Marketing Public LibrariesMarketing Overview

``Marketing is the management process which identifies, anticipates and supplies customer

requirements efficiently...''. Thus the essence of marketing involves finding out what the users

want, then setting out to meet those needs. As librarians we all participate in this process of assessing our users needs and trying to fullfil

them. Thus, we are already marketing our library information skills. However, in order to do this effectively librarians need to embrace the total

marketing function involving market research and analysis, service planning and promotion.

• In the consumer-driven approach, consumer wants are the drivers of all strategic marketing decisions. No strategy is pursued until it passes the test of consumer research. Every aspect of a market offering, including the nature of the product itself, is driven by the needs of potential consumers.

• A formal approach to this customer-focused marketing is known as SIVA[12] (Solution, Information, Value, Access). This system is basically the four Ps renamed and reworded to provide a customer focus.

• Product → Solution• Price → Value• Place → Access• Promotion → Information

Explore the marketing process

Why market?

• You're not the only information source in town anymore. You may not even be the only library in town because the Web offers access to many libraries! The availability of resources on the Web can change the way many users access information.

Why libraries?

• Marketing positions your library in the minds of the community as a "go-to" source for information and helps users understand what you have to offer them. Marketing builds good customer relations, and contributes to a positive relationship with media, businesses, local government agencies, and organizations.

• A current catchphrase is "Go where the users are." This applies to delivery of library services and to marketing the library.

• New resources are available and new ways exist to market library services, communicate the value of the library, respond to increasing demands for mobile services, and meet the growing need to integrate delivery of services for users involved in online communities.

Marketing Planning

Marketing planning begin with marketing process:• internal assessments• market research• setting specific goals• selecting promotion strategies• creating a plan of action• Implementation• Evaluation

Begin with the Library Mission Statement• Begin the marketing process by examining your library's

mission or purpose. • Assess library capabilities with a marketing audit, an internal

assessment. • Find out what products (services) your users want, and how

they perceive the library, through market research. • Develop goals and objectives based on your mission and the

results of your internal audit and external research into what customers want.

• To meet goals, select strategies to promote your products that will work best, be affordable, and reach your customers.

• Create a plan of action that describes all the steps needed to carry out the strategies for meeting goals.

• Evaluate how well you have done.

• Select ONE service or one user group for the purpose of this sample plan, e.g. reference, children's programming, an annual event, or pre-schoolers, non-English speaking users, retirees.

• Describe how marketing of this service or to this group will contribute to the library's mission. For example, if part of your mission is to serve the community, you could say that marketing will let the community know how you can serve them.

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

• The committee will initiate and/or coordinate the regular measurement of such subjects as patron use of library services, quality of collections, use of technology and impacts of technical operations.

• The Committee will undertake and/or coordinate measurements of the quality of services and collections and the needs and expectations of the Libraries' clientele to support strategic planning, facilities planning, budget or performance review cycles, vendor contract renewals, or technology/systems conversions. It will endeavor to conduct library assessment in relation to institutional goals and outcomes.

• The Committee will recommend to Library Council and/or other committees actions based on the results of measurement and assessment.

Marketing requires careful planning and begins with understanding the mission of the library. Marketing can help you succeed in

your mission, establish a positive image for the library in the community, and determine the best way to provide service to users.

Research and planning are critical first steps in marketing. After a product or service for marketing is chosen based on market research, the marketing plan is created and the goals, objectives, and promotion strategies are established

Specific goals, objectives and evaluation EXAMPLES• To increase the member of children with library card,

assessing library materials • To improve lifetime readers, thereby insuring educated and

productive future generation• 3 years campaign set specific goals for juvenile registration

and circulation each year with the final numeric goal of increasing juvenile registration

• To continue to provide programming for preschoolers.• To continue the summer library program.• To be informed and to inform legislators and the public about

library issues.• To continue to keep city council informed of building/grounds

upkeep as well as other library needs and activities.

Setting Measurable Objectives

• Setting Objectives for each year is a critical not only for setting our course but for us to create a marketing promotion plan to insure that the objective is set,this includes :

• Target for the 1st year of three years plan as example

• Target for the 2nd year • Target for the 3rd yearThis all involve numeric data getting the target

plan

Library ProductsProducts in the mix - what does the library offer?

• The marketing audit examines the library's products, the tangible goods and services such as events, programming, collections, etc.

• Market research provides information about user demographics (who they are, where they are, ages, interests, etc.) and determines the values and benefits of library products to your users. User demographics are changing, requiring careful examination of the marketing mix

It helps determine what library users are looking for in the way of product features such as variety, quality, and design, and what benefits such as good performance, quality, reliability and durability users demand in services, systems, programs, and resources

The 4 Ps

The marketing audit analyzes the the 4 Ps of marketing: • Product -- library services available to clients such as

interlibrary loan, reference, children's programming, or web access.

• Price of Service -- includes direct and indirect costs to produce and deliver the product, or actual fees if any.

• Place -- considers delivery and distribution of the products and services, location of services, availability, and accessibility.

• Promotion -- how libraries let users know what products are available.

Characteristics of Market

As part of marketing research and strategiesa.) Know the Market and realized that market is beyond

just the people we are currently served. Identify, quantify and target the market that we want to serve.

b.) Treat everyone like a customer. c.) Have everyone in the marketing team. d.) Ask, ask, ask and Listen e.) Innovate constantly in response to changing market

condition and customer needs

Promoting the Library promotion, the visible part of a marketing plan.

• Promotion lets the community know about library services or programs. Promotion is part of the marketing mix

• Successful libraries develop a variety of creative and innovative promotion strategies such as positive public relations, eye-catching displays, well-designed publications

(e.g. flyers and newsletters), interactive web sites, aggressive advocacy, advertising, direct marketing, book sales, friends’ groups, contests, good media relations, public presentations, blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other new technologies. Knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff members are also great promotion tools!

What can you do to convince a user to "buy" your product?

• POINTS TO CONSIDER:• What did you find out (or already know) about your users? That is, who

needs a particular service and how can you communicate the value of the service to those users who will benefit and for whom the service was developed?

• How will you reach those who will benefit? For example, • who reads news stories and newsletters? Who doesn't?

• Who comes into the library and sees displays? • Who only works online from home? • Who can never be sold, who has already been sold, and • who still needs selling?

Advertisement as Part of Promotion

It involves: • a description of the service requiring publicity; • description of the audience at which publicity is targeted; • details of the campaign method to be employed including type of publicity

to be used and method(s) of distribution; • execution of campaign; • analysis of campaign performance. The setting of clear promotional objectives will also ensure that the success of the

advertising campaign can be evaluated. From time to time it should be accepted that promotional activities have not met their objectives. At this point the marketing strategies need to be re-evaluated in the context of the feedback received.

The Medium Promotional activities can take many forms and the promotional media will

depend on the nature of the target audience and on promotional objectives. • Personal Skills • E-Mail • The Internet • Newsletters and Leaflets

The Message

Once you have decided upon the advertising medium you need to consider how to convey the message you want to get across. The wording and layout of the advertisement are critical.

The advertisement should be uncluttered with the text printed against a pale or white background making it easier to read. White ``space'' is powerful.

• Use good quality print. • Do not print texts in capitals as it is harder to read. • Use illustrations and pictures. • Keep the layout interesting, with bullet points, sub-headings and so on. • Use bold colors and catchy headlines and large print. • Express the service/product in terms of readers interests. • Use short sentences, short paragraphs, and avoid long words. Avoid jargon. • Give examples. • Look at other peoples advertisements and judge for yourself what is attention

grabbing.

SOUND Advertisement A good advertisement attracts Attention, arouses Interest, creates

Desire and stimulates Action, known as the A-I-D-A sequence. • Attention • Interest • Desire • Action The time and cost involved in advertising needs to be considered.

Whatever you do to promote your services will entail costs, even if it is only the cost of your time, therefore you need to make sure that you get full benefit for the cost incurred. It is also important to advertise at the right time and with the right frequency.

Promoting with new technologies

• Include new strategies as well as maintaining traditional methods. Investigate concepts, definitions and best practices for blog presentations, RSS, wikis, folksonomy, tagging, library catalog 2.0, multimedia, Flickr, Podcasting, You-Tube, social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook), virtual worlds (Second Life), Web 2.0, and Library 2.0.

• To attract Generation Y teens, it's necessary to understand how teens use social media, like blogs, social networking sites, virtual worlds, and podcasts.

Filipinos are 3rd facebook usersSurvey Conducted • In the Philippines however, digital is the third most frequently used medium with 11

million Filipinos aged 16-60 from Class ABCD homes accessing the Internet daily, following the more traditional media of television and radio, at 81 percent and 43 percent, respectively.

• Filipino online users are also spending an average of 9 hours a week connected, mostly for email (29 percent of online users check email daily), social networking (28 percent) and multimedia (20 percent).

• Young Filipinos, particularly those between 16-24 years old are in the front line of social networking.

• Growth in social networking has been fuelled by the transition from PC to mobile. Mobile users spend on average 3.1 hours per week on social networking sites compared to just 2.2 hours on email.

• Filipino digital consumers also have have a relatively large number of social network and brand friends. They have an average of 171 friends, higher than the global average of 120. Brand friends (engaging with brands and their activities on social media) are also slightly higher at the average of 5, compared to the global average of 4.

Web MarketingLibraries on the Web

• Some users never visit the facility. For others, a web site is just another branch of their favorite library -- and a great place to shop for information 24/7. More libraries are providing services and marketing on the Web as a response to changes in the way the world accesses information.

Information access has shiftedThings to consider on marketing public library:

• For many users, the web is integrated into their lifestyle. This is especially true of younger generations. Millennials expect research to be easy. They do not seek help from librarians. When they can’t find what they need, they give up and assume that the information cannot be found.

• Gen Y preferred to discuss information needs with a real person rather than find out what they needed on their own. The highest criteria on the students’ list of needs when seeking information was ease of use. They also expect customization and are technology veterans who use new communications

Suggestions for changing services include:

• Interactive group spaces, support for remote usage, wireless networks, and portals that combine catalogs, e-journals, reference materials, etc.

• Integrate library information and more multimedia resources into popular search engines and incorporate “open” web resources into catalogs.

• Use students on teams that design new services. • Represent services and instruction visually and in multimedia

modes • Explore services for mobile devices such as cell phones • Provide individual and group learning spaces equipped with

computing resources and provide comfortable spaces for informal gatherings.

• As libraries shift more services to the Internet, the library web site becomes increasingly important -- as a product (service) in its own right and as a major tool in marketing other products of the library. Libraries can use the Web to provide services, to market services, or as part of the marketing process.

A few tidbits about how some public libraries are marketing away:

• School libraries target students' interests: Details how one librarian turned a corner of her school library into a "Coffee House" and snuck in some info literacy too!

• Meadows library is tailored to city: The importance of understanding the demographics of your patron base is highlighted here.

• Community Library makes pitch to teen readers: Neat marketing and programming ideas from how one library celebrated Teen Read Week, which included talks from a comic book writer, a video game playoff, and an Open Mic Night.

• Library strives to be heart of community: This library features a used book store, cafe, gift shop and a conveyor belt/item sorter for returned books. Why? As the library director said, "We're no longer just a place to come and find books...People expect there to be more activity, instruction, education and enrichment."

• Patrons share library pride: The Des Plaines Public Library is a hopping place, due in no small part to its outstanding collections. One patron even said the library had a better DVD collection than Blockbuster. This library seems to know who its competitors are and are stepping up to them.

• As librarians we should be actively marketing and promoting our library services. The basic aim of marketing is to know and understand our users in order that the library is able to satisfy those needs in an effective way. A marketing plan is an essential tool which will enable us to focus our efforts. The market plan should assess where you are now (market research), where you are going (objectives) and how you are going to get there (strategies).

References:• Katz, B. 1988, How to market professional services, Prentice Hall.• Dinesh K. Gupta, Marketing Library & Information Services: International

Perspective

Conclusion