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THRIVE Program for Business Consultants- Marketing (Virginia)

Applications are now being accepted for THRIVE Small Business Technical Assistance Program for Business Consultants (Marketing).

Donor Name: Latino Economic Development Center

State: Virginia

County: Fairfax County (VA)

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 08/04/2023

Size of the Grant: Up to $10,000

Details:

The intent of this RFP is to identify one or more qualified Offerors to contract with LEDC to provide consulting services in Marketing to THRIVE small business Beneficiaries. Marketing is the process of promoting and selling products or services designed to bring increased profitability to a THRIVE small business Beneficiary. For purposes of this RFP, they may be offered in one or more of seven defined service areas:

Business Consulting Category – Marketing

  • Brand Consulting
  • Graphic Design Services
  • Develop E-commerce
  • Develop Website
  • Product/Business Photography Session
  • Digital Presence Assessment and Strategy
  • Other Business Marketing Service (Optional)

LEDC partners with government entities and private donors to rapidly deploy financial assistance to vulnerable families and small businesses. LEDC is the Program Administrator for THRIVE and is responsible for managing the technical assistance program and grants process for the THRIVE program. LEDC will adhere to all federal requirements and guidelines associated with managing ARPA funding.

LEDC seeks to contract with Business Consultants to provide technical assistance directly to small businesses eligible for THRIVE in three Business Consulting Categories: Business Operations; Business Marketing; and Business Financial Planning services. LEDC anticipates that multiple contracts will be established with business consultants under each THRIVE Business Consulting Category.

Business Consultants that are contracted to provide services for THRIVE are not guaranteed to serve a specific number of businesses, as utilization of their services will be determined by multiple factors. This includes: the total number of applicants that apply and qualify for assistance; an assessment of the THRIVE small business beneficiary needs; demand for services from the THRIVE small business beneficiaries; and the total available funding in the THRIVE program.

Funding Information

The THRIVE program will provide an estimated 600 eligible small business entities with business consulting services in the form of non-cash technical assistance services grants up to $10,000 in value.

Tasks to be performed – Service Areas

Tasks to be performed for each of the service areas may include, but are not limited to, the following activities:

  • Brand Consulting: Analysis of brand against competition; provision solutions and general marketing expertise to help increase sales
  • Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following activities:
    • Brand Assessment: Through interviews and assessment of existing communication material, determine the key characteristics or business values to communicate
    • Identity Package: Logo development/design or redesign; tagline development or review; marketing language
    • Brand Strategy: Recommendations for how the brand can be expressed throughout the business operations
  • Graphic Design Services: Projecting ideas and experiences by creating visual and textual content
  • Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following activities:
    • Logo Design: Three options, three rounds of revisions, logo guidelines, black and white version, horizontal and vertical version (if applicable), square version for social media profiles, editable source file and font files
    • Flyer Design: Three rounds of revisions, printable version, low resolution version, editable source file and font files
    • Menu Design: Three rounds of revisions, printable version, low resolution version, editable source file and font files
    • Signage Design: Three rounds of revisions, printable version, editable source file and font files
  • Develop E-commerce: Increase online sales capacity
  • Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following activities:
    • Review client’s needs and requirements
    • Recommend at least two e-commerce platforms and assist in vendor selection. For example, Prestashop v. Shopify
    • Utilizing a separate budget for implementation, purchase hosting, domain, stock images, platform annual fee
    • Set up e-commerce and enter business static content (Logo, business history, contact information, etc.)
    • Provide at least 4 hours of technical assistance to help client enter inventory data
    • Provide at least 4 hours of training and technical support after setup
  • Develop Website: Create online platform to enhance digital footprint
  • Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following activities:
    • Review client’s needs and requirements
    • Recommend at least two Content Management Systems (CMS) and assist in vendor selection
    • For example, WordPress v. Wix
    • Utilizing a separate budget for implementation, purchase hosting, domain, stock images, and CMS annual fee
      • Advise keywords and website structure
    • Set up website with at least the following 5 sections: Home, About, Services, Contact/Book and Blog/News
      • Website must be responsive, SSL certificate, incorporate basic SEO strategies and google analytics
    • Provide at least 6 hours of training and technical support
  • Product/Business Photography Session: Take photographs that highlight a business’s products, people, and services in line with business’s branding
  • Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following activities:
    • Professional product photography for 10 products (at least 3 pictures per product)
    • Professional personal branding photography (headshots, lifestyle portraits)
    • Photo shooting session at business location (and transfer of all rights to photos to business)
  • Digital Presence Assessment and Strategy: Improve online presence across existing digital footprint
  • Recommended consulting services on this topic include the following activities:
    • Conduct a website audit and an online presence assessment including online reputation
    • Provide recommendations to improve website traffic and conversions (may include videos, paid google ad words, paid ads, SEO, etc.)
    • Provide recommendations to increase online presence and reputation
    • Provide recommendations to improve user engagement on social media platforms
    • Utilizing a separate budget for implementation, implement prioritized recommendations to increase lead generation
  • Other Marketing Service: Offeror may propose a marketing service that is not included in the service areas list (1-6)
  • The Offeror may propose a Marketing Service that is not included in the service areas list (1 through 6)
    • Marketing is the process of promoting and selling products or services designed to bring increased profitability to a THRIVE small business Beneficiary
    • The Offeror should specify the Marketing service and identify the key activities that will be undertaken to provide the deliverable (typically between 5-8 activities would be listed). Other proposal submission requirements apply
    • The total cost of Other Marketing Service area proposed should not exceed $10,000
    • The Offeror’s response to this section will be evaluated using the same evaluation process as applied to other service areas. No benefit or decrement will be given in the evaluation for providing a response in this category.

Administrative and Other Tasks to be Performed

In addition to providing services, Offerors will be expected to complete the following tasks:

  • Execute THRIVE Beneficiary/Business Consultant agreements with each small business Beneficiary to which they are assigned, prior to providing services
  • Report on the completion of deliverables in the THRIVE Business Consultant portal, which will be made available to business consultants
  • Participate in program orientation sessions and planning meetings with LEDC and Fairfax County program staff, as required
  • Adhere to reporting requirements as determined by LEDC. This could include, but is not limited to, reporting on performance metrics such as: the number of businesses served; type of service delivered; amount of time to complete services; qualitative feedback; samples of work product and other performance metrics as determined
  • Responsive and timely communication with THRIVE Beneficiaries
  • Deliver services in-person or virtually. Offerors must specify whether services will be provided inperson or virtually. (THRIVE Beneficiaries will be located in Fairfax County. Travel costs or site visits will not be covered separately).

Offeror’s Qualifications and Experience Requirements

  • Required Qualifications:
    • Must have been operating their current organization (business or nonprofit) for at least two years
    • Must have experience addressing the needs of businesses in the services areas of business consulting they propose to offer
  • Preferred Qualification:
    • Experience serving small business entities (49 or fewer employees) and diverse businesses
    • Diverse businesses can include, but are not limited to minority-owned, women-owned, disabled-owned and veteran-owned small businesses.

For more information, visit LEDC.

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