for small agencies?
Yes, they provide valuable opportunities for growth and building a portfolio.

Related Blog: Incorporating Art And Design: Visual Elements For Winning Creative Bids – Creative Tenders

Why Does the Government Tender for Digital Marketing Services and How Can You Benefit?

Posted on by Charlotte Jarvis

A government tender for digital marketing could be the opportunity you’re looking for…

Why does the government tender for digital marketing services? How can you secure a marketing tender with the government? Will becoming a government supplier help your business grow?

We’ll answer all these questions and more in this blog, starting from the beginning…

So, why would the government tender for digital marketing services?

Yes, the government has their own communications function, but the government bodies reach far beyond 10 Downing Street. Think about all the government-owned organisations that could require marketing services:

  • Universities
  • Councils
  • Emergency services
  • The NHS.

The list goes on and on, but you get the idea. All these organisations need an online presence. If establishing and maintaining that online presence costs them more than £10,000 it needs to go out to tender.

How to find a government tender for digital marketing services

In the UK, there are hundreds of websites that upload tendering opportunities. We recommend appointing someone in your team to take responsibility for tracking them all.

The government has its own tendering portal, called Contracts Finder. If your designated Opportunity Tracker is using this, they should set aside around 30 minutes a day. This is because the portal relies on CPV codes to categorise the tenders.

CPV codes are often used incorrectly by buyers due to the vast number of codes available. A study by the European Commission sampled 405 contract notices. They found that 23% had the wrong code associated with the scope of work tendered. This results in an inefficient sourcing process for you, the prospective supplier.

To eradicate this, we developed Creative Tenders. Not only is the portal sector-specific, it also doesn’t need CPV codes. Our Opportunity Trackers manually scour over 600 sources to find new tendering opportunities. They then tag them using industry-driven keywords, making the sourcing process easier and more efficient.

Take a look at a sample of the latest marketing tenders we have uploaded or book a free live demo.

What types of digital marketing tenders does the government publish? 

Government bodies publish a vast range of digital marketing tenders. Here are just a few examples of tenders we have previously had on our Creative Tenders portal:

 

PR & Digital Marketing Services – Corn Exchange & Wedding Venues

Medway Council – South East – £20k

 

North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College Contract for Digital Marketing and Web Hosting

North Warwickshire & Hinckley Collaborative – West Midlands – £50k

 

Chester Recovery Campaign Media Partner

Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership – North West – £66,500 

 

Digital Marketing Activities in Mexico Covering Pork

Defra Network eTendering Portal – West Midlands – £180k

 

Digital Advertising Framework

Braintree District Council – Eastern – £5million

 

These are just 5 out of the 200+ government marketing tenders we have sourced over the last eight months alone. As you can see, the values of these contracts range from thousands of pounds to the multi-millions. So, whether you’re a freelancer or an international agency, there’s a tendering opportunity out there for you.

How to secure a government tender for digital marketing

Once you’ve identified a tender you want to bid for, don’t just dive straight in. There’s a couple of boxes to tick first. We would recommend considering the following in your bid or no-bid decision:

  1. Do you turn over enough to be successful?

Most government tenders for digital marketing services will ask for your financial accounts. This is to assess whether you have the resource to deliver the contract. Your financial accounts will prove your economic financial standing. As a general rule, we advise that you don’t bid for contracts worth more than 50% of your annual turnover. For example, if your annual turnover is £1,000,000, you should avoid contracts with values exceeding £500,000.  

  1. Do you have enough relevant experience?

Buyers will usually ask for two to three case studies from work you have delivered in the past five years. The examples you provide should be similar in size and scope to the tender at hand. The evidence needs to be relevant to show the buyer how you will approach the contract. If you can’t prove that you have experience, it’s likely a competitor can and your chances of winning decrease.

  1. Can you demonstrate added value?

In public sector tenders, the buyer is looking to see how you can add value. Government buyers are accountable for their spending of public purse. They have to demonstrate how they have delivered the best value for money. This means that you need to evidence added value, and that doesn’t just mean cost. It’s a combination of quality and price throughout the life of the contract. So, make sure you highlight how and why your approach is cost-effective and helps the government make savings.

Will listing a government body on your client list help your business grow?

If you’re looking for government tenders for digital marketing services, you might be wondering how you can win bigger contracts. If you’re a start-up or an SME, framework agreements are a great place to start. With more places up for grabs, smaller businesses stand a better chance of securing a contract.

To progress to winning larger, single-supplier contracts, you need to build your experience and turnover. Securing government contracts and places on government frameworks is a great way to do this. The more you deliver, the more experience and profit you build. In turn, your case studies for similar contracts grow and those big opportunities move closer to your reach.

How is the government helping smaller businesses?

The UK government is targeted with spending £1 in £3 with smaller businesses, so they want to work with you. To level the playing field, the government:

  • Have introduced lower value contracts

Since leaving the EU, there is more flexibility for lower value government contracts to be reserved for SME bidders. There is also more flexibility for Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs).

  • Introduced the prompt payment code

The prompt payment code states that public sector buyers must include 30-day payment terms in their contracts. They also need to ensure that this is passed down the supply chain. If this is not happening, businesses are encouraged to raise this directly with the Public Procurement Review Service.

  • Offer support through The Small Business Commissioner

The Small Business Commissioner is a free service that helps small organisations to resolve payment disputes with larger businesses.

In summary…

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of government tenders for digital marketing services. We’ve covered:

  • Where to find a government tender for digital marketing – On the government’s website or on Creative Tenders for ease and efficiency.
  • What types of tenders the government publishes – We provided five examples of digital marketing tenders we have previously sourced to give you an idea.
  • What to consider before you dive into the bid – Your economic financial standing, experience and how you can add value.
  • The benefits of bidding for government tenders – Working with the government helps you build experience, expand your portfolio and work towards those big contracts.
  • How the government helps smaller businesses – With lower value contracts, introducing the prompt payment code and through The Small Business Commissioner.

How can we help?

A subscription to Creative Tenders provides you with:

  • Access to all exclusive, public and private sector digital marketing contracts across the UK.
  • A daily email bulletin is sent straight to your inbox when new marketing opportunities are uploaded.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Management Consultants each month.

Need additional support?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in-house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

We also source opportunities for sectors including:

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow.

Media Tenders- The Ultimate Guide

Posted on by John Hudson

Media Tenders: Everything you need to know before you start

Media tenders come in many forms and are a growing market. With the increased need for innovative marketing strategies, we’re seeing a vast range of media contracts going out to tender.

In this blog, we will guide you through not only how to find these tenders, but also how to win them.

How to find Media tenders

When looking for any tender in the media sector, your first instinct may be to use Google or a similar search engine. By searching ‘media tenders’ for example, you will be bombarded with a large number of websites hosting these tenders.

To find a suitable tender, you would need to scour these websites. This can take hours or even days and the whole process could become very tedious. Fortunately, there is a solution available. By using our Creative Tenders portal, you can search with ease to find live tenders in the media industry.

By using the search function on our Creative Tenders portal, you can filter all results. You can narrow down your search by budget, location and keywords so the results match exactly what you’re looking for. This helps ensure that you only see tenders that are relevant to you.

The budget for media tenders can range heavily so businesses of all sizes can benefit from using our portal.

The portal saves you time and money, whilst searching for the latest media tender opportunities that are right for you. We source new media tenders every day using our high-skilled Procurement Team. The team categorise sector-specific tenders all in one place using industry-driven keywords. This allows you to effectively find tenders that are relevant to you and the services you offer.

Understanding the scope of media tenders

Media tenders cover a large range of opportunities that are published by different sectors. Whether you are searching for a marketing tender or a media relations tender, we have something for you. We understand it can be difficult finding the most suitable tender for you and your business. So, we are here to help you through the process.

Our portal is manually updated daily with new opportunities. You can be confident you are finding the most up to date and accurate results.

Examples of media tenders we have sourced in the past include:

Marketing and Branding

Tesso Bridges – North West – Budget £7,000

Digital Media Planning and Campaign Management

National institute for health and care – North West – Budget £86,000

Digital & Social Media Agency Services (China) 

University of Dundee – Scotland – Budget: £500k

Communications and Advertising Framework

Southern Water Services Ltd – South East – Budget £12.8 million

5 tips for winning media tenders

  1. Research the buyer

Ensuring you understand the buyer and what they want from you is key to writing a high-quality response. For a media tender, understanding how the buyer markets themselves and how you can enhance this will be vital. Understanding the specific requirements of the tender will ensure you can include as much relevant detail as possible.

  1. Research the target audience

Look at who the scope of the tender will be aimed at. For example, for a marketing contract, who will be the target audience of the marketing required. For example, the content you will be required to produce will be vastly different if your target audience is young adults as opposed to elderly people.

Being able to demonstrate how you will be able to tailor your content to reach the target audience is key to winning a media tender.

  1. Experience

Depending on the contract, a media tender may require specific experience or qualifications. Make sure you check the requirements for the tender. It will be very difficult to succeed if you do not meet the mandatory criteria. For example, you may need specific media planning experience or marketing qualifications.

These requirements could heavily impact your final score. It is essential that you identify the requirements prior to writing your responses to avoid wasting time and resources.

  1. Read and reference the specification

The specification will detail exactly what is required from you for the duration of the contract. It may include specific software you need to use or certain processes you need to follow. By reading and referencing this, it demonstrates to the buyer you have what is needed to effectively deliver the scope. Referencing specific parts of the specification tells the buyer that you understand the requirements of the contract and have experience.

  1. Added value

What makes you stand out from your competitors? This is a key question to consider when explaining how you will add value to the contract. Social value is now a compulsory element on all public sector contracts, with a 10% weighting. Explaining what you do to help with environmental, social and economic issues is crucial to success in the public sector. If you are new to public sector tenders, we would recommend planning your responses to these questions in advance. Knowing which initiatives you can describe in detail will speed up the process when it comes to answering these questions.

Answer these two questions before you start bidding on media tenders

  1. Can you deliver the services in the specified geographical location?

The location of the service delivery is a key element to look at when sourcing potential tenders. If the location is outside the area your business covers, you will need to consider the viability of the opportunity. Will you to be able to effectively carry out the work required?

On the other hand, since the pandemic, the way many businesses operate has changed, with an increase in remote working. Looking at the tender you are going for

Using the search options and filters on our Creative Tenders portal will allow you to effectively narrow down all locations. This ensures you only view tenders that are within the locations you specify. It is important to read the tender documents to determine if the tender will have to be delivered at a set location, virtually or even a mix of both. This will allow you to decide whether or not you can carry out the duties required.

This filter means you will be able to efficiently identify tenders that are suitable for you.

  1. Does your business meet the financial threshold criteria?

Threshold considerations can range depending on the buyer and the contract. Considerations could include:

  • Looking at if your business is large enough to carry out the contract
  • Considering if you have the capital available/stated in the economic standpoint.

Bidding for a media tender that would not be financially viable for your business would be a waste of time and resources. Media tenders come in a range of sizes and budgets. This means that these opportunities are not exclusive to large, international organisations.

Your economic financial standing considers the following:

  • Your annual turnover
  • Financial ratios
  • Insurance(s).

Buyers consider this to make sure that you’re able to carry out the work.

Looking at this information prior to completing your responses could save you valuable time. If you notice you do not meet the minimum requirements – don’t bid for the work. It sounds simple but we have seen many businesses fall at the first hurdle by not checking the specification requirements.

Summary

As we come to the end of this blog on media tenders, we thought you might need a little summary.

  • Where to find media tenders: Use our Creative Tenders portal to search through new media tenders. Book a free live demo to see the portal in action.
  • How to find the perfect media tender: Take advantage of the filters on the search function of our Creative Tenders portal. These let you filter by location, budget and any keywords you want to include. This helps narrow down the scope of results you see as media tenders cover a wide range of opportunities.

Tips for securing media tenders:

  1. Research the buyer: Understand exactly what the buyer is looking for.
  2. Research the target audience: Look at who the scope of the media tender is aimed at and ensure you tailor your responses appropriately as the target market for the tender will influence how you write your responses.
  3. Experience and qualifications: Certain media tenders may require specific qualifications or experience. It is key to ensure you have what is required prior to completing your responses. You don’t want to get to the end, only to find out you are ineligible because of this!
  4. Read and reference the specification: This demonstrates to the buyer that you can carry out the duties of the contract to all stated requirements.
  5. Added Value: How are you planning to add value to this contract? Answering this question is key to standing out from the competition.

Two elements to consider when looking for a media tender

Location: You want to ensure the location is within a practical distance from where you operate. With the growing focus on remote work, you may be able to deliver the contract virtually..

Economic: Is it financially viable for you to pursue your chosen tender? This is a question you will need to answer prior to completing your responses.

Do you need assistance with writing media tender responses?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in-house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

We also source opportunities for sectors including:

Why You Should Bid for Government Marketing Tenders RIGHT NOW!

Posted on by John Hudson

3 benefits of bidding for government marketing tenders

Do you know the benefits of bidding for government marketing tenders? In this blog, the Creative Tenders Team reveal all. Keep reading to find out more! 

What services could government marketing tenders involve?

Buyers might release government marketing tenders to procure services across a range of subsectors, including:

Why should you bid for government marketing tenders?

If you’re a creative business looking to find marketing opportunities, you should consider bidding for public sector contracts. The benefits of these contracts include:

  • Guaranteed pay

When you bid for government marketing tenders, you’ll benefit from guaranteed pay upon winning the contract. This is because public sector organisations are bound by their contractual agreements to pay the awarded supplier.

Public sector buyers must pay contractors within 60 days of invoicing to comply with the Prompt Payment Code (2008). This is particularly reassuring for new businesses that might be hesitant about tendering for work.

  • The government wants to award SMEs

Before they start tendering for work, many SMEs assume that it will be difficult to compete with bigger businesses. However, this isn’t actually the case.

In the UK, the government has a target to spend at least £1 in £3 with SMEs. This means that public sector businesses have a goal to actively award contracts to smaller businesses. If you’re a smaller creative business looking for government marketing tenders, you don’t need to worry about your larger competition.

  • Gain experience

To progress and win larger contracts, smaller businesses will need to gather case studies that showcase their relevant experience. If you’re new to tendering, these can be tricky to get your hands on. However, that’s where tendering for public sector contracts comes in.

SMEs will also be pleased to know that bidding for government marketing tenders is a great way to gain experience. New and smaller businesses can tender for contracts as part of framework agreements or Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS’). These are easier for smaller businesses to secure, as there are more places on offer.

So, once you’ve delivered work on these, you’ll have contract examples to show future buyers.

In summary

If you’re a creative business looking to find marketing opportunities, you should consider bidding for public sector contracts. The benefits of these contracts include:

  • Guaranteed pay
  • The government wants to award SMEs
  • Gain experience.

Need help sourcing government marketing tenders that are right for your business? We can help!

Running your own business takes up a lot of your time. The last thing you want to be doing is trawling hundreds of websites searching for government marketing tenders. Most websites post multi-industry opportunities and filtering them with CPV codes can produce unreliable results. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Enter…Creative Tenders

Creative Tenders is an easy-to-navigate, centralised portal hosting live creative tender opportunities from across the UK.

Here are five examples of government marketing tenders that we’ve previously sourced on the portal: 

Commercial Waste Marketing

Breckland District Council & South Holland District Council – Eastern – Budget: £20,000

SC22141 – Kent Downs AONB Experience Consumer Campaign

Kent County Council – South East – Budget: £100,000

Procurement of a Supplier to Develop Bilingual Marketing Content & Integrated Media Campaigns

Education Workforce Council – Wales – Budget: £200,000

WSCC – JS – Marketing Services for Experience West Sussex Campaign

West Sussex County Council – South East – Budget: £179,000

Provision of Marketing Support Services to Destination Staffordshire (Brand Maintenance & Development, Creative Design, Print & Digital Marketing Including Media Planning & Media Buying)

Staffordshire County Council – West Midlands – Budget: £576,000

A subscription to Creative Tenders can offer your business:

  • Access to all exclusive, public, and private sector creative contracts in the UK.
  • An on-hand Account Manager is available to answer any questions you may have about animation tenders. They can help you understand the process and answer any questions you have about the tendering process in general.
  • A daily email bulletin is sent straight to your inbox when new, sector-specific opportunities are uploaded.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants each month.

We source opportunities for sectors including:

Book a free, live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow 

Want to save even more time?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your tendering opportunities, even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for government marketing tenders. 

The Ultimate Time-Saver package offers your business:

  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Creative and Technology, for example.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices are monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents, and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid factors.
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable creative tendering opportunities.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package also includes:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of five years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Do you need assistance with government marketing tenders?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in-house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offers four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow through our bid management consultancy services.

We also source opportunities for sectors including:

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow.

Contact us for more information.

Marketing Tender Opportunities: How to Find Them and 6 Secrets for Winning!

Posted on by John Hudson

Here’s how you can find marketing tender opportunities and 6 tips from Bid Writers to help you win!

Are you looking for marketing tender opportunities? Here at Creative Tenders, we have a whole host of contracts available on our portal. In this blog, we will share with you how to instantly find marketing tender opportunities. Plus, we will have 6 tips from expert Bid Writers on how to win! Keep reading to learn more about how we can help you and your business…

Where can you find marketing tender opportunities?

When most businesses begin their search for marketing tender opportunities, they’ll likely use a search engine. For example, they’ll use Google to find countless websites that may have opportunities available. They will then have to scour each of these websites individually for contracts that are suitable.

This can take hours and a lot of the time the opportunities will not be suitable. They also may not display key details. So, you’ll have to read lengthy tender documents to decipher whether you’re eligible for that contract. Or the deadline date may be very close and so you won’t have time to complete the bid. This tedious practice can quickly become frustrating. Thankfully, there are solutions available…

Hudson Discover’s 11 sector-specific portals were built to streamline the process of finding tenders. Via the Creative Tenders portal, you can easily find marketing tender opportunities. Our portals display key information on each tender such as location, deadline date, and budget. This way, you can clearly see whether a tender is right for you.

You can use filters to narrow down your search for marketing tender opportunities. This way, you can select a budget, location, and keywords to locate the right contract for you. Our portals are updated daily by our Opportunity trackers. They manually search for opportunities to upload to the portal. They don’t use CPV codes to find contracts either. This means that there’s no risk of missing opportunities that are listed incorrectly with the wrong code. Government sites will use CPV codes and so they can be less accurate.

Discover Elite

If you want to streamline the process even further, you can sign up to Discover Elite. With this service, a dedicated Account Manager will find live bids on your behalf. They’ll speak with you weekly to discuss opportunities that may interest you. This is especially helpful for those with little time to spare due to busy schedules. Upgrading to Discover Elite will ensure you never miss a tendering opportunity even when you’re busy!

The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool offers your business:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Discover portalsof your choice.
  • Up to five bid breakdowns per month to help you make your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager to discuss viable leads and tendering opportunities.
  • Award and pre-market engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Public and private buyer portal management including registering, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid strategy.

Examples of the tenders we house on our portal:

Editorial Services – North West – £55k

Organisation seeking a supplier to provide editorial services, including copywriting and proofreading.

Campaign Services – South East – £100k

Council seeking a suitably experienced and qualified supplier to produce a marketing campaign.

Media Monitoring – London – Budget: Undisclosed

Tender submissions required for the provision of media monitoring services.

Crisis Media Marketing – Scotland – £50K – 19-04-2022

Company is seeking a provider of crisis media management and associated support.

Marketing Services – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

Contract for the provision of marketing services to promote brand awareness and increase website traffic.

Here’s how to win marketing tender opportunities

Have you found marketing tender opportunities and are now ready to tender for work? Here are a few top tips from the expert Bid Writers at Hudson Succeed:

  1. Stick to the word count – If you can’t follow instructions, you leave a bad impression.
  2. Don’t use technical jargon – You don’t want to confuse the buyer when they read your proposal.
  3. Make sure your bid responses are clear and concise – Making it easier to read will keep the buyer engaged. They will also be able to clearly understand your ideas.
  4. Proofread and edit your bid before submission – Mistakes in your bid will make you look unprofessional.
  5. Use bid management tactics to stay organised – This will drastically decrease stress and make the process easier.
  6. Turn to a Bid Writer to handle the entire process for you – They have the experience and know what it takes to win!

Summary

Here’s a summary of everything we covered in our blog on marketing tender opportunities.

Creative Tenders is one of Hudson Discover’s 11 sector-specific portals that hosts tender opportunities. These portals streamline the process of locating a tender suitable for your business. This is done by the use of selecting filters such as location, budget, and keywords. They’re updated daily and our team don’t use CPV codes, so there’s no risk of missing opportunities.

  1. Stick to the word count
  2. Don’t use technical jargon
  3. Make sure your bid responses are clear and concise
  4. Proofread and edit your bid before submission
  5. Use bid managementtactics to stay organised
  6. Turn to a Bid Writerto handle the entire process for you.

If you still have questions about marketing tender opportunities, why not contact us? Our team are always happy to help!

Need help writing your next tender?

If you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next tender.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

Get in touch to find out more information.

We also source opportunities for sectors including:

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow.

Contact us for more information.

Check out some of our other blogs:

How to Win Digital Marketing Tenders

Posted on by John Hudson

What to expect from digital marketing tenders 

Do you want to bid for digital marketing tenders but aren’t sure how to get started? If that’s the case then don’t worry, we can help.

This blog will tell you what to expect from digital marketing tenders. We’ll cover different subsectors and the key things you’ll need to consider before producing your bid. Keep reading to find out more!

 What type of digital marketing tenders are out there?

Digital marketing tenders can be found in both the public and private sectors, and include a range of subsectors. The different services include, but is not limited to:

  • SEO
  • PPC
  • PR
  • Media monitoring
  • Press cutting
  • Content writing
  • Copywriting
  • Social media.

What can you expect from digital marketing tenders?

When you’re tendering for contracts in the creative sector, there are certain things that you should expect. These include:

  1. Economic financial standing

When bidding for digital marketing tenders, you’ll likely have to provide information about your economic financial standing. Your economic financial standing considers the following:

  • Your annual turnover
  • Financial ratios
  • Insurance(s).

Buyers consider this to make sure that you’re able to carry out the work.

As a general rule, we advise that you don’t bid for contracts worth more than 50% of your annual turnover. For example, if your annual turnover is £1,000,000, you should avoid contracts worth more than £500,000. 

  1. Experience

When bidding for digital marketing tenders, you should expect to provide evidence of your previous experience. This helps reassure the buyer that you’re capable of delivering the project.

You should aim to provide the buyer with 2 – 3 case studies from the last 3 – 5 years. Ideally, these examples will be similar in size, scope and complexity to the tender at hand. The most important thing to remember is that your evidence needs to be relevant. For example, your experience with design won’t show the buyer how well you’ll manage a social media campaign. If it’s not relevant to the buyer’s project, don’t include it in your tender response.

  1. Added value

To successfully bid for digital marketing tenders, you’ll need to demonstrate added value in your tender response.

Added value, also known as social value, is now mandatory in public sector contracts, with a compulsory weighting of 10%. You need to demonstrate how your business will deal with the environmental, social and economic aspects of the contract.

For example, you should consider how your business will:

  • Support COVID-19 recovery
  • Encourage economic growth
  • Tackle climate change
  • Create new job opportunities.

Do you need assistance with digital marketing tenders?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offer four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

Need help sourcing digital marketing tenders? We can help!

Running your own business takes up a lot of your time. The last thing you want to be doing is trawling hundreds of websites searching for digital marketing tenders. Most websites post multi-industry opportunities and filtering them with CPV codes can produce unreliable results. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Enter…Creative Tenders

Creative Tenders is an easy-to-navigate, centralised portal hosting live creative tender opportunities from across the UK.

Below are 5 past examples of digital marketing tenders sourced on our portal:

Digital Marketing Consultancy to Target an International Audience  

International Pheromone Systems Limited – North West – Budget: £10k

Promotional Materials, Internal & External Signage & Wall Art & Digital Marketing Materials

Delta Academies Trust – Yorkshire – Budget: £200k

Digital & Social Media Agency Services (China) 

University of Dundee – Scotland – Budget: £500k

Provision of a Digital Marketing Campaign Programme for SMEs

Advance Northumberland Limited – North East – Budget: Undisclosed

Invitation to Tender for the Provision of Event, Production & Digital Media Support for the 4 Corners Festival 2022 

4 Corners Festival – Northern Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

A SUBSCRIPTION TO CREATIVE TENDERS CAN OFFER YOUR BUSINESS:

  • Access to all exclusive, public and private sector creative contracts in the UK.
  • An on-hand Account Manager is available to answer any questions you may have about tenders for digital marketing work. They can help you understand the procurement process and answer any questions you have about the tendering process in general.
  • A daily email bulletin is sent straight to your inbox when new, sector-specific opportunities are uploaded.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our Bid Writing Division.
  • 20-minutes of free bid management consultancy each month.

We also source opportunities for sectors including:

Book a free live demo with Creative Tenders to see how we can help your business grow.

Contact us for more information.

Check out some of our other blogs:

WANT TO SAVE EVEN MORE TIME?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for digital marketing tenders.

THE ULTIMATE TIME SAVER PACKAGE OFFERS YOUR BUSINESS:

  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Creative and Technology, for example.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable creative tendering opportunities.

THE BECOME A PRE-BID MASTER PACKAGE ALSO INCLUDES:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • A Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

Opportunities for Creative Contracts UK

Posted on by John Hudson

5 Expert Tips for Winning Creative Contracts in the UK.

Are you looking for creative contracts in the UK? Whether you’re a marketer or website developer, you may be wondering, what creative opportunities are currently available, locally and nation-wide? And how is the industry rebuilding itself going forward, after such a devastating year?

We’ve compiled some industry insight, with tips from tendering experts and bid writers, to support creative contractors. Discover how you can boost your chances of winning creative contracts to grow your business as we head into 2021.

The creative industries: a workforce like no other!

Creative jobs make up a significant portion of the UK workforce! Did you know, more than 2 million UK jobs are in creative industries? The Creative Industries Council (CIC) reports an estimate of 2,040,000 jobs – with 75 per cent of them falling outside London. A further 1 million creative jobs are based in organisations outside the creative industries, such as technology and digital services. This takes the total number of UK jobs in the wider creative economy to 3.2 million. (That’s 9.6 per cent of all UK jobs!)

Creative jobs are added to the UK economy at a much faster rate than jobs in the economy as a whole. In fact, new jobs are developed at two to five times the rate of jobs in other sectors. Creative employment between 2011 and 2018 increased by 30.6 per cent. Average growth across the UK was only 10.1 per cent during that period.

Evidently, creative contracts in the UK cover a vast range of services. Such a versatile and everchanging industry requires a well-adapted and streamlined approach to sourcing business. At Creative Tenders, we’re experienced in sourcing creative contracts. We host tenders for sectors including:

Creative contractors need time to be creative! That’s why our priority is saving clients time and money when they’re searching for business opportunities. We source new tenders using our skilled procurement team, who categorise sector-specific tenders all in one place using industry-driven keywords. Opportunity tracking has never been so efficient! Book a free live demo to see how we can help your business grow.

How is the UK currently investing in new creative contracts?

There’s no doubt 2020 has been a tough year for the creative sector. The pandemic has stunted a rapidly growing industry and forced many creative businesses to close their doors, or drastically adapt. Music venues are now providing socially distanced concerts, for instance. Some businesses, such as theatre companies, have remained closed with workers furloughed since March, with little or no respite.

It continues to be an uncertain time, heading towards 2021. However, major investments are now being made throughout the creative industries.

Here are some key examples of grants, schemes and programmes currently in place to revive the creative sector:

  • £1.57 billion – Culture Recovery Fund.

This is the government’s overall rescue package for the cultural and heritage sector. Thousands of organisations across a range of sectors can benefit from grants and loans. This includes the performing arts and theatres, heritage, historic palaces, museums, galleries, live music and independent cinema. For example, venues and organisations currently benefiting include:

    • Military Wives Choirs
    • The Hepworth Wakefield
    • Night and Day in Manchester
    • Whitby’s Tomorrow’s Ghosts
    • Gothic Festival
    • London’s Somerset House
    • Kneehigh Theatre in Cornwall.

  • £500 million – Film and TV Production Restart Scheme.

The scheme supports 40,000 UK jobs by covering Covid-19 related insurance costs. The scheme will provide financial compensation for costs incurred due to Covid-related issues.

  • £150 million – The Sector Deal.

The Government has agreed a Sector Deal with the creative industries sector, through the Creative Industries Council (CIC). This investment will unlock growth and a longer lifecycle for creative businesses in the following ways:

    • funding leading creative clusters to compete globally.
    • by funding technologies and content via research into augmented reality and virtual reality.
    • funding creative skills of the future via a careers programme that will open up creative jobs.

  • £75 million – National Lottery Project Grants.

Recently re-opened by the Arts Council with an increased budget, funding is available to creative individuals, communities and cultural organisations.

  • £18 million – Developing Your Creative Practice Programme.

Also re-opened in Autumn 2020 by the Arts Council with an increased budget. This programme helps creatives step up their work in new ways.

  • £3.36 million – Emergency Grassroots Music Venues Fund.

This is an investment in 135 venues at risk of imminent closure due to the coronavirus.

  • £3 million – Festival UK 2022 Research and Development Programme.

Research and development for 10 major creative projects began in November 2020. The 2022 festival aims to reach millions, bring people together and showcase the UK’s creativity and innovation globally. 30 creative teams will be drawn together from over 500 organisations and individuals, including freelancers, across the UK.

Which areas have been identified for further industry improvement?

In addition to these major investments supporting the creative industries, areas for further research have been flagged up. Research will be another key avenue in reviving the industry and creating a more sustainable sector, going forward.

The Creative Industries Council (CIC) has identified nine core areas to improve through further research and development. These are:

  • Job Quality: While there is growing data on the number and growth of creative industries jobs, however, more insight is needed into job quality.
  • Strategic skills: The industry needs an accurate, refined future vision for which careers and skills are in highest demand, especially with the changes to the industry.
  • Creative education: There needs to be a stronger system for capturing and reporting the value of creative education.
  • Pipeline of talent: Better visibility into the talent pipeline and into career progression is required.
  • Creative professional development: the industry needs a better understanding of opportunities for professional development and learning.
  • Productivity and management practices: Compared to other industries, there’s a lack of evidence about productivity in the creative industries.
  • Tackling the diversity challenge: Better evidence is needed on the representation of all minority groups, and for data that goes beyond participation to explore the quality of work.
  • Local talent pools: The UK is lacking evidence on local skills and talent pipelines and how these meet the needs of local businesses.

Looking forward to the future of the creative industry, improvements in these areas will be significant for advancing the industry. This will, in turn, improve the jobs of the large percentage of the UK workforce in the creative sector.

How can you win creative contracts in the UK right now?

Securing creative contracts that are the perfect fit for your services is essential for growing your business – especially now. Finding the right contracts through effective portals like Creative Tenders is a great place to start. But how can you ensure you’ll see success throughout the tendering process?

Tenders for creative contracts are most often Requests for Proposals (RFPs), which can require a long and complex tender response. An RFP essentially means the proposal will be free-flowing, rather than comprised of short and simple text box answers. An RFP must encompass the entirety of the project, including a statement of work, along with a specified timescale and plan. The buyer may require a specific format. Due to these requirements, becoming a successful RFP writer can be challenging.

A successful RFP writer must ensure all elements of what the buyer is looking for are covered. If you need support, the bid writing experts at Hudson Succeed have extensive experience in writing successful creative contracts. They have secured a range of creative bids for UK clients, from marketing to videography, helping creative businesses to grow.

What do our experts recommend when bidding for creative contracts?

Here are 5 features our bid writers recommend focusing on when it comes to bidding for creative contracts:

  1. Design is an important element of a creative bid; a well-designed and clear proposal is often a requirement. Do you have the skills to create a well-designed bid in-house, or is this something you should outsource?

 

  1. Cultural alignment. Ensure you fully understand the buying organisation and reflect this in your proposal. Can you demonstrate your cultural alignment to the buyer and job at hand? For instance, consider how their work ethic and brand vision aligns with your own.

 

  1. Experience and case studies. Case studies are essential. Can you demonstrate your company’s relevant experiences and lessons learned in detail? How have you analysed and improved upon past projects?

 

  1. Creative bids tend to be more conceptually driven than other industries. Construction bids, for example, contain highly detailed specifications with little room for abstraction. With a creative bid, there is usually much more freedom to showcase your brand and vision. Can you demonstrate your brand’s personality alongside the concept of the bid?

 

  1. Delivery model. Can you comprehensively set out each phase of your delivery model, i.e. inception, production, post-production? The evaluation criteria of a creative bid will consider the quality of each of these stages. Detail is important here. Since the proposal is likely free-flowing, however, you should evaluate what level of detail is required.

Get in touch with Hudson Succeed for further support with writing proposals for creative contracts. Access expert support through the following bid writing packages:

Below are some tenders we’ve sourced on our Creative Tenders portal:

COVID Public Information Campaign

CPD – Supplies and Services Division- Northern Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Provision of Video Production – Provision of Video Production and Broadcasting services.

Abbey Theatre Amharclann na Mainistreach- Northern Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

Tender for Website Design, Build & Host

Believe housing- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

Procurement of Services for Artwork, Design, Layout and Formatting of a Series of Knowledge Products to be Ready for Printing for EVAW Pacific Partnership Project

UN WOMEN- London- Budget: Undisclosed

Specialist Curator for the Good Business Festival

Liverpool City Council- North West- Budget: £20,000

Still looking for creative contracts in the UK?

Start finding creative contracts in the UK with Creative Tenders – it’s simple! Book a free, live demo with one of our team members today. We’ll walk you through the unique features of our portal and how they can help grow your creative business.

But don’t just take it from us! What do our clients say?

The following feedback is from clients of Creative Tenders:

  1. “I get an overview of relevant tenders in the sectors I have chosen, summarised in one bulletin that arrives at the end of the day, leaving me to focus on other activities. We actually won our first tender we applied for using the site which was amazing. Any queries I have are always swiftly responded to by Marie and the team. A great service we would highly recommend.” –

    Kyle Gray, Head of Business Development, Regency Creative.

 

  1. “Creative Tenders has been an amazing resource for us. We’ve found the daily discover updates invaluable, allowing us to uncover opportunities we wouldn’t have previously seen without this resource. The Succeed service was brilliant at giving us the tools and guidance to confidently submit winning tender responses.” –

    Laura Dearden, Head of Client Services, Unwritten Group.

  

  1. “We use Creative Tenders to source opportunities like bespoke development, website design and build projects, and apps. Creative Tenders has become central to our daily operations – the platform is easy to use and the regular updates regarding new tenders and business opportunities are invaluable.” –

    Sarah Luther, Sales Director, 6B Digital.

CREATIVE TENDERING OPPORTUNITIES – THE SOURCING PROCESS MADE EASY

Posted on by John Hudson

CREATIVE TENDERING OPPORTUNITIES – THE SOURCING PROCESS MADE EASY

So, you have decided to venture down the tendering route. You wish to grow your business and deliver new creative projects.

Tendering opportunities can be difficult to source and even more difficult to filter. How can we eliminate the confusion and speed up the overall process to allow you to effectively grow?

First things first, sourcing an opportunity. Type in ‘tendering opportunities’ into any search engine and you’ll be instantly confronted with hundreds of platforms and thousands of vast and irrelevant tenders. At this stage, you could either begin trawling through the search results or spend time and money recruiting an in-house procurement team to do the rigorous sourcing on your behalf.

If this is the route that you decide to take, your team will spend hours searching for relevant opportunities, via complicated methods such as CPV codes. See our What Are CPV Codes blog for more information about this chaotic process.

This is where our portals step in.

Our portals are categorised into the top national industry sectors and then re-categorised into more bespoke sub-sectors to ensure that customers can easily access tendering opportunities RELEVANT to them. This narrows down and smartens up the process of sourcing an opportunity so that more focus can be spent actually developing your tender response.

For example, if a PR and Marketing agency wished to find a buyer seeking advertising services, they could simply login to Creative Tenders, filter the keywords such as ‘PR’, ‘Marketing,’ ‘Advertising’ and instantly view hundreds of specific opportunities in those sectors.

But why stop there?

Don’t buyers also deserve the same, easy, time-saving process?

Welcome Tender Connect, our procurement platform, with buyers in mind.

How does it work?

Let’s say a hotel is in need of contents insurance, the company could advertise this opportunity on our Professional Tenders platform and target those in the Insurance sector. The buyer then has instant access to potential suppliers who are actively seeking to deliver work.

Don’t waste time sourcing opportunities any longer! CLICK HERE to speak to an Account Manager today about how your business can benefit from our sector-specific platforms.

We’re here to HELP YOU DISCOVER!

TENDERS & BUYER PRESENTATIONS – TOP 3 BENEFITS OF ATTENDING A SITE VISIT

Posted on by John Hudson

TENDERS & BUYER PRESENTATIONS – TOP 3 BENEFITS OF ATTENDING A SITE VISIT

It’s an obvious analogy: The bigger tenders are – the more effort that is required from both the supplier and buyer!

We’ve been to hundreds of site visits and buyer presentations to know that this is a crucial part of tenders and how they are developed.

Buyer presentations are delivered usually halfway through the Tender exercise and they provide all tenderers/suppliers the opportunity to get to know the buyer’s environment and culture, as well as a more detailed outlook on the requirements at hand.

This is usually for large-scale public-sector contracts. 

The buyer invites all suppliers to a site visit, which may include a group tour or a group presentation. This is to provide suppliers with a better opportunity to comprehend what’s expected of them during delivery and with developing their tender response.

We’ve provided our top 3 benefits in attending a buyer presentation/site visit.

  1. To comprehend – sometimes it takes more than a specification document to truly understand what’s expected – especially in a large, multi-million-pound contract that spans multiple regions. As you can expect, with undergoing these types of visits, online clarification questions are often decreased as all aspects will be clarified on the day. Yes – the buyer should make this public to all tenderers, but we’ve found that you’ll tend to grasp more out of the day rather than on a paper-reflected document. Whole conversations aren’t recorded and provided, so there will always be something (possibly crucial) that may be missed on paper, but clear on the day.

♦

  1. To introduce yourself – by getting your face in front of the buyer[s] – this not only introduces yourself to them but if you display strong professionalism, knowledge and decorum – this will also stick in their minds. If you send your administrator on the day who’s clueless about your operations – and this is clearly projected – the buyer will consider your organisation less committed to the project and you don’t want to be remembered for that. Choose your most knowledgeable staff to attend who you know will act professionally and come back with a steered view of how better to develop your tender response and leave a lasting impression on the buyer.

♦

  1. To stay ahead of your competitors – now we aren’t one for shaming our competitors – no matter how subtle. However, if you attend grouped discussions you’ll see exactly who your competition is. This provides in many ways a more competitive Tender process as you should be trying to enhance your response based on advantages over your counterparts. For example: If Company X is present and they deliver a certain way – you can always state how your delivery model provides much more added value to the buyer. Don’t go naming and shaming in your response – keep it classy and always have the buyer’s needs in mind!

♦

These are just some of the things that make attendance at a site visit crucial when developing your tender response.

If you require any support at all with the development of your tenders – please get in touch with our Tender Consultants who’ll be happy to assist you in your efforts.

CLICK HERE for a FREE Consultation.

We’re here to help you succeed!

I’M IN COMPETITION WITH MYSELF AND I’M LOSING! – Tender Basics!

Posted on by John Hudson

I’M IN COMPETITION WITH MYSELF AND I’M LOSING! – Tender Basics!

Tender Basics are the foundation of your bid writing success. Our Growth Director, Jill Hudson, has over 16 years’ experience with Tender Writing, so she knows how lonely it can get when you see rejection in the early days.

“I quite quickly went from a success record of <15% in my very early days of tender writing to >70% just by spending the time needed to digest feedback and eliminate silly mistakes.  Mistakes I seemed to be making all the time without evening realising I was doing it.”

The thing you need to realise very early on is that feedback is the route to success.

No one really likes reading the feedback of how they’ve missed the point of the tender document, the response didn’t hit the mark – at all, or you’ve forgotten to proofread and your response to a question is littered with mistakes. Queue – kick yourself under the table and put the kettle on. It’s important to get back to the ‘Tender Basics’ every time you’re writing a bid.

Tender Basics
Tender Basics

However, without this feedback, you will continue to make these mistakes. The most common mistake you will make is not understanding the time it takes to respond to a bid correctly. Assuming you’ll write a winning submission in 2-hours is unrealistic, whilst ABC Ltd. are throwing all their resource at this competitive contract to ensure they will win it.

You need to quickly realise that the only way you will start to win is to get back to the Tender Basics:

  1. Believe you can win it – ensuring you have the right credentials.
  2. Do your homework – research is key.
  3. Spend the time needed to write a winning submission.
  4. Don’t leave it until the last minute – this is how mistakes happen.
  5. Ensure you understand the point scoring mechanisms to ensure you are maximising your answers to the questions asked.
  6. Answer the question with the information they have requested, not the information you believe they should know about your business.

We’re sure you’ve established that our main piece of advice over the many blogs we have written, is to be sensible with your expectations.  If you turnover around £100,000 per annum, you’re not going to win a £2,000,000 contract. Nor should you want to put all your eggs in one basket like that. So, if this is the course of action you’re taking you will continue to receive the rejection letters.

Tender writing is an art form, it isn’t for everyone but you will reap the rewards if you spend the time learning, building knowledge and correctly assessing what you need to do to allow you to win.

Jill states “I’m a firm believer that the only person you should ever be in competition with is yourself. That way you will always get better.”

Eliminate the noise and … focus!

If all else fails, give our Tender Consultants a call, we’re here to help you discover, succeed, procure and invest!

“THEY ALREADY KNOW WHO THEY WANT TO USE!” – The Tendering Process

Posted on by John Hudson

“THEY ALREADY KNOW WHO THEY WANT TO USE!” – The Tendering Process

We’ve all heard stories about backhanded business deals and brown paper envelopes passed under the table for the decision making to go in favour of a specific business on a particular contract/opportunity.

This is drastically changing for the better, having analysed tender processes now compared to where they were 10 years ago.  We’re not saying this doesn’t happen! We do still live in a world of human interaction (for now).  However, things are getting better and we’re super confident that this will continue.

Here at Hudson Procurement Group we are focused on creating a fair bidding process for all. We’re working hard to make headway with government organisations. Especially into how and why decisions are made when marking tender documents. And also, how buyers issue tender notifications and how to produce a fair Invitation to Tender and Specification document.

"THEY ALREADY KNOW WHO THEY WANT TO USE!" - The Tendering Process
“THEY ALREADY KNOW WHO THEY WANT TO USE!” – The Tendering Process

We like to advise our customers on how they can question the result of a tender notification and the tendering process if they believe they have been incorrectly scored. This does not mean that we’re going to back sore losers and encourage those who think they should have won when in actual fact the right company was awarded the contract.  On occasion, we’re simply pipped at the post and the best man won and we need to take it on the chin and learn from it.

If you truly believe you were not given a good shot, there are a couple of things you can do:

  1. Ask for thorough feedback, and if they don’t provide it then you can question ‘why not?’. If they’re spending public purse, they should spend the time needed to give you feedback against the winning submission.
  2. If they will not provide feedback ask the process for putting in a freedom of information request, this should prompt them into giving you feedback.
  3. If you are still feeling like you’re getting no response, you can contest the decision based on lack of feedback. This means that spending public-purse will be required to complete a thorough internal investigation into how they have purchased the required services/products.

The most important aspect of any ‘rejection letter’ is to look at it logically and ask for feedback, learn from it and make sensible decisions on how to move forward.

Things truly are changing in the world of procurement. We’re going to be central to making sure our customers are given a fair shot when investing the time needed to respond to an ITT.

We’re only ever a phone call away, and we would welcome your feedback on how you believe the procurement process should change to suit SMEs.  If we hear your feedback, we can help shape policy for the better.

See our ‘Rules & Regulations when Tendering’ Blog for additional regulations that buyers must adhere to.

 Want to learn more about the tendering process? We’re here to help you Discover, Succeed, Procure and Invest.

DON’T WORRY ABOUT DISTANCE: We live in a Digital World! – International Tendering!

Posted on by John Hudson

DON’T WORRY ABOUT DISTANCE: We live in a Digital World! – International Tendering!

This is an age-old debate here at Hudson Procurement Group. We’re constantly telling our customers to spread their wings when it comes to bidding for new business and succumb to International Tendering.

Historically, we used to take as much business as we could from our doorstep. It was, after all, deemed easier to deliver logistically and support with brand recognition. It was a major achievement to be a leading regional vendor.

But, things have changed drastically over the years and the government throws hundreds of millions into helping us SMEs to trade internationally. The world and its major cities are so much more accessible and connected with daily direct flights from the UK to the US, Dubai, Australia, China etc., especially for service and product-based enterprises.

We encourage our clients to eliminate any geographical fear when looking for business. We advise you to look at where the work is and look at the logistics of delivery. If it deems possible, then don’t put in place unnecessary barriers that will hinder your company growth.  An international business development strategy should be a core activity for your executive/director team until you’ve established there isn’t any profit in trading overseas.

Here at Hudson Procurement Group, we have over 1,000 clients all over the world. None of which we’ve met face to face, but it’s not important to meet them. We speak with them daily over the telephone, Skype and email. We still deliver the same value-added service regardless if they’re UK based, operate in the US or have their headquarters in India. We too revel in International Tendering!

Our advice when looking at which tendering opportunities are right for you is:

  1. Don’t eliminate any opportunity until you’ve assessed it properly.
  2. Ensure you can make a profit, taking into consideration traveling and shipping costs if this is a required part of the work.
  3. Take a risk! Sometimes these risks pay huge dividends. Just because you’re not based on their doorstep, doesn’t mean you’re not the right provider.
  4. Don’t assume you won’t be chosen just because you can’t pop to their office for a cup of tea. You’ll find that more and more people try to eliminate the number of meetings they have, not increase them.
  5. Seek advice and guidance from your local Department of International Trade. We’ve found them super useful during our research phase of opening our US office.
  6. Give us a call, we’re happy to help and to answer any questions you may have about bidding for work overseas.

 We’re here to help you discover, succeed, procure and invest.

Common Trends in Public Sector Tendering!

Posted on by John Hudson

Common Trends in Public Sector Tendering!

We think it’s safe to say that every year, something new happens in the world of procurement. This is due to the ever-changing landscape that buyers and suppliers constantly find themselves in. Here are, in our opinion, a small collection of common trends across UK Public Sector Tendering as of late:

1. BREXIT

The word coined to fill the hearts of many with either progressiveness or ultimate decline. The word in our opinion is met with uncertainty, especially in the way procurement will be running long-term. It has been recorded that “since Brexit, the total value of tenders has risen”.  This implies that there is more work than ever before up for grabs. However, how long will it last? Well, there are no immediate changes due to the EU regulations being merged with primary UK legislation. However, we can expect a lot more focus on cost-effective supply chains that are held locally, given our potential departures from European partners. Risk assessments and the holistic management of contracts will surely be examined a lot more in technical questions based on the happenings of BREXIT.

2. Modern Slavery

Have you come across it yet? The question on an increasing amount of PQQs which ask if you abide by Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015? What you may not know is that the act contains a clause on ‘Transparency in Supply Chains’, which addresses the role of businesses and what they do to prevent modern slavery from occurring in their supply chains and organisation[s]. As per Section 54, it states that if your organisation has a turnover of over £36 million or more you must confirm adherence. You will then have to publish a ‘slavery and human trafficking’ statement annually on your company’s website. Mainly, to state what you are doing to prevent this. We find that SME’s tend not to worry about this, as it remains non-applicable 99% of the time, but still, it is something that is commonly being asked across the board.

3. Social Value

What are you doing for your community? what environmental aims does your company have? do you work with apprentices? – these are just a few of the questions that are becoming increasingly asked in public-sector tenders. Even if you are the smallest company around, we advise you to think of your corporate and social responsibility and how this is positively changing the world … or at least your local area. Every little helps! – we advise you do liaise with charities, apprenticeship providers, assess long-term goals and ensure that social value (aligned with a local authority and government initiatives) crops up one way or another, as this is becoming a key contribution to finalising scores in ongoing tenders.

4. SME Focus

By 2020, the UK government has promised “big opportunities for small firms” as they are set to spend £1 in every £3 with small businesses/SMEs. One thing a lot of SMEs DO NOT have that bigger companies DO HAVE is experienced and well-educated internal Bid Writing professionals. This means SMEs will see a surge of utilising external support functions to ensure their tenders are of the highest quality. We are one of those companies! Our aim is not to just write high-quality bids, but support you with understanding the procurement world. We’ll support you with:

  •  opportunity tracking (using our elite and secure Hudson Discover platforms, related to each UK industry) tender training (using our upcoming FREE virtual learning environment with regular VLOGs) eventually
  • maintaining/developing your ongoing content for tendering (using Tender Bank).

The increased use of Framework Agreements and Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) and getting onto these, require rapid and high-quality responses to ensure longstanding work is won and sustained.

These are just a small list of current trends that are recognised as of late. If you need help with writing bids or anything further feel free to get in touch!

We are Hudson Procurement Group and we are here to help you grow, develop and standout!