Marketing Libraries – Is it good for your health?

Professor Alan Wilson

University of Strathclyde

Business School

Key Marketing Themes

Developing a Marketing Oriented Service

Identifying and Targeting your Key User Groups

Delivering a User Oriented Service Communicating and Promoting

Your Services

Developing a Marketing Oriented Service

The Concept of Marketing in the Commercial World

The whole of the organisation should be driven by a constant concern for its customers

Firms usually enter a business by creating products/services but stay in business only by creating and retaining customers at a profit

The whole business seen from the point of view of its end result, that is from the point of view of the customer

The Concept of Marketing in Libraries/ Information Services involves:

Define who users / potential users are

Focus on their needs

Co-ordinate all activities that affect the users

Meet Budget Requirements

User Satisfaction

Difficulties in Adoption

Library and Information Service Managers may lose the emphasis on the user as they get involved in the complex and demanding process of managing the organisation as the central purpose of their activities.

Financial Management

Personnel Management

Production Management

Promotional Management

The User

Production Orientation

The focus and emphasis is on having the latest service, technology and database

Little attention is given to marketing research and service planning

If users are unhappy, it’s because they don’t use the service properly

Sales Orientation

The focus is on volume of users, not on cost effective service provision.

The prevailing point of view is that all users should be given whatever he wants.

There tends to be weak linkage between true user needs and wants and the planning of the services to be offered

Financial Orientation

The emphasis tends to be on short range cost savings at the expense of the future sustainability of the service.

Cost reduction efforts may sacrifice service quality

The focus is not on user requirements but on internal considerations and reporting mechanisms

For the Marketing Concept to Work:

All decisions must be preceded by the question:

WILL OUR DECISION AFFECT OUR USERS?

When in doubt, ask the user. Image is as important to the user as

actuality: as long as the user thinks the decision will affect them, it does!!

For the Marketing Concept to Work:

Opinions about users’ views will no longer do, we must have facts. With marketing research data, the

number of bad decisions is reduced, as well as the number of arguments.

For the Marketing Concept to Work:

Loyalty to the organisation and the service is not as important as loyalty to the user. When a wise organisation creates a successful new

service it should immediately plan the next successful version which will destroy the first one: if you don’t users may seek that service elsewhere.

If the user thinks the service is good, it’s good. If the user thinks the service is poor, it’s poor. Educating the user to think differently is an expensive and time-consuming business.

Identifying and Targeting your Key User Groups

Squares

User Segments

Users have different preferences and requirements when seeking information

The priority they put on each of these will vary

The different priorities will determine the user segments

Need to determine the different ways of delivering information to meet these different needs and priorities

Example of Benefit Segmentation in the Toothpaste Market

Benefits Sought CategoryDecay Prevention Large families

Age:25-40Educated parents

Brightness of Teeth Teens and YoungSmokers

Flavour / ProductAppearance

ChildrenLess educated

Low Price MalesAge: 35-50

Example: Cabinet Towels

Hand Drying

In PublicWashrooms In Staff

Washrooms

In Kitchens

1. Vandal proof

2. Reliable Servicing

3. Inexpensive

4. Appearance

quality popular

1. Inexpensive

2. Low Maintenance

1. Hygiene

2. Multi-use

3. Space saving

So what do your user segments require?

24 hour access Info comes to user Help to access

correct information Self help Immediate

availability Updating service

Very technical information

Ability to browse Somebody to gather

the information On-site resources Free information Most recent

information

Prioritise the Segments

Determine the key target segments for your service

Who are the secondary or tertiary user segments?

Is this reflected in the way you run the service?

Remember, it is unlikely you can satisfy all of the people, all of the time.

Delivering a User Oriented Service

The Service Encounter

Moment of Truth Perceived quality is realised when the

service provider and the user meets Interaction impacts on service

differentiation and service quality Interactions need to be managed A service is an experience

The Service Encounter Cascade

Hotel Visit Check in Porter takes to room Restaurant Meal Wake up Call Checkout

A failure at one point results in greater risk for dissatisfaction at each ensuing level

Same for a physical or virtual library visit

Questions that should be asked

Which phases of the user service sequence provided by your service most concern?

What goes wrong, why, and what might be done to improve it?

The User Service Sequence

Finding out about the Service

Requesting the Service

Delivery of the

Service

Packaging / Presentation

of the Service

Invoicing/ Charging for the Service

Providing Feedback

Market Research

Evaluation of the Service

Asking Users User surveys ( various formats) User groups / group discussions Monitoring Complaints/ Feedback Observation Mystery Shoppers

Communicating and Promoting Your Services

What do we want to say about our Service?

The Virgin Brand

Quality Innovation Value for Money Fun Sense of Challenge

An Integrated Service Brand

The ServiceStaff

Behaviour

Communication Environment

Brand

Values

Communication Decisions

1. What are the communication objectives

2. Who are the target audience

3. How much can be spent

4. What message should be sent

5. What method should be used

6. How should the result be evaluated

Communicating with Users

Personal Contact Telephone

Contact Advertising Public Relations Direct Mail Newsletters

Exhibitions Posters Leaflets Signage Brochures Directories Internet

Assessing Communication Activities Does it address our objectives? Will it reach the Correct Audience? Is the Message Clear? From the users’ perspective, is it jargon-

free? Does it have initial impact? Does it attract attention by addressing

potential user needs and suggesting how we can satisfy them?

Is it clear what the potential user should do next?

Is the style consistent with our other services and communications?

In summary:

Develop a Marketing Oriented Service

Identify and Target your Key User Groups

Deliver a User Oriented Service Communicate and Promote Your

Services