Question

one method of screening intermediary candidates is to ask distributors for a sample marketing plan. what items would a foreign bank looking for bank intermediaries would you want to be included in the plan?

Answer 1

One method of screening candidates is to ask distributors for a sample marketing plan to determine how effective and efficient the distributor will be in getting the product to the marketplace. A marketing plan is essentially a detailed document highlighting the distributors marketing and or advertising efforts comprehensively describing the business activities that will be involved in achieving set objectives.

The items I would want included in the distributor’s sample marketing plan include; customer base, the sales strategies and branding. The distributor should provide a detailed plan and statistics regarding his or her customer base and the efforts or strategies they will use to increase the number of their customers and create prospects for the different products they distribute. The sample plan should also have a plan on how the distributor will increase sales say through training programs to increase the sales team performance. The plan sales strategies can also include geographical coverage and focus on specific products or market sectors. Regarding branding, the distributor sample marketing plan should outline factors such as creating brand awareness through their own marketing programs (Kim & Hsieh, 2003). For instance, a distributor that markets a wide range of products from different channel partners should demonstrate how they have developed strategies to develop their own branding instead of adopting a brand that represents part of their customer offering only.