Without a doubt, data is important. It’s essential to make educated decisions that aren’t solely based on gut instinct. As you collect data, you can accurately pinpoint what’s working and what isn’t.
When it comes to RFPs and proposals, data hasn’t been top of mind. Traditionally, proposals have been printed and sent via mail with no insight on whether the proposal was even read. Over the past few years, emailed PDF proposals have become more common: however, there is still very little data that comes from this proposal method.
We are now entering a chapter where online proposals are the way to go. Not only can recipients read these proposals from any device, but they also capture crucial data that’s been the missing piece of the puzzle.
Simpleview recently partnered with SendSites, an online proposal tool, to provide our clients with a data-driven, quick and easy-to-use way to send out proposals. Here’s how you can use SendSites data to improve your proposals:
Opens
Opens can tell you a whole lot more than simply if someone opened the proposal or not. Here are some other items to consider when analyzing your proposal opens:
- Channel: Discover if you have more success with open rates if you send it from your business emails versus directly through the SendSites system.
- Subject Line & Time of Day: Test different subject lines and send proposals at different times in the day to see if they impact the proposal open rates at all.
- Number of Times Opened: If your proposal was opened more than once, there’s a good chance the planner is interested. Note the specifics of this proposal (channel, subject line, time of day) for future proposals.
- Who Opened It: If the proposal was sent directly from the SendSites system, you could track exactly who opened the proposal. This is great information because it indicates which contact you should be following up with.
You can also set your SendSites preferences so that you receive an email each time someone opens one of your proposals, alerting you to an ideal time to follow up with the recipient while you’re top of mind.
Clicks
A benefit of an online proposal is that it’s much more engaging than a printed one. You can include everything from links to websites or PDFs to videos, photo galleries, and 360 tours. Understanding what recipients are clicking on and what they aren’t can provide valuable insights.
- Type of Content: Since you can include so many different types of content within an online proposal, it’s essential to track what type is being clicked on and considered. If videos are getting lots of views but photo galleries aren’t, you’ll want to include more videos in future proposals.
- Position on Page: If you find that more clicks are happening for content at the top of the page (usually the case), ensure you include the most critical information at the beginning of your proposal instead of saving it until the end.
You want to ensure that you include only the most pertinent information in your proposals and not overload the recipient. Tracking clicks will help narrow down the areas to zone in on for future proposals.
Lastly, each time you send a proposal, make a note of all of these metrics in addition to whether the bid was won or lost. Over time, you’ll be able to identify trends to refine your proposals and bring more events to your destination.
