25-006-SH RFP Digital Analytics and Website Strategy Services.pdf

Request for Proposal

No. 25-006-SH

Digital Analytics and Website Strategy Services

RFP Release Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Proposal Due Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2025 @ 2:00 PM EST Prepared By:

Sandra Harrold-Foster, Buyer Purchasing & Auxiliary Service Department 2900 Featherstone Rd., Auburn Hills, MI 48326 Phone: 248-341-2083 Fax: (248) 341-2085 Email: smharrol@oaklandcc.edu

2900 Featherstone Rd.

Purchasing & Auxiliary Services Department Auburn Hills, MI 48326 RFP No. 25-006-SH Digital Analytics & Website Strategy Services Phone: 248-341-2083 RFP Due Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2025 Fax: 248 341-2085

1.0 Proposal Invitation

Oakland Community College (“College” and/or “OCC”) seeks proposals from qualified Suppliers of digital analytics & website strategy services. The major goal of the project is to continue to build out our analytics strategy. Optimized, accurate and reliable website content ensures our students, prospective students and community full access to the many offerings at OCC. The selected supplier(s) will be able to provide all service/specifications outlined in the RFP.

The proposal must be comprehensive by including all services, products and costs necessary to meet the business / technical requirements of the College as outlined in this RFP. In addition, the proposal must specify a detailed approach/methodology, supplier and College staffing (if any) requirements, and any other expectations to complete the proposed work.

The College intends to enter into a three-year contract effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028, with the option to extend for up to two (2) additional 12-month periods. Statement of Work deliverables and budget will be reviewed on an annual basis.

The College prefers to maintain one (1) contact throughout the proposal process. Please appoint one

(1) representative of your company with the responsibility for communicating with the College on all matters relative to this request for proposal. During this proposal process, all communications must be channeled through the Purchasing Services Department to ensure proper documentation and dissemination of information. Do not contact the departments directly.

Award of a contract will be based on the best overall proposal. Criteria for award of a contract include, but are not limited to, the proposal that includes the specifications contained herein, previous customer references, portfolio samples, and the recommendations put forth by the Supplier. The College reserves the right to request follow-up information such as questions, demos and site visits prior to awarding the contract.

Supplier will be evaluated on the following criteria:

CRITERIA WEIGHT

Proposed Solution meets Scope and Specifications 30 Points

Supplier Company Information 10 Points

Project Team Information / Dedicated Account Representative 10 Points

Case Study Responses 15 Points

Implementation / Timeline 10 Points

References 5 Points

Cost Proposal 20 Points

Total 100 Points

The College reserves the right to waive any irregularities; accept the whole, part of, or reject any or all proposals; and to select the Supplier which, in the sole opinion of the College, best meets the College's needs. The College also reserves the right to negotiate with potential Supplier(s) so that its best interests are served.

As a public institution, the College is subject to the terms and conditions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Supplier shall assume that FOIA SHALL APPLY TO ALL RESPONSES AND CORRESPONDENCE SENT TO THE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT. Proposals and pricing may be subject to review after issuance of a final purchase order by the College. Any responses, materials, correspondence, or documents provided to the College are subject to the State of Michigan Freedom of Information Act and may be released to third parties in compliance with that Act.

The College cannot be responsible for any expenses incurred in the preparation of any proposal or presentation, nor does OCC assume any contractual obligations by issuing this request for proposal.

2.0 Planned RFP Schedule

RFP Issued – Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Voluntary Pre-bid Zoom Meeting – Tuesday, January 28, 2025 @ 1:00 PM EST To participate in the Zoom meeting, please click the URL below to join the meeting.

Join from PC, Mac, iOS or Android: https://oaklandcc.zoom.us/j/88174793086

Or join by phone:

+1 309 205 3325 or +1 312 626 6799 (US Toll) Meeting ID: 881 7479 3086 International numbers available: https://oaklandcc.zoom.us/u/kegF7z8DUt

Submission of Written Questions for Suppliers – Friday, January 31, 2025 by 2:00 PM EST

Written Questions Responded by the College – Thursday, February 6, 2025 by 4:00 PM EST

RFP Due Date – Tuesday, February 25, 2025 @ 2:00 PM EST

Supplier Presentations (If Required) – Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Awarding of Contract – End of April 2025

3.0 Background of the College and Project

Oakland Community College was established in 1964 and has five campuses. The College currently has an annual unduplicated enrollment of approximately 24,000 students, and is one of the largest institutions of its type in Michigan. OCC offers degrees and certificates in in approximately 100 career fields and university transfer degrees in business, science and liberal arts.

Oakland Community College is located in Oakland County, Michigan and has five campuses:

Auburn Hills Campus, 2900 Featherstone Rd., Auburn Hills, MI 48326-2845 Highland Lakes Campus, 7350 Cooley Lake Rd., Waterford, MI 48327-4187 Orchard Ridge Campus, 27055 Orchard Lake Rd., Farmington Hills, MI 48334-4579 Royal Oak Campus 739 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak, MI 48067-38988 Southfield Campus, 22322 Rutland Dr., Southfield, MI 48075-4793

The college’s Marketing and Communications Department is responsible for increasing positive public and internal image perceptions and new student enrollment. The Department oversees advertising, graphic design, internal communications, marketing, media relations, photography, publications, social media, videography and the college’s webpage. The Web Services group supports the digital front door for OCC. Serving several audiences both internal and external, we strive to attract, engage and retain students by providing an exceptional digital experience that allows them to engage with OCC where, when and how they prefer to advance their academic goals.

4.0 Project Scope

Oakland Community College (OCC) is seeking an experienced Digital Analytics Agency to support our digital strategy around recruitment, retention and reputation. The services currently include: managing our GA4 properties and dashboards, advising on optimization opportunities based on data and ever-changing best practices, writing new content, optimizing existing content and measuring effectiveness, conducting content audits, user journeys, competitor reports, technical seo findings, etc. The awarded supplier will have to become familiar with the current digital strategy and prepare to support the college in future digital strategy efforts. This will require a supplier with a proven track record of end-to-end digital strategy services and serving as an extension of web teams. The supplier must have experience with higher educational web sites. The preferred supplier will have experience working within Modern Campus / Omni Update CMS and experience with industries outside of education as well. The college’s URL is: www.oaklandcc.edu.

The preferred supplier must have a dedicated project team, including in-depth experience and knowledge of GA4 and website content and technical best practices and one (1) experienced Project Manager or point of contact to work with.

5.0 Specifications

Suppliers should submit a proposal that indicates their capabilities of being able to work with staff and operations, prepare a strategy to synergize with current deliverables, and develop a blueprint for the order and methods to be used to achieve the bulleted list below. Suppliers should provide a timeline in the proposal that displays an overview of start-up with a go-live http://www.oaklandcc.edu/ date of July 1, 2025, with the implementation of the services requested in the RFP, and with an estimated budget of $90k per college fiscal year (July 1- June 30). The budget and scope of work is reviewed annually between the department and supplier, and may be modified based on needs of the department. Supplier shall indicate if there is a minimum contract amount required.

Key capabilities and deliverables include:

• Conduct KPI workshop with internal stakeholders to understand our key conversion points and goals of the site

• Review our GA4 account to ensure it is set up correctly and functioning optimally, providing recommendations for updates as Google makes changes to their platform

• Review events in GA4 so that we can track key conversions

• Develop easy to digest Google Looker Studio reports for key internal stakeholders to understand website performance

• Analyze the reports on a regular basis to provide prioritized, actionable web site recommendations

• Conduct Research to better understand how users are interacting with our site and where they’re having challenges.

• Conduct usability research in order to incorporate the voice of the customer into our roadmap

• Develop website journey maps for diverse audiences (High school students, Adult learners, Continuing Education, etc.)

• Aid in change management strategies to educate the college on the importance of the web and embracing a digital first mindset

• Provide strategic guidance on search engine optimization (SEO) best practices, including training and documentation

• Ability to interview stakeholders and write optimized content for web pages and build out web pages in our CMS

• Provide accessible designs based on research, for campaign landing pages and standard web page templates

• Provide digital strategy workshops on various topics for the marketing team

6.0 Case Studies

To exhibit your capabilities, please provide responses to each of the following case studies, from organizations similar to Oakland Community College:

• Describe how you have built custom analytics reporting strategy for a higher education client. In the next 2 months, the client wants to ensure the account is set up properly, including reviewing key events and set up LookerStudio reports for their audiences. Please include some of the different audiences your reports served along with specific website recommendations based on the data. Include the total cost, and the hourly rate for this type of work.

• Provide an example of a web content section or page of a higher education site that you researched current behavior and analytics, interviewed key stakeholders and content holders, analyzed data and rewrote content for based on your findings, and provide how you proved (measured) the revamp was successful.

• Provide an example of how you worked with the client and their content management system vendor/partner to redesign and improve a web experience.

7.0 Pricing

Supplier shall complete Attachment A - Pricing Spreadsheet

The college prefers an all-inclusive annual fee for all services, and hourly rate sheet pricing for additional services as requested. The college also prefers pricing to be held for the first three (3) years of the contract. Within the proposal provide, in narrative form, an explanation of the comprehensive cost proposal for this project, as well as any assumptions being made. Pricing should be FOB Oakland Community College. Oakland Community College holds a tax-exempt status and shall not be charged any Federal or State taxes where allowed. Tax-exempt documentation shall be presented when required.

8.0 RFP Submittal Requirements

The following requirements must be met when responding to this RFP:

A. A comprehensive solution to achieve the specifications listed above. Include responses case studies, links to related projects for review, and a list of communication tools used to collaborate with your clients (Basecamp, email, etc.).

B. Supplier Company Information

1. Background - Brief history and background of your company as well as the length of time you have supplied services requested in this RFP. Describe the product(s) and service(s) being offered for this solution.

2. Industry Recognition - What industry recognition has your company received?

3. Customers- Who are your key customers? Do you specialize in a certain vertical?

4. Employee Background – Supplier shall provide a “professional resume” for all key team members that will be assigned to this project.

C. Implementation / Project Timeline - Please describe how you go about implementing services requested in the RFP. Be sure to include how you integrate with existing strategies already in progress.

D. References - The Supplier must provide 3-5 current customer references. References should reflect organizations that have similar requirements and business goals, scope of work and contract value. At least two references from the higher education vocation is preferred.

E. Proof of Insurance – Supplier shall provide a sample certificate to the College in their proposal. No changes are permitted in the insurance coverage unless agreed to in writing by the College. Awarded Supplier will need to provide insurance as outlined in the Sample MOA, noting the College as a certificate holder.

F. A statement acknowledging the supplier’s understanding of the scope of this RFP.

(Signature Page)

G. The supplier must provide a comprehensive price proposal that outlines costs of products or services, rates by individual, travel expenses and any other costs incurred, as well as all assumptions. Include license fees, maintenance fees, all hardware, software, and training costs required to meet the primary objectives as stated in this RFP. Clearly identify what licenses and hardware is OCC’s responsibility and what is included in Supplier pricing. Also, clearly identify which services/systems are hosted on-campus and which are hosted off-campus. Refer to section 7.0 Pricing.

9.0 Submission Directions

A. Submission – OCC will receive online proposals on or before Tuesday, February 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM EST. Late proposals will NOT be accepted. Proposals shall follow the format outlined in this document.

Online Response ONLY: It is the supplier's/respondent’s responsibility that the responses are entered/uploaded into the Bidnet/MITN system -www.bidnetdirect.com//oaklandcommunitycollege prior to the due date and time specified. Supplier shall submit Attachment A - Pricing Spreadsheet as a separate excel file when uploading files.

Allow sufficient time to go through the uploading process. For assistance on how to upload, contact MITN directly at (800) 835-4603. The Bidnet/MITN system will not allow for late submittals and a submittal must be completed before the due date and time.

This responsibility rests entirely with the Respondent, regardless of delays resulting from the uploading process.

B. Questions Discrepancies in, omissions from, or any uncertainties regarding the specifications, along with any questions shall be submitted online via the Bidnet/MITN system – www.bidnetdirect.com/oaklandcommunitycollege.

The deadline to submit questions is Friday, January 31, 2025 by 2:00 pm EST. All questions received by the deadline date will responded to by Thursday, February 6, 2025 by 4:00 pm EST. Questions received after the deadline may not be responded to.

11.0 Exceptions to the College’s Terms and Conditions

While it is OCC’s preference that the supplier sign the standard College’s standard contract template (Attachment B – OCC Sample Agreement) “as is” and in fact the College may consider extensive changes to the agreement as a reason to exclude a supplier from further consideration; supplier may take select exception to terms and conditions. The supplier must clearly set forth each exception in its proposal, referencing the affected RFP or Agreement section, paragraph and page. The supplier must set forth the reason(s) for the exception and indicate what (if any) alternative is being offered by the supplier. OCC will determine (at its sole discretion) the acceptability of any proposed exception(s).

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.bidnetdirect.com_oaklandcommunitycollege&d=DwMFog&c=una-pXNGImYYzRFBqkF0Hz9PeRCFg3resbd87RWzT8U&r=iHJG0Hm9KBs1XA5pupNaO8plq7yqAH0SLMPnw3z-M0A&m=ZrZqGO6VZgvBijo10x3LU18OSmZoVbqa2KSOp90mR9FoEYHDb3MFcGW2pX4IggOr&s=JRWlu8XpHY67mBixinzLCFaF5QUqqI3iq5rCcYNYjm0&e= http://www.bidnetdirect.com/oaklandcommunitycollege

This RFP and any subsequently offered contracts will be governed by the laws of the State of Michigan. Any and all applicable valid executive orders, Federal, State or local laws, ordinances or rules or regulations shall apply to any contract if and when offered and are deemed incorporated herein.

12.0 Proposal Submission Format

The following table is a summary of the required proposal submission format for this RFP.

Please structure your proposal submission per the content and sequence below. Where noted under “Template for Submission”, utilize the attachments provided with this RFP for inputting your responses.

Proposal Section

Section Title Template for Submission

Intro Title Page

Open-Ended Responses

(see proposal sections for overview of content required)

Table of Contents

1.0 Ability to meet Project Scope and General

Specifications

2.0 Supplier Company Information

3.0 Project Team Information / Dedicated

Account Representative

4.0 Case Study Responses

5.0 Implementation / Timeline

6.0 References

7.0 Insurance

8.0 Exception to College terms and conditions

9.0 Signature Page

10.0 Cost Proposal

Attachment A - Pricing Spreadsheet (Submit as a separate file)

SIGNATURE PAGE

This page must be signed and submitted with the proposal to ensure a valid response. PROPOSALS

SUBMITTED WITHOUT THIS SIGNATURE PAGE CAN BE RENDERED INVALID.

By virtue of submittal of a proposal, Supplier acknowledges:

• That all of the requirements of this RFP have been read and understood.

• That Supplier is presently not debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, nor voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any State or Federal department or agency.

• Any responses, materials, correspondence, or documents provided to OCC are subject to the State of Michigan Freedom of Information Act and may be released to third parties in compliance with the Act.

• Is NOT an Iran linked business as defined in MCL 129.312

• By signing below the Supplier warrants that the information submitted is complete and factual.

• The individual signing below has authority to enter into this on behalf of Supplier.

• Proposal shall remain valid for a minimum of one-hundred twenty (120) days.

Company Name

Signature

Date

Printed Name

Title Address

City, State, Zip

Email Phone

EIN D & B No.