Syllabus and Exam Pattern of IBPS SO Marketing exam
Since July 2026, the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) has introduced a revised examination pattern for recruitment to the post of Specialist Officer (SO) – Marketing Officer in participating Public Sector Banks.
The selection process consists of three stages: Preliminary Examination, Main Examination, and Interview. The detailed exam pattern is explained below.
Stage 1 – Preliminary Examination
The Preliminary Examination consists of 100 questions carrying 125 marks, to be completed in 80 minutes.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes |
| Reasoning | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes |
| Professional Knowledge (Marketing) | 25 | 50 | 20 minutes |
In the Preliminary Examination, although Professional Knowledge (Marketing) accounts for only 25% of the questions, it contributes 50% of the total marks. Candidates should therefore give special emphasis to this section.
All four sections will have individual cut-offs, as decided by IBPS. There will be negative marking of one-fourth; for every incorrect answer, 25% of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted.
Stage 2 – Main Examination
The Main Examination consists of 150 objective questions and 2 descriptive questions. The objective paper is to be completed in 125 minutes, while the descriptive paper is to be completed in 30 minutes.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 25 minutes |
| Reasoning | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | 30 | 25 minutes |
| Professional Knowledge (Marketing) | 50 | 100 | 40 minutes |
| Descriptive Paper - English | 2 | 25 | 30 minutes |
In the Main Examination, all tests except Professional Knowledge (Marketing) will be qualifying in nature. Merit listing will be done on the basis of the candidate’s score in the Professional Knowledge (Marketing) section.
Therefore, although English, Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude are included in the Main Examination, their scores do not decide the overall merit cut-off. These sections are qualifying in nature only.
Stage 3 – Interview
The Interview carries a total of 100 marks. The final weightage of the written examination and interview is 80:20.
For final score calculation, the marks obtained in the Professional Knowledge (Marketing) section of the Main Examination are multiplied by 4.
- Written Examination: 400 marks
- Interview: 100 marks
Syllabus of IBPS SO Marketing exam
📌 Note: The first thing that every aspirant must understand is that IBPS has never prescribed an official, detailed syllabus for the IBPS Specialist Officer (SO) – Marketing Officer examination. Unlike many other competitive examinations, the exam is conducted entirely online and IBPS does not release the official question papers after the examination. As a result, candidates have no authentic source to identify the exact boundaries of the syllabus.
The only practical approach is to analyse the trend of previous years' examinations through memory-based papers prepared from the recollections of candidates who appeared in the examination. At Human Peritus, we have been collecting and analysing these memory-based papers every year to understand the changing pattern of the examination. Based on this analysis, we have prepared the syllabus boundaries presented below.
One important observation from our analysis is that approximately 60% of the Professional Knowledge paper is based on Philip Kotler's Marketing Management. However, preparing from Kotler is not as straightforward as it appears. There are significant differences between various editions of the book (for example, the 14th and 16th editions). Moreover, even within the same edition, the Indian Edition and the International (USA) Edition differ in terms of content, examples and chapter coverage. Questions in the IBPS SO Marketing examination may originate from any of these editions, making preparation considerably more challenging.
The obvious questions therefore are: Which edition of Kotler should one study? and How many editions should be covered? Based on our experience, candidates should ideally study at least two editions of Philip Kotler's Marketing Management to maximise their coverage of the examination.
The detailed syllabus boundaries prepared by Human Peritus are given below. These topics are based on our continuous analysis of previous years' papers and are intended to provide focused and comprehensive preparation for the IBPS SO Marketing Officer examination.
Marketing Management
- Introduction to Marketing - Concepts and Approaches
- Market
- Marketing
- Customer Needs, Wants and Demands
- Marketing Orientations
- Holistic Marketing
- Marketing Mix
- Recent Trends in Marketing
- Developing Marketing Strategy
- Business Portfolio Strategies
- Marketing Strategy
- Porter Generic Strategies
- Value Chain Analysis
- SWOT Analysis
- Marketing Plan
- Marketing Control
- Marketing Information and Forecasting
- Analyzing Marketing Environment
- Marketing Information System
- Demand Forecasting
- Estimating Current and Future Demand
- Marketing Research
- Process of Marketing Research
- Research Instruments
- Sampling Plan
- Measuring Marketing Productivity
- Consumer Behaviour and Industrial Markets
- Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour
- Consumers’ Buying Decision Process
- Consumers’ Buying Decision Behaviour
- Buyer Decision Process in New Products
- Theories of Consumer Behaviour
- Business Buyer Behaviour
- Business Buyer Behaviour Model
- Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
- Market Segmentation
- Market Targeting
- Differentiation and Positioning
- Product Decisions
- Product Levels
- Product Classification
- Product Decisions
- New Product Development
- Product Adoption Process
- Product Life Cycle
- Pricing Decisions
- Pricing Strategies
- New Product Pricing Strategies
- Product Mix Pricing Strategies
- Price-Adjustment Strategies
- Price Changes
- Public Policy and Pricing
- Pricing during PLC
- Services Marketing
- Types of Service Marketing
- Managing Service Marketing
- Gap Analysis
- Distribution Decisions
- Channel Management
- Channel Conflict
- Channel Integration and Systems
- Logistics Management
- International Logistics Management
- Supply Chain Management
- Retail Management
- Retail Marketing Decision
- Recent Trends in Retail in India
- Wholesaling
- Wholesale Marketing Decision
- Promotion Decisions
- Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
- Marketing Communication Process
- Promotion Budget
- Promotion Mix Strategies
- Advertising Management
- Sales Promotion
- Sales Promotion Program
- Publicity
- Personal Selling
- Direct Marketing
- Brand Management
- Brand Equity Models
- Brand Elements
- Designing Brand Strategy
- Brand Portfolios
- Managing Brand Equity
- Marketing Ethics
- Marketing Ethics
- Product Related Ethics
- Price Related Ethics
- Place Related Ethics
- Promotion Related Ethics
- Consumer Protection
- Managing Marketing Organization and Control
- Organizing Marketing Department
- Marketing Implementation and Control
- Digital Marketing
- Digital Marketing
- Social and Not-for-Profit Marketing
- Socially Responsible Behaviour
- Cause-Related Marketing
- Sustainable Marketing
- Marketing and Environmental Concerns
- Social Marketing
- Not-for-Profit Marketing
- Customer Value and Customer Relationship Management
- Customer Value
- Customer Lifetime Value
- Customer Profitability
- Customer Loyalty
- Customer Satisfaction
- Customer Relationship Management
- Database Marketing
- International Marketing
- International Marketing Decisions
- Types of Global Firms
- Competition Analysis
- Analyzing Competition
- Competitive Marketing Strategies
- Competitive Positions
- Balancing Customer and Competitor Orientations
- Logos and Taglines
Strategic Management
- Strategic Management – Concept and Types
- Levels of Strategy
- Forms of Strategy
- Process of Strategy
- External Analysis
- PESTEL Framework
- ETOP
- QUEST
- Porter’s 5 Forces
- Impact Matrix
- Strategic Group Mapping
- Internal Analysis
- Competitive Advantage
- Critical Success Factors
- Value Chain Analysis
- Benchmarking
- SWOT Analysis
- SFAS Matrix
- Strategic Advantage Profile (SAP)
- Business Strategies
- Generic Competitive Strategies
- First Mover Advantages
- Cooperative Strategies
- Industry Life Cycle
- Corporate Strategies
- Growth Strategy
- Stability Strategy
- Retrenchment Strategy
- Combination Strategy
- Turnaround Management
- Business Portfolio Analysis
- BCG’s Matrix
- Internal-External (IE) Matrix
- GE McKinsey Matrix
- Experience Curve
- Grand Strategy Matrix
- SPACE Matrix
- Strategy Implementation and Evaluation
- Strategy Implementation
- Strategy and Structure
- Strategy Evaluation and Control
- Control Mechanisms
- Strategic Incentive Management
- McKinsey’s 7S Model
- Management of Strategic Change
- Barriers to Change
- Models of Strategic Change
- Change Requirements
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Quantitative Aptitude
- Percentage
- Profit, Loss and Discount
- Ratio and Proportion
- Time and Work
- Mixture and Alligation
- Average
- Simple and Compound Interest
- Time, Speed and Distance
- Mensuration (2-Dimensional Figures)
- Mensuration (3-Dimensional Solids)
- Number System
- Number Properties
- Divisibility Rules
- Remainders
- Unit Digit
- Factors and Zeroes
- Highest Common Factor (HCF)
- Least Common Multiple (LCM)
- HCF, LCM and Remainders
- Digit Counting
- Digit Placement
- Permutation and Combination
- Probability
- Simple Linear Equations
- Problems on Ages
- Set Theory
- Venn Diagrams
- Cross Tabulation
- Quadratic Equations
- Simplification
- Surds and Indices
- Fractions
- Square Root
Reasoning Ability
- Number Series
- Letter Series
- Coding-Decoding
- Number Patterns
- Seating Arrangement and Puzzles
- Ranking and Ordering
- Direction Sense Test
- Blood Relations
- Calendar
- Clock
- Cubes and Dice
- Syllogism
- Mathematical Operations
- Classification (Odd One Out)
- Analogy
- Word Arrangement
- Statement, Arguments and Conclusions
- Data Sufficiency
- Counting of Figures
- Cause and Effect
- Non-Verbal Reasoning
- Series
- Analogy
- Analytical Reasoning
- Classification
- Water Images
- Mirror Images
English Language
- Reading Comprehension
- Cloze Test (Cloze Composition)
- Spotting Errors
- Fill in the Blanks
- Sentence Improvement
- Sentence Completion
- Sentence Rearrangement and Para Jumbles
- Jumbled Sentences
- Sentence Rearrangement
- Missing Sentences
- Vocabulary
- Synonyms
- Antonyms
- One Word Substitution
- Idioms and Phrases
- Word Meaning
- Usage of Paired Words
- Spelling Correction
- Grammar
- Parts of Speech (Word Classes)
- Articles
- Prepositions
- Determiners
- Subject-Verb Agreement
- Comparison of Adjectives
- Correct Usage of Verb Forms
- Question Tags
- Transformation of Sentences
- Active and Passive Voice
- Direct and Indirect Speech (Reported Speech)
Descriptive Paper (English)
- Essay Writing
- Letter Writing
- Formal Letter
- Informal Letter
- Official and Business Correspondence
- Precis Writing
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Syllabus of IBPS SO Marketing
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