Q:  Do you have an idea of what portion of the budget you’d like or expect to use to attract participants vs delivering the service?

A:  The budget should include a breakdown of costs by major activity. We would anticipate one activity being recruiting eligible Maine businesses to participate, but the main activity should be the digital marketing programming. MITC and our partners can be a resource in recruiting eligible Maine SME manufacturers to engage with the program.

Q: Is the primary audience MITC members who qualify for this? Or for new potential MITC members?

A: The primary audience for this program is eligible Maine small to medium sized manufacturers. MITC member status is not required for participation in the programming. Eligibility is described on page one of the RFP.

Q: Is there a paid advertising campaign attached to it?

A: No.

Q: Are you looking for a digital partner to create the lead funnels themselves?

A: No, the digital marketing vendor selected would potentially provide training and coaching for participating Maine businesses in how to develop and manage their lead funnels.

Q: How important is cost in the assessment of this RFP?

A: The proposal cost, speed to market, potential to benefit multiple Maine small to medium sized manufacturers, and capacity to deliver measurable results will all be weighed in assessment of the proposal. The cost proposal should be between $20,000 – $24,000; however, you may suggest “opt in” services at an additional charge to participating companies.

Q: Are we allowed to utilize and/or coordinate MITC resources (Zoom, Organic Social, Email Campaigns) for this initiative?

A: MITC will assist with promoting programming via our email and social media accounts using content developed by the digital marketing vendor selected for the project. In addition, we anticipate promotion assistance from our partners such as the Maine Department of Economic & Community Development, Maine Made, and Mane Manufacturing Extension Partnership. As part of the “Vendor Onboarding with MITC,” we can have a conversation about the specifics.

Q: Is the firm/consultant responsible for seeking out 1×1 consultations?

A: Yes, the individual coaching would likely be with companies who attend the workshop(s) and want additional guidance. If the consultant would prefer to propose an alternative approach, the MITC team is happy to consider it. Note that individual coaching offerings can be defined in your proposal and can have reasonable limitations given the budget.

Q: Are the workshops already created? Or is this the responsibility of the consultant(s)?

A: The workshop content is at the discretion of the consultant, as long as they are based on one or more of the focus areas in the RFP. Note that it is not required to cover all of the focus areas.

Q: How long is this workshop series planned to be? This looks like between 3-5 months if we are thinking about marketing the workshops individually.

A: The timeline is up to the consultant, as long as all activity occurs before mid June 2026. The workshops could be marketed individually or as a collective program series.

Q: How much time is anticipated between workshops and one-on-one coaching?

A: The timeline is up to the consultant, as long as all activity occurs before mid June 2026. We would anticipate that not all businesses who attend the workshops would want or need the individual coaching.