Explore Branson
4100 Gretna
Branson, MO 65616
Heather Hermen
hhermen@bransoncvb.com
 


February 28, 2025
 

Introduction

Explore Branson seeks proposals from qualified web development firms to create a new website that enhances our online presence, engages visitors, and promotes the Branson/Lakes Area of Missouri. Our goal is to develop a user-friendly, visually appealing, and functional website that reflects the unique character of Branson/Lakes Area and serves as a comprehensive resource for potential and repeat visitors.

 

Background

Explore Branson is dedicated to promoting tourism in the Branson/Lakes Area, highlighting live music shows, attractions, events, accommodations, and activities. Our current website has limitations on CRM integration, back-end maintenance, usability, creative design, and mobile responsiveness. We want to revamp our digital presence to better serve our audience and enhance our marketing efforts, creating a platform where visitors will find what they need, spend more time on the site, and more time in the destination.

 

Project Goals

  1. User Experience: create an intuitive, easy-to-navigate website for visitors.
  2. Responsive Design: ensure the website is fully responsive and optimized for all devices, including mobile phones and tablets.
  3. SEO Optimization: implement best practices for search engine optimization to increase visibility.
  4. Integration: seamlessly integrate third-party tools and platforms for bookings, event management, CRM (customer relationship management platform, Simpleview), and social media.
  5. Extranet: partner portal to add their business information, events, calendar listings, news, updates, discounts, and more. Searchable, editable, and able to be maintained and monitored by our team. Events display as calendar listings, business event listings, and live show listings, to name a few.
  6. Analytics: enable robust analytics and tracking capabilities to measure website performance.
  7. Maintenance: training for Explore Branson team members as well as responsive maintenance assistance around the clock if needed, ongoing backup of website platform, and emergency response unit for outage, shortage, or platform error issues.

 

Scope of Work

The selected vendor will be responsible for:

  • Research and discovery process to understand our audience and objectives.
  • Website design (UI/UX) and development.
  • Implementation of integration of CMS.
  • Integration of necessary third-party applications and APIs.
  • SEO strategy and implementation.
  • Testing and quality assurance.
  • Training for our staff on how to use the platform and all plugins, components and additional tools.
  • Ongoing support and maintenance options.

 

Proposal Requirements

Please include the following in your proposal:

  1. Company Information: overview of your company, including years in business and relevant experience, three references, minimum of one destination reference must be included in the proposal.
  2. Portfolio: examples of previous website development projects, preferably related to tourism, destination specific, and/or featuring the most website traffic, usage, and engagement.
  3. Project Approach: outline your proposed process, including research methodologies, timelines, and deliverables.
  4. Team: information about the team members who will be working on this project.
  5. Budget: a detailed budget estimate, including any additional costs for maintenance or ongoing support.
  6. References: at least three client references, minimum of one needs to be a destination, with contact information.

 

Timeline

  • RFP Issued: February 28, 2025
  • Deadline for Questions: March 7, 2025
  • Proposal Due Date: March 17, 2025
  • Top Three Vendors Selected: March 21, 2025
  • Top Three Vendor Interviews: Week of March 24, 2025
  • Vendor Selection: March 31, 2025
  • Project Begins: April 1, 2025
  • Website Launch: January 1, 2026


Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Experience and expertise in web development.
  • Quality of previous work and portfolio.
  • Understanding of our goals and objectives.
  • Proposed timeline and budget.
  • Feedback from references.


Submission Instructions

Please submit your proposal electronically in PDF format to Heather Hermen, hhermen@bransoncvb.com, by March 17, 2025. Late submissions will not be considered.
 

Questions

Any questions regarding this RFP should be directed to Heather Hermen, Senior Vice President/Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at hhermen@bransoncvb.com, by the deadline specified in the timeline section. Questions are to be directed by email only to keep a record of the questions and provide written documentation of engagement if requested by any individual, business, or taxpayer, and to provide consistent answers for all inquiring firms or agencies.
 

Thank you for your interest in this project. We look forward to receiving your proposal!

Sincerely,

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Heather Hermen

Explore Branson