Today … Toolkit Taster Session

After today’s session you will: •  Have a better understanding of the

benefits of strategic marketing •  Have an overview of our 7 step

approach •  Have explored some of the key

techniques •  Be prepared to apply the toolkit for

your own purposes •  Know how we can help you further

The 7 Step Toolkit

2008: How our toolkit came to be? •  New Quality Model •  Wanted to build relationships with

our customers •  Wanted to nurture conversations •  Strategic marketing held the key •  Apply strategic marketing to our

service culture •  Exploration led to the creation of the

toolkit – How Do You Like Your Eggs In The Morning?

•  Toolkit consists of our workbook and a tried and tested workshop

Since its inception: •  Central strategic planning tool at University of

Sunderland, Student and Learning Support e.g. Quality Model Campaign

•  Shared with staff from over 90 libraries and information services throughout UK

Applied for various purposes:

-  re-defining services and service offers

- strategic marketing/communication plans

-  planning customer conversations

-  Specific purposes e.g. Customer Service Excellence Award

“This is more than a toolkit – it’s a way of thinking, planning and delivering high quality, relevant services.” (CILIP UCR Marketing Group)

The 7 Step Toolkit Step 1. Establish where you want to go – your strategic direction and priorities

Step 2. Identify your overall service offers

Step 3. Identify, segment and describe your customers

Step 4. Define a targeted service offer for each customer segment (to meet their identified needs)

Step 5. Transform your service offer into benefits for each customer segment

Step 6. Translate these benefits into targeted messages or conversations for each segment

Step 7. Communicate your key messages through customer conversations

What is marketing?

it is not: •  An ‘add-on’ to the end of the

service planning process •  Just about promotion •  Describing features of a

service /product •  Inward looking •  ‘One size fits all’

it is:

•  A strategic management process •  The starting point of all service

planning •  Entirely customer led •  Benefit driven •  Outward and forward looking •  Personalised and targeted

A strategic tool – to help you develop customer relationships through planned service offers and conversations See page 4

What can a marketing plan do for us?

•  Ensure we know who our customers are and what they need •  Plan services that fulfil our customers’ needs

•  Effectively communicate the benefits of our services

•  Ensure customers are motivated to use our services

•  Ensure customers make most of our services

•  Demonstrate the difference we make and the impact we have

All about nurturing customer conversations ‘A dialogue over time with a specific group of customers whose needs you understand in depth, and for whom you develop a specific offer with an advantage over the offers of your competitors’

McDonald

Step 1. Establish where you want to go – your strategic direction & priorities Internal

•  Mission statement

•  Values / culture

•  Vision / strategy

External

Vision / outlook of: •  Wider organisation •  Sector

•  Nationally

Step 2. Identify your service offers

SWOT •  Strengths •  Weaknesses •  Opportunities •  Threats See Step 2 page 9

List your offers today and those you may be planning for the future

Step 3. Identify, segment and profile your customers

Why segment? •  Everyone is different •  One-size does not fit all •  Bespoke is often not possible •  It makes it manageable

How? •  Use what you already know •  Have conversations with them •  Group those with similar needs, wants,

motivations and characteristics •  Profile them so that you know all about them •  Make sure everyone involved knows who they are

‘The identification of individuals with similar characteristics and wants ’Jobber

Why?

Need to know who your customers are and what they need before you can begin to provide it.

You need to know them so that you know how best to have conversations and build a relationship with them.

See Step 3 page 12

US National Park customer segmentation •  Urban Beach Boys 3.8% •  Inactives 22% •  Young New England Wind Surfers0.9% •  Nature Lovers 27.2% •  Musclers 6.2% •  Thrill Seekers 8.3 % •  Hunt-n-Fish Mens Motor Club 6.3% •  The Take it Easies 25.3%

Tourism Queensland customer segments

Active Explorers Holidays...where they can be challenged and feel alive

Stylish Travellers Holidays...where they can stand out from the crowd, and appreciate and enjoy the finer things in life Self Discoverers Holidays...where they can enrich their mind and nourish their body Unwinders Holidays...where they can reflect and recharge at their own pace Connectors Holidays...where they can bond with family and friends Social Fun-seekers Holidays...where they can share good times with friends, new and old

Visit Britain Segments of UK customers who holiday in own country

Who are your segments?

Who are they? •  What is their situation?

Part Time? Full Time? Off Campus? •  Where are they in their journey?

New? Returning? Progressing? •  What subject do they study/research?

What are they about? •  What difference are they looking

to you to to make for them?

•  What barriers do they face?

•  What are their priorities?

•  What do they want to achieve?

•  What might motivate/interest them?

•  What do they want to know about? Talk about?

Activity 1. Segment your customers

10 mins In your group identify some key customer segments. You could do this by: •  Situation/customer journey •  Location •  Skills Level •  Personality type

Or you could think of some other ways.

The Active Explorers segment profile

Accommodation •  not bound to a particular type of accommodation •  segment most open to staying in backpacker

hostels, eco-lodge resorts or camping grounds •  may stay with friends and relatives in a luxury

hotel /resort or standard motel •  just needs to be clean and comfortable

Getting around •  likely to drive, but will sometimes take a caravan •  may fly, yet prefer to avoid airports •  of all segments, most likely to visit multiple

locations during a holiday •  unlikely to go on daytrips

Dining •  not looking for quality dining options •  prefer accessible food - so local pub and club

food is fine •  venue isn't so important, the chance to

experience different tastes is what it’s all about

Social interaction •  enjoy meeting and mixing with others •  mostly travel with their partners, but travel with

family is an option

Holiday patterns •  more likely than other segments to think limited

holiday time restricts the distance that can be travelled

•  enjoy weekend breaks •  will take the opportunity to build holidays around

sporting or other events

What they look for in a perfect holiday

Visit Britain segment profiles High Street - the largest segment with 22% of the population, they are aged between 26 - 35 and their average income is £22,150. They care what others think and are trend followers, rather than setters, although they like new experiences (new to them, as opposed to cutting edge). They'll pay for quality but only if it's tried and tested. More likely to take long holidays abroad but are attracted to bargain short breaks in the UK and are unlikely to go off the beaten track. A third have children. They are moderately interested in art and culture. Cosmopolitans - the second largest segment at 15% of the population, they are relatively young (although a third of them are post holiday) and their average income is about £26K. They are independent and willing to try new things to get new experiences and challenges, both mental and physical. They like to be active but also appreciate peace and relaxation, and art and culture. On average they take over 4 short breaks a year and they enjoy a wide variety of things, especially activity/themed holidays.

Discoverers - they represent 13% of the population, are most likely to be between 26 and 35, have children at home and be high internet users. They are independent and not influenced by style of brand but they are keen on value for money and rate good service highly. They are much more likely to take a bargain break/late deal than a planned, packaged holiday and are also more likely to weekend in England than abroad. Style Hounds - representing 12% of the population Style Hounds are young (most are 15 - 25) and heavily influenced by brands, fashion and trends. Their average income is £23,000. Half have no children (so have a high disposable income) and 45% have a young family. They are motivated by fun and excitement and are not very interested in cerebral or cultural pursuits.

Activity 2. Profile your customers 10 mins Choose one of your segments. Have a go at profiling them. Think particularly about what ‘difference’ they look to you for.

It may help to think about things like:

•  Their mode of study. Subject area. Point in learning journey. •  What barriers, difficulties, challenges they may face? •  What might motivate, inspire, interest them and what will not? •  What do they need most from you?

See Step 3 page12

Step 4. Define a targeted service offer for each customer segment (The 4 Ps) Define a targeted service offer based on your segment’s needs and preferences. Thinking about: •  Product? Which services can you

offer to meet their needs? •  Place? Where and when can the

customer use those services to best meet their needs?

•  Price? What does the customer have to give up in order to use your services?

•  Competition? Who else provides what they need?

See Step 4 page 18

‘To implement the marketing concept successfully and satisfy customer needs, different product offerings must be made to diverse customer groups.’ Jobber

Matching products and services to your customer segments

Step 5. Transform your service offers into customer benefits For each service offer to each segment identify the specific benefit of that service offer to them. Define: •  The difference the service will make

to them

•  Why the price is worth it

•  Why your service is better than the competition

•  The overall benefit of your service offer

See Step 5 page 21

Benefit: ‘An offer of some entity in which they get more than they give up as perceived by them and in relation to alternatives including doing nothing.’ Perla

Activity 3. Define your service offers and articulate their benefits for your segment

15 mins Using your customer profile:

•  Define a range of service offers for your segment (Table 1)

•  For each service offer articulate the benefit (or the difference it will make) they will make to your segment (Table 2)

Step 6. Translate your benefits into targeted messages: AIDA principle •  Attention

Make me actually notice

•  Interest Spark enough interest to make me read/listen further and see what this could do for me

•  Desire Provide an incentive or something that makes me want the benefits you are offering

•  Action Motivate me enough to take the time /effort to actually take up the service

See Step 6 page 25

Step 7. Communicate your key messages by nurturing customer conversations Plan effective ‘benefit’led conversations or campaigns to deliver your messages to your customer segments:

•  Build a meaningful brand – cultural, verbal, visual, physical, personal

•  Identify vehicles to convey your messages eg. Facebook, blogs, Twitter etc

•  Consider the most effective timing •  Ensure staff buy-in and nurturing of

relationships with ‘their own audiences’ •  Remember conversations are two way.

Capture the difference you are making, articulate and share it

See Step 7 page 29

Targeting your offers to your customer segments By who they are University of Sunderland Library Services

By what we offer i-escape Accor Hotels

Matching your brand to your customer segments

Building brands to meet the needs of specific segments

American Beauty Aramis Aveda Bobbi Brown Bumble and Bumble Clinique Donna Karan Estee Lauder Jo Malone Kiton Lab Series

La Mer Mac Cosmetics Michael Kors Missoni Ojon Originals Prescriptives Stila Tommy Hilfiger Tom Ford Beauty

Estée Lauder has a total of 27 brands which include:

Planning your conversations Timing Tools Staff Engagement

University Library Services Sunderland: Quality Model Campaign pinterest.com/UniOfSunLib

Encouraging customer conversations

Thomson Holidays January 2011 campaign Thomson Holiday Campaign 2011

Are you a …. Toe dipper? Night owl? Early bird? ‘Whoever you are we’ve got your holiday…’

Activity 4. Plan a conversational campaign with your customer segment 15 mins Draft ideas for: •  A planned conversation(s) with your customer

segment to convey the benefit of your service offer(s) •  A campaign to best convey you conversation(s)

- Timing - Vehicles – online, printed publicity, competitions, staff engagement

Activity 4. Sharing your campaigns 10 mins:

Please share your campaign with each other

The 7 Step Toolkit Step 1. Establish where you want to go – your strategic direction and priorities

Step 2. Identify your overall service offers

Step 3. Identify, segment and describe your customers

Step 4. Define a targeted service offer for each customer segment (to meet their identified needs)

Step 5. Transform your service offer into benefits for each customer segment

Step 6. Translate these benefits into targeted messages or conversations for each segment

Step 7. Communicate your key messages through customer conversations

Interested to know more… If you would like to:

•  learn more •  adapt the toolkit to your own needs •  discuss the possibility of us running a full workshop for

your library

........ just get in touch.

kay.grieves@sunderland.ac.uk

We’d love to hear from you