Request for Proposal Marketing Capacity Building with a Focus on Social Media for VITAS Jordan

Request for Proposal – Marketing Capacity Building with a focus on Social Media for VITAS Jordan

RFP Date of Issuance: April 23th, 2018

Due Date for Questions: April 27th

Submission of questions or requests for clarification in writing via email to by 11:59 pm EST.

Please note that inquiries and answers to inquiries will be shared with all registered Offerors.

Please do not contact any USAID LENS or MEDA employees regarding this RFP. Contacting individual employees shall be cause for disqualification. NO TELEPHONE INQUIRIES WILL BE ANSWERED.

Deadline for Applications: May10th, 2018

Submission of proposals must be submitted in writing via email to by 11:59 pm EST.

Program Background - USAID Jordan Local Enterprise Support Project (LENS)

The USAID Jordan Local Enterprise Support activity (LENS) is a five-year project that will assist micro and small enterprises (MSEs) to grow their businesses and create job opportunities, while developing an inclusive enabling environment for economic development in selected municipalities. Support to MSEs, particularly among underserved populations, will promote their ability to:

Identify and capitalize on business opportunities.
Recognize and meet market demand.
Contribute to more inclusive networks.
Benefit from economic growth.

Support to MSEs also includes an Access to Finance (A2F) component, which focuses on working with Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) and other stakeholders to promote financial access for MSEs, including those run by women and youth.

2.About VITAS Jordan

Vitas Jordan is a Microfinance company operating in Jordan, and is part of the Vitas Group. It is one of the leading companies in Jordan, which provides individuals with financial solutions that suit their needs. Vitas Jordan prides itself on offering a wide array of loan products to meet the client’s needs. This aims to better serve their clients.

Currently VITAS Jordan serves over 21,000 clients, through 17 branches located across Jordan. This is in three main market segments:

1)People who have registered companies (loan up to 75,000 JOD);

2)Individuals or families that are engaged in a home or micro business (loan up to 25,000 JOD); and

3)Employees working in the government, semi-governmental institution and the private sector who are looking for a simple, fast and easy way to finance specific needs (loan up to 5,000 JOD).

VITAS clients are served by experienced and dedicated professionals, each committed to building a profitable, professional and responsible financial institution that provides long-term, market-based solutions to its clients.

VITAS Jordan’s marketing plan focuses on digital marketing channels more than traditional channels. This is because: 1) they want direct interaction with their audience, 2) social media allows them to more easily communicate with their market segments (Commercial Businesses, Micro Businesses & Individuals) and 3) it allows them to reach the highest number of people at relatively low costs. Therefore, their presence on social media platforms is highly important to both build their brand & support their sales team.

In just one year of social media activities, 60% of enquires to their call centre is driven by social media. VITAS have also noticed, compared to their competitors, they are number one in Jordan for followers and engagement rate; they are number two on the same indices within the VITAS Group.

VITAS and LENS have identified areas of technical support to improve their marketing and become more customer-centric through the use of technology. One of the areas identified is marketing capacity building with a focus on social media.

Purpose of Assignment and Expected Outcomes

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to seek applications from prospective consulting firms to support VITAS Jordan to further increase their outreach by providing loans to the unbanked.

Currently, analysis of social marketing activities is done through Microsoft Excel. VITAS would like to enumerate the correlation between 1) a click on ads and/or 2) becoming a follower on social media platforms, to3) becoming a new or repeating client. They would like to capture and present such data analyses on a dashboard. Therefore, they are looking for a firm to advise them on: 1) how to set social media KPIs, 2) how to get the data to make analysis, and 3) advice on the best platform to analyse and present data such as: engagement rate, promotions & ads performance, page insights by gender, location, age, etc. and how to validate, analyse and interpret the data, so management can make evidence based decisions when designing creative and innovative campaigns. VITAS also want an efficient way to track competitor activities on social media.

Therefore, VITAS requires: 1) general marketing support to help better manage and analyse social media data in a dynamic and real-time reporting way (rather than their current practices), and 2) support to increase the level of integration and analyses between their digital and traditional marketing activities and channels. This support will help management more easily see the impact of marketing (social media and traditional) campaigns and the value it brings related to brand awareness and reaching the triple bottom line. VITAS expects as part of a final deliverable, and if appropriate, recommendations on how to procure such suitable data analysing platforms.

MEDA on behalf of USAID LENS would like to engage the services of a consulting firm(s) to assist VITAS.At the completion of the assignment, the selected firm is expected to have fully supported VITAS through all phases, culminating in the delivery of the following outcomes:

1.Build capacity of marketing department through a mentoring approach.

While there are specific deliverables for this RFP, the consultant should take a mentoring / capacity building / collaborative approach and involve the VITAS marketing team as much as possible.

2.Set KPIs and be given recommendations on appropriate tools and platforms to make analyses

VITAS expects support from the firm to assist in the setting of marketing specific KPIs, with a subset of social media in general and specific details on different platforms i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn etc. so that they can better analyse impact by message and channel. Draft KPIs include:

Geographic outreach
Number of followers
Return on investment in social media
Customer satisfaction
Enhanced service levels
Increased conversion of lead generation (through social media) to loan applications and new clients
Increased brand awareness and recognition
Better targeting of segmented potential new clients
Improved Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

VITAS also expect positive impact on their loan portfolio for the following indicators, and thus need the appropriate tools to make such analysis.

Value of Loans
Number of loans
Number of DFS related transactions
Number of female clients

3.Support in developing creative content

VITAS want support in the content and media channel choice for aone-month marketing plan. The firm should be a key part of any interactions with a marketing / creative agency.

4.Comparative study of digital vs traditional marketing channels

VITAS want to utilise social media platforms to increase lead generation, target new markets and increase brand awareness especially in light of the rebranding from Middle East Micro Credit Company (MEMCC) to VITAS Jordan. Specifically, they would like to understand which marketing channels (digital, traditional, both) are most effective in a comparative study for their different products and customer groups.

5.Final report of conclusions and recommendations

VITAS wants a final report with conclusions and recommendations on how they can further build the capacity of the marketing department. Specifically, they want to know: 1) what is required to rollout a nationwide marketing campaign utilising social media, and 2) the business case for investing in new marketing tools, platforms, activities and human resources, to implement such a strategy.

Assignment Tasks

This assignment will include travel outside Amman and will be accomplished through communication with VITAS marketing manager, other VITAS staff and the LENS Financial Inclusion Specialist. The assignment will consist of three (3) major phases:

Project set up and situation analysis;
1-month social media / marketing plan launch and monitoring; and
Conclusions and recommendations on how to rollout a national marketing strategy.

Within these phases, a series of tasks have been outlined to provide step-by-step guidance on the expectations for the assignment:

Project set up and situation analysis

Project kick off and establish steering committee of all appropriate people, especially VITAS HQ marketing team, branch manager representative and loan officers, to get their insights and input on objectives, goals and strategies for the assignment.
Research
Conduct rapid staff feedback on current marketing, communication and branding activities through a mix of questionnaire and focus group discussions.
Conduct research activity with existing and potential clients on their interest and perception of VITAS’ marketing activities with specific emphasis on social media:
Awareness of marketing and engagement activities
Awareness of VITAS products and services
Brand perception
Awareness of social media (general)
Awareness of VITAS social media activities (specific)
Conduct rapid assessment of competitor marketing activities, with special emphasis on social media activities.
Write a report and have a meeting with VITAS management to discuss findings and make recommendations based on customer, competitor and staff research.
Assist VITAS in defining marketing strategy and creating a marketing / communication plan
Provide input for content and design of marketing collaterals in meetings with creative agency
Design a 1-month marketing / social media campaign which will use both social media and traditional marketing methods, such as: a SMS campaign, radio adverts, direct sales force, distribution of flyers and posters in branches etc. The plan should allow the firm to make a comparative analysis and so should also include:
Control group(s) to analyse the effectiveness of different marketing strategies.
Rationale for locations of activities
M&E, risk and mitigation matrix, escalation process
The setting of KPIs and how results will be collected, analysed and acted on.
Articulate the new marketing / social media strategy / plan and obtainfinal approvals from VITAS Management.

1-month social media / marketing plan launch and monitoring

Implement approved plan as stated above
Begin pilot testing, documenting the process, and capturing successes, challenges and potential adjustments that can be applied.
Ensure regular performance reports are developed and shared.
Refine plan as necessary.

Conclusions and recommendations of how to rollout a national marketing strategy

Evaluate and measure the performance of the marketing plan with respect to reaching more MSE and underserved clients:
Conduct follow up interviews with customers at selected branch(es) to see how they were engaged by VITAS i.e. social or traditional media.
Include recommendations from the clients by conducting surveys and focus group discussions to determine clients' awarenessof marketing activities and satisfaction with VITAS more generally.
Conduct meetings with VITAS management (especially field staff) to determine customer impressions on marketing activities.
Write a comparative study (between social media and traditional marketing activities) that highlights, but not limited to:
High level market segmentation – for the different marketing channels.
Awareness and benefits of VITAS products and services – through the different marketing channels
Communication messages – that should be used by different marketing channels
Engagement levels of customers – through different marketing channels
Brand perceptions – through the different marketing channels
Make a presentation tosenior management to discuss findings
Final Report and presentation that highlights, but not limited to:
Phases of the assignment
Findings from the 1-month marketing campaign
12-month digital / communication/ marketing plan
Setting of KPIs and how to monitor
The business case of investing in the marketing department and activities based on spentversus increased revenue.
Conclusions and recommendations for national rollout and which may include the costing of appropriate data analysis platforms and digital marketing management systems.

Deliverables & Expected Duration

The total duration of the assignment must fall within a three (3)-month period from the agreed upon start date. The selected firm(s) are responsible for the preparation and submission of the following deliverables, with each item being completed in accordance to the proposed duration, as detailed below.

Deliverables / Expected Duration[1]

1)

/ Meeting notes between VITAS, consulting firm, LENS and all other entities involved in supporting VITAS marketing capacity building / 1 weeks

2)

/ Customer, competitor and staff research report and presentation on perception of current marketing activities / 3 weeks

3)

/ Notes on interaction with creative agency / 4 weeks

4)

/ Weekly updates / Weekly

5)

/ Marketing / social media plan for a 1-month pilot / 5 weeks

6)

/ Presentation to senior management and sign-off for launch of marketing / social media plan / 5 weeks

7)

/ Implementation of campaign / 6 weeks

8)

/ After two weeks, presentation of results and recommendations (of any changes) for the second two weeks of the campaign / 8 weeks

9)

/ Evaluation of campaign / comparative study / 11 weeks

10)

/ Final report and presentation / 12 weeks

Question and Submission Instructions

Questions must be prepared in English and delivered electronically no later than April 27, 2018, to the following address: . The subject linemust be “QUESTONS - USAID LENS – Marketing Capacity Building with a focus on Social Media for VITAS Jordan "

Submissions must be prepared in English and delivered electronically no later than May10th, 2018, to the following address: .

Emailed submissions must contain the subject line“USAID LENS – Marketing Capacity Building with a focus on Social Media for VITAS Jordan"

All submissions should include:

1)A summary of the applicant’s approach, tools and implementation plan to: (a) follow project management principles, (b) building marketing capacity (c) develop social media implementation and scale up plan(d) conducting a comparative study (max. 10 pages)

2)CVs for proposed personnel (max. 3 pages per CV).

3)Descriptions of three (3) relevant past experiences (max. 2 pages total).

4)Detailed budget by task in local currency (JOD) or USD using the budget template in Appendix A (see attached documents).

5)A brief narrative explanation and justification for each line item and include data to support actual costs and/or methodologies to support cost estimates. Budget notes serve as justification for each cost included in a budget; they should be presented in such a way as to be easily referenced from the budget; and they should provide sufficient information so that MEDA may sufficiently review a proposed budget for reasonableness. All projected costs must be in accordance with the organization’s standard practices and policies. The budget narrative template is in Appendix B (see attached documents).

6)Copy of legal registration.

7)Proposals must remain valid for a minimum of sixty (60) days.

8)The Offeror should submit its best value proposal to MEDA. However, MEDA reserves the right to conduct discussions and negotiate the terms should MEDA deem it necessary

Evaluation Criteria

All applications received by May 10, 2018 (the closing date) will be evaluated and ranked according to the selection criteria below:

Criterion / Weight
Technical approach / 40%
Past experience of 1) building marketing department capacity, 2) conducting a comparative study of marketing activities and 3) social media management / 25%
Experience working with MFIs and experience of proposed personnel / 20%
Reasonableness of price / 15%
Total / 100%

The USAID LENS Project anticipates awarding a contract for the implementation of this program with an estimated cost not exceeding USD 85,000. Revealing the estimated cost ceiling does not mean Bidder should strive to meet this maximum amount. Bidders must propose costs they believe are realistic and reasonable for the work.

Timing

Applications must be received no later than May 10th, 2018 at 11:59 pm EST. It is not anticipated that late applications will be reviewed. It is anticipated that the successful applicant will be contacted on or about two weeks after the “Due Date for Applications”.

Contract Mechanism and Terms of Payment

MEDA anticipates issuing a fixed price subcontract to one offeror.

Disclaimers and MEDA Protection Clauses

a)MEDA may cancel solicitation and not award

b)MEDA may reject any or all responses received

c)Issuance of solicitation does not constitute award commitment by MEDA

d)MEDA reserves the right to disqualify any offer based on offeror failure to follow solicitation instructions

e)MEDA will not compensate offerors for response to solicitation

f)MEDA reserves the right to issue award based on initial evaluation of offers without further discussion

g)MEDA may choose to award only part of the activities in the solicitation, or issue multiple awards based on the solicitation activities.

h)MEDA reserves the right to waive minor proposal deficiencies that can be corrected prior to award determination to promote competition.

i)MEDA will be contacting offerors to confirm contact person, address and that bid was submitted for this solicitation.

Certification of Independent Price Determination

The offeror certifies that—

(1)The prices in this offer have been arrived at independently, without, for the purpose of restricting competition, any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror, including but not limited to subsidiaries or other entities in which offeror has any ownership or other interests, or any competitor relating to (i) those prices, (ii) the intention to submit an offer, or (iii) the methods or factors used to calculate the prices offered;

(2)The prices in this offer have not been and will not be knowingly disclosed by the offeror, directly or indirectly, to any other offeror, including but not limited to subsidiaries or other entities in which offeror has any ownership or other interests, or any competitor before contract award unless otherwise required by law; and