A Guide to Tendering Strategy Development

Every business that intends to put in a competitive bid has much more to worry about than just a low price. What makes the difference between an accepted bid and the rest is a well-thought-out tendering strategy. This strategy will help you differentiate and customise your bid in order to stand out from competitors.

In this guide, we will cover the essential elements you should keep in mind when planning and developing your tendering strategy.

Understanding Your Goals

The most important step of every tendering strategy is understanding why you’re bidding and what your end goal is. What do you want to get out of the process? What needs does your product or service address? Are you bidding for a long-term relationship or a one-off opportunity?

Here’s five example goals that you may have:

• Create competitive advantages over competitors
• Promote innovation and quality improvement
• Foster relationships with customers
• Satisfy customer requirements
• Maximise profit margins

Knowing your goals will help you tailor your bid to your customer’s individual needs and give them a better understanding of your company’s unique capabilities. With Tender VLE, we can help you understand and craft your strategy so you can learn how to bid like a professional!

Knowing The Sector

Every sector has its own industry standard terms and regulations. Knowing and familiarising yourself with these terms and regulations, as well as keeping a close eye on industry news and developments, can help you stand out from the competition. Being well informed can also provide you with an advantage when crafting your response.

Keeping up-to-date with industry news can help inform a bid by providing up-to-date market intelligence on the competitive landscape, pricing trends, development of innovations, and other strategic insights. It can help to identify potential opportunities in the market and the strengths and weaknesses of competing products and services.

By tracking the industry news, bidders can also identify and anticipate changes in their business environment and strategies, enabling them to respond quickly and effectively.

Finally, industry news can provide an edge by alerting bidders to new products, services or regulations, helping to guarantee that their bid is both compliant and competitive.

Researching The Customer

Research is one of the key elements of any successful tendering strategy.

Knowing your customer and their needs is key for crafting a bid that meets all of their requirements. Do some research online to learn more about the company before you set out your proposal.

Try and uncover what makes them unique and any recent changes they may have gone through. This will give you a better understanding of what they are likely to appreciate in your bid.

Here’s three examples of research that you should conduct:

• Gather information on the customer: Study the customer’s website, media and trade literature, customer reviews, and any other public resources to gain insight into their industry, goals, and company culture.
• Research the customer’s industry and competitors: Gather information on customer’s industry and competitors to uncover new market opportunities to increase their sales.
• Analyse data: Look at the customer’s data such as demographics, buying habits, and purchasing cycles to develop a plan to appeal to the customer’s needs.

Improve Your Credibility

Focus on the credibility of your company and why you’re the right fit for the job. Showcase your best clients on your website, and include any awards or accreditations that would add to your credibility. You should also make sure all relevant technical and safety certifications are displayed on your website and included in your bid to ensure full bid compliance.

Engage

The engagement phase is where you can do the most to make your bid unique.

Proactively engage with the customer by attending their events and networking opportunities. Have someone attend their site to meet with key decision makers and better understand their needs. Approaching existing suppliers or competitors to learn about what it takes to do business with the customer, their pricing and demands, and any other business requirements can also be beneficial.

This shows that you’re willing to go the extra mile to put together a successful bid. Make sure to use this time to present yourself in the best light and make a good impression.

Be Creative

Your bid reflects your company, so be imaginative and stand out from the crowd.

Consider incorporating creative elements such as video, presentations, infographics, visuals, and other elements that can capture the customer’s attention and express your ideas in a unique way. Follow Up Following up with the customer is a great way to stand out from the competition. At Hudson, our in-house design team (Vocal) have produced bid design in a variety of sectors. They know exactly what it takes to give your bid a competitive edge through eye-catching design which hooks the buyer’s attention instantly!

Send them a post-bid survey or make a call to go over any questions or feedback they may have. This will demonstrate to them that you’re serious about the opportunity and you will continue to go the extra mile even after your bid is submitted.

Conclusion

A successful tendering strategy is essential for any business looking to put together a winning bid. Putting in the time and effort to understand the customer, the sector, and to be creative in your proposal can be the difference between winning and losing the job. Following the steps outlined in this guide will help you craft an effective and successful tendering strategy.

Want to learn more about tendering strategies and how to bid to win? Get started with our free online courses!

Anything else we can help with?

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