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A- ~;v D
Bank of America Guide to
Writing a Marketing Plan
The process of writing the plan will help you define your group or unit's
objectives and create a strategy for achieving them.
If your group offers several services or products, an overall group plan will help
you decide which products offer the greatest growth and profit potential. Then
you can prioritize them in terms of the effort and dollars you are willing to
invest in developing the business.
Part A is an outline of the elements of the marketing plan.
Part B is a review of questions to consider in preparing each section of the plan.
Image'.
~,~,~.~i~i~rT7l~m~ it
l. Executive Summary
B.
C.
D.
Sublunary Situation Analysis
Summary of marketing Analysis
Summary of Marketing Strategies
Budget Summary
Passer]
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~x B
Il. Situation Analysis
A. Definition of the Market Segment/Product
I. Growth patterns in the business
2. Business outlook and economic forecast
B.
BofA Unit/Group
i. Brief History
2. Scope of Business
3. Current Size, Growth, Profitability
4. Reputation
5. Strengths
6. Weaknesses
Ill. Description of the Unit/6roup or Services
A. Product Description
I. Differentiating Features
2. Reputation
3. Strengths
4. Weaknesses
B.
L;.
D.
Market Potential for BofA
Definition of Our Customers
Competition
I. Strength of Competitors
2. Weaknesses of Competitors
3. Marketing Activities of Competitors
Pageant
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Alms B
IV.
Marketing Obieetives for the Unit/6roup
V. Marketing Obieetives for Each Service
VI. Marketing Strategy for Each Servies
Producer Positioning
Specific Marketing Strategies
I.) Personal Selling
A.) Sales Force Size, Ability/Training
B.) Cross-Selling Incentives
2.) Sales Support Material
A.) Brochures, Fact Sheets, Etc.
B.) Customer Proposals
C.) Presentation material
3.) Advertising
4.) Business Development
A.) Trade Shows
B.) Seminars
C.) Receptions and Special Events
5.) Direct mailing
A.) Direct Mail
B.) Telemarketing
6.) Public Relations
Ull. M2asurem0~t and Evaluation for Unit/6roup
or Service
Sales Tracking
B.
Research
Other
Pag0B3
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Awl B
VIII. Marketing Budget for Unit/6roup of Service
Market Research
B.
D.
E.
Sales Support Material
Business Development
Advertising
Direct Mailing
Public Relations
I'd
I. Situation Analysis
A. Brlefly examine the overall market for your product or products.
What is the current demand for the products or servicers)
offered by the group?
Where does the demand look as though it's going in the
coming year?
· Can you identify likely growth areas?
Who are the major providers?
How have they been promoting their products?
B. Briefly describe the group or unit organization.
How long has it been operating?
What market or markets does it serve?
What are the products and services it provides?
How are the products and services sold?
How does the unit relate to other units in the Group or
Division?
How do the products relate/connect to the products offered by
other units in the Group?
Are some or all of them sold to the same target or targets?
.
PI
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B
· How profitable is the group overall?
· What is its growth potential?
· How is the group or unit perceived by the market or markets?
· What are the group's strengths?
What are its weaknesses?
Why might prospects not think of BofA?
Il. Description of the Products of services Offered by
the Group
A. Truthfully describe each product and terries offered.
What feature or features make the product special?
· if the product has no particular feature that makes it stand out,
is it at least at partly with the competition?
· How could the product be improved?
. What are our plans to improve it?
How long will it take us to make any necessary improvement?
· How is the product perceived in the marketplace?
B. Examine the market for the product.
What is our current market share?
What is the market share potential for our product?
Can you identify a particular geographic area or area of
opportunity with greater growth potential than the rest?
Where have we been doing the most business?
Is there any reason why we do more business in this area tears
any other?
Is this buying pattern in that area likely to remain stable in the
next year?
Is there art area where we're not doing a lot of business that
offers the potential for significant growth?
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e. Describe the customer or customers.
Who are the prime targets for the product?
Do these targets have anything in common - e.g. excellent
credit rating, significant volume of sales from foreign
operations?
Is the market segmented?
What are the buying habits of the various segments?
· Is there any seasonality to the market? ea. Does it tend to
pick up in the early Spring, drop off in the Summer?
D. Examine the coin.
Who are the Bank's major competitors?
What approximate percentage of the market does each of the
three leaders have?
What are their respective strengths arid weaknesses?
How does your unit/group compare with each of its major
competitors?
How do each of these major competitors promote their
products?
How do they position themselves in the marketplace? Quality?
Efficiency? Cost-effectiveness? Innovative?'
I11. Marketing Objeetives for the Unit/6roup
Your marketing goals must help you achieve your business goals -
near-term as well as long-term.
Carefully state and prioritize your group/unit hope to accomplish
Trough its marketing efforts?
· What is its business goal for the year?
· What is its five-year business goal?
Do you have operational problems that must be addressed
before you can begin actively promoting your unit/group's
products?
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Do these problems pertain to a certain product or group of
products?
Is there an internal marketing objective? e.g. to raise employee
morale? To show a commitment to this area of business? To
demonstrate something in particular to existing clients?
Do you want to create or increase target awareness of your
group and its capabilities?
Do you want to overcome a negative perception - e.g. that you
have been in and out of the market?
Do you want to capitalize on a market condition or need?
Do you want to attract better qualified leads for the product?
IV. Marketing Objectives for Each Produe' or Service
Carefully consider your marketing objectives for each product.
They will begin to emerge as you answer some of the questions
below.
· Do you have operational or delivery problem's that need to be
resolved before you cart begin a serious renewed marketing
effort?
What is your time frame for resolving these problems if they
exist?
What is your business goal for this product?
How does this product fir into your group's mix?
Is this a mature product?
By how much do you hope to increase sales or your market
share?
if the market is saturated, is your goal to maintain your current
market share you have?
If you are losing market share, is your primary objective to stop
the erosion?
.
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MIX B
.
U. Marketing Strategy for Each Service
The strategy is the means by which you achieve your objective. In
order to pearl an effective marketing strategy, you must understand the
market arid where your product stands within it. You must understand
the problems you are likely to encounter as well as the opportunities.
A. lon'ld~r how the produo! Should be positioned to mast the
marketing oblectIvas.
To active at a positioning statement:
Define the target needs
Examine competitive positioning, as revealed in advertising and
sales materials. Determine how your competitors are positioning
their product, e.g. best value, highest quality, most innovative
most convenient, etc.
Take what is unique or superior about your product and create a
position for it that should be persuasive to the target.
B. Determine how you Gag best achieve your marketing obJ0ctIves
for this product.
I. Personal Selling
Consider the following:
To increase your unit's personal sales efforts, do you need to
increase the size of the sales force?
What problems are your sales people experiencing in convincing
the target to buy the product?
Do they have sufficient knowledge? Could they benefit Mom
additional training?
Consider if your product could be cross sold in other areas of the
corporation.
Which other units or divisions at the bank are engaged in selling to
your customer base?
How might you motivate the sales people of these units or
divisions t refer prospects?
Has your group been engaged in referral incentive programs in the
past?
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_[B
.
How well did these incentive programs work?
Do you know of any other units that have created incentive
programs? How could YOU get the details?
2. Sales Support Materials
Review your sales material and discuss how it is used with the Sales
Force.
.
Does your sales force have adequate sales support materials, e.g.
leave behinds, brochures, fact sheets, folders?
Could your present sales material be improved?
Is it cost-effective to reprint?
Can it be easily adapted to be used in several situations?
Does it meet corporate guidelines?
· Does it dovetail with other sales materials being sent to your
group's target?
Does it properly reflect recent changes in the product or in your
organization?
Review some recent customer proposals to detennine if they could be
improved.
· Do your proposals look professional?
Do they work graphically with the rest of your sales materials?
· Does the fonnat need to be standardized?
What is the quality of the writing?
Can you use in-house units to assist you in improving your
proposals?
Review current presentation materials if any.
· Does your sales force need presentation materials, e.g. slide show,
video overheads, or ease! presentations?
3. Advertising
Do not concern yourself with plan specifics such as the type of
magazines, or newspaper. If you require advertising, the corporation's
advertising agency will come up with two or three plans geared to
reach your target audience. You can then include the Aciverti.sin~ Plan
in your Marketing Plan.
A, = ~
Consider what kind of advertising has been done in the past for this
product.
P - B.
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_~B
· What kind of advertising has been done In the past five years?
· How effective was it?
Was one kind of media more effective than another?
What is the competition doing?
Consider the impact of advertising on your marketing budget to
determine if it makes sense.
How great a benefit could you reasonably expect to realize Tom a
media effort, given current market conditions?
Will it increase awareness of your product?
· Will it courter negative news about the product?
· Will it increase sales?
· Would it be better to focus your efforts and marketing funds on
business development.
· How does the sales force fee! about advertising?
4. Business Development
Consider if your product could be marketed through trade shows or
conventions.
What are the main trade shows where it would make sense to set
up a booth?
Do you have marketing or sales staff available to staff a booth at
these shows?
Does the bank have art appropriate trade show booth that your unit
could use?
· What kind of gimmick could you use to attract customers? A
sweepstakes? Agolfputting set-up?
· What kinds of special display materials will you need to interest
people in your product? Light boxes? Posters? A video?
· What Kind of small gifts could you give away? Key chains?
Pens? Windshield scrapers? Coffee mugs? T-shirts?
Consider if seminars are an appropriate means of promoting your
product.
Could you attract qualified prospects arid/or customers to a
seminar?
What kind of seminar would interest prospective clients?
What kind of speakers could you invite?
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.
Are there any experts available at the bank?
Are there other finns you could joint venture with? Accounting
films or law firms? Technology firms?
How many seminars does it make sense to hold in a 12-month
period?
Where could you hold them to attract the most clients and
prospects? Near regional sales offices? In a major metropolitan
area near more than one sales office?
Would special breakfast or lunch presentations be appropriate?
· What kind of sales presentation could be made at these seminars?
Would you create overheads or a slide show?
Who would be responsible for coming up with a list of clients and
prospects?
· How would you follow the leads received through the seminars?
.
Consider the type of special events or receptions that have been used
successfi~lly for the product or products in the past, as well as events
you have heard have been success for other groups.
· Could your group benefit by sponsoring a sports event such as a
golf tournament? Could you joint venture with other groups at the
bank to sponsor such events?
What types of special events have the sales force expressed an
interest in?
· Could you make an event out of a "night out" at a sports event
e.~. a baseball, ice hockey, or basketball game?
Could your group sponsor a special preview of art art or museum
showing?
Are there arty special benefit events that your group could help
sponsor - e.g. an awards dinner where you could purchase two or
three tables?
5. Direct Marketing
Direct response advertising - i.e. direct mad! or direct response magazine
ads supported by telemarketing and some sort of fi~fi~Iment is usually art
inappropriate means of selling finarlcial services to corporate customers,
although it can often be use effectively marketing to individuals. With
corporate customers, direct mall can be used effectively to keep the sales
force in tough with current customers or prior purchasers, or to market
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.
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A_ B_
services to referral sources such as lawyers or CPAs. It can also be used to
attract prospects or referral sources to seminars.
Consider the direct mail efforts you have been involved in the past to
determine which of them worked well and whether any of them would be
appropriate for this product or service.
Could you benefit by mailing to existing clients who have bought one
or more products from you?
Would it be appropriate, for instance, to let them know what your
group has been doing by sending them regular tombstone mailings or
news updates?
What kind of mailing might attract the interest of important referrals
sources? An invitation to a tree seminar? An invitation to a
customized presentation at the referral source's office?
If your product is sold to individuals rather than corporations, what
kind of approach would be most effective? The offer of a free book on
a topic related to investments or financial planning? A seminar on a
topic likely to be of interest e.g. Tax-wise trusts for education or
retirement.
Do you need a bank of letters for your sales people to send to
customers in various situations or at certain times of they year?
Consider the benefits of telemarketing your product.
Is it easy for your clients and prospects to reach you? Could you
benefit by establishing one or more 800 numbers?
What sort of information could be provided by a telemarketing service
or staff ?
How would you let customers know that you now have an 800 number
they can use?
· Would it be worth publicizing an 800 number? If so, how could that be
done?
6. Public Relations
The potential of this area is often overlooked. Of ten the media -
particularly trade or business publications - are looking for brief
information about new product developments, new staff, special events or
meetings attended by senior management. If you are launching anew
product or introducing a new product feature, why not get the story out? If
your unit of division has received an important quality of service or
industry aware, a story could probably be built around that.
Consider how you would go about getting free publicity for your unit,
product or service.
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~ Is your group currently working with a bank public relations officer?
· Do you believe your group's activities deserve more positive attention
in the media?
· Is there anything new or noteworthy about your unit's products or
services?
· is anyone in your unit or group newsworthy? Have you hired someone
considered an expert in the field with a large following?
Has your product or group been recognized in some way? For
example, has your group received a coveted award or certification?
Vl. MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION FOR UNIT/EROUP OR
SERVICE
To determine the effectiveness of the plar~ned marketing efforts, you must refer back to
the marketing objective. What you measure and the method you use to measure it will
vary depending on what you hope to achieve.
Consider your business and marketing objectives.
.
If your business objective is to increase profitability:
· Do you measure the number of deals closed?
Do you measure the dollar total of the deals?
Do you measure deals of a certain size?
Do you measure fee income?
if you business and marketing objectives are similar - e.g. if you wish to create awareness
in the marketplace and generate leads for the sales force:
· Do you measure leads?
.
How will you capture lead information?
· How wit} you track follow up?
· Would it make sense to research awareness - pre and post the
marketing effort.
A. Sales Tracking
Consider the sales tracking methods the group has used in the past to
determine if they were effective. Plan to review the month by month
regional sales figures for the 12 month period prior to the planned
marketing period.
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~ Do you see any particular pattern emerging?
· What kind of sales or lead lift did you get during promotions or
advertising campaigns?
What kind of tracking method will be most effective during the
next twelve months?
B. Research
Research can be used to test awareness. It can also be used to gauge
customer and non-customer perception of your unit and or product, or to
test positioning.
Consider the type of research that could be of benefit to your unit in
selling its products or services.
.
.
Do you know enough about how your unit's services are perceived
by your customer?
How recently have you conducted a quality of service survey?
If you are not closing the size or type of deals you want to close,
what is the problem? Is there some way of getting that information
Tom prospect who took their business elsewhere?
How are your unit's products arid services perceived by the
competition's customers?
If you suspect that lack of target awareness is a major problem for
your unit, how could you find out for sure?
Are you familiar with the bar~c's market research group? Would it
make sense to discuss you questions with them?
Would senior management be willing to listen to art argument for
research?
How could they be persuaded?
What kind of budget would you have to allocate?
e. Other ways to figure and Evaluate the Plan
In addition to tracking sales or leads, you may wish to:
conduct a quality of service survey with your customers at the
beginning and the end of the marketing period e.g. in January and
November.
Who will design the survey?
.
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AM
· How will ho distribute it?
· Will you need to provide customers with an incentive to return it?
get input from the sales force on what they believe is the effectiveness of
the various marketing tactics
how could you get input that would be of use to you during the course of
the year? Quarterly reports? Quarterly questionnaires?
Could you expect the sales force to be honest?
Ill. BUDGET
The Pearl will create the budget. The first couple of drafts wall result in
project "wish lists" that will have to be modified. Once you have
reviewed the lists arid put rough price tags on the various items they
include, you wall be able to weigh the options. To do this effectively, you
will have to consult with other interested parties in your division - the
Sales Manager of your unit, other marketing people in your own division
and in bank service units. The result will be a complete plan with perhaps
three budget levels:
Option A - the optimal plan that includes most of the viable
means of generating business and meeting the unit's goals. Such
a plan would include advertising an/or direct marketing in
addition to cross sell incentive programs and desirable research.
Option B - a mid-level pearl that cuts out some of the more
expendable items but still gives adequate support to He sales
force. It may or may not include advertising or direct marketing.
It probably does not include research.
Option C - a minimal plan that includes only the projects
absolutely necessary to your urtit's operation e.g. sales support
materials, a budget for business development arid cross sell
incentives.
Each option watt show a budget for the strategies and tactics it employs.
Under each of the headings listed below, you should list the items to be
included and the cost for each:
Market Research
Sales Support
Business Development
Advertising
Direct marketing
,.
Public Relations
Pagers
Representative terms from entire chapter:
business development
