Lecture Topic

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Lecture Topic

• MARKETING OF THE CARIBBEAN LIBRARY
• AND
• INFORMATION SERVICES

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Lecture Plan

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Reasons for marketing the Caribbean library
  and information services
• 3. Issues related to the marketing of the
  Caribbean library and information services
• 4. The relationship between marketing and
  information technology
• 5. The marketing planning process in libraries
• 6. Marketing Library Information Services in the
  Caribbean
• 7. Conclusion

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By way of introduction I would like to ask simple
questions and then try to answer them

• What is a library?
• Passive - a collection of knowledge (traditional
  approach, conservative, inward looking)
• Active a service for informing users (Modern
  approach, outward looking - Marketing approach)

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What is marketing?

• The definition of marketing by the UK Chartered
  Institute of Marketing states Marketing is the
  management process which identifies, anticipates
  and supplies customer requirements efficiently
  and profitably.

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What is involved in marketing?

• Actively monitoring the needs of its customers
  (users and nonusers)
• Matching itself and its services with identified
  customer needs so as to satisfy them
• Making its services known by communicating with
  customers
• Measuring customer satisfaction in order to make
  any necessary adjustments .

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Reasons for Marketing

• Libraries are called upon to justify their
  existence
• The belief in the past that libraries do not need
  to be marketed because their importance to
  society should be apparent to all is no longer
  valid.
• Libraries today need to justify their existence.
• They need to convey what is unique about the
  access and services they provide.

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Libraries have to compete for funds

• In today's economic climate, with costs rising
  it has become a challenge for libraries to
  survive.
• They depend on the support of others for their
  existence.
• Competition in the marketplace is increasing
  the demand for information, while the budgets for
  information centers are decreasing.

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Competition for Funds

• Libraries of all types have to compete with other
  organizations or departments for funds.
• Public libraries have to compete for public
  monies that provide for their existence.
• Special libraries find their funding is
  frequently targeted during parent organization
  budget cuts.

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Libraries have to compete for customers

• Libraries are no longer the only information
  sources e.g.
• There is free access to web information
• There are non-library and fee access information
  providers (Consultants, Information brokers)
• Bookstores
• Online book dealers

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Libraries have to maintain their relevance

• Librarians must realize that their customers have
  ever-changing needs, which makes their library
  market very dynamic.
• They have therefore to communicate and work with
  their customers not only to provide information
  about what their libraries are doing but also to
  enable them to learn about the community it
  serves.
• Libraries have to remain connected with their
  communities.

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Libraries must ensure their visibility

• Information services both traditional and
  non-traditional still remain comparatively
  under-utilized despite the developments in data
  banks and information technologies.

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Libraries must enhance their image

• People who are in positions to employ librarians
  are not reading much in their professional
  literature about a librarian's value. They need
  to be made aware of the services and products
  that are provided and their value.
• Librarians should be the resource that the local
  power structure goes to for information.
• Marketing may enable information services and
  their staff to find their place in society.

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Libraries must enhance their value

• Librarians must project themselves as
  well-trained, technologically savvy information
  experts. The general public must see the value
  that information professionals could bring to
  sophisticated information challenges.

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Issues related to the marketing of the Caribbean
library and information services

• There is confusion about what the term
  marketing means. Much of this has to do with the
  interchangeability of terms such as 'promotion',
  'public relations', 'publicity', and 'marketing'.
  There is also confusion about marketing
  libraries the perception is that marketing is a
  business tool and not applicable to library
  settings.

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Lack of training and education

• In the article I wrote I hinted that often
  librarians do not promote library services well
  due to inadequate training and knowledge of
  marketing tools and techniques.
• Despite the growing literature on library
  marketing, there remains an inadequate
  familiarity with the total marketing concept
  among librarians.

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Complex and complicated task

• Marketing is a complicated problem for
  libraries because of their wide range of products
  and services from books to Internet access, and
  an extremely diverse audience that ranges from
  children to seniors, public officials to business
  people, and students to faculty, etc.

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Money and attitude

• Lack of funds is often used as a reason or
  excuse not to market. However, marketing library
  services is not simply a matter of spending
  dollars on promotion and advertising. Marketing
  is also a matter of improving the customer's
  experience of library services. The attitude of
  library staff as they interact with customers is
  what shapes customers' experiences and 'markets'
  the library to those customers.

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Marketing and information technology

• Library is not merely a room or building full
  of books and computers it is services and
  activities.
• Services and activities can be marketed on
  the library web site by using library web pages
  as portals or starting points to the rest of the
  Internet and to the community it serves.
• Library web pages should have links to
  community pages, local schools, local information
  and institution sites, other corporate web pages,
  etc. And, because the library web site itself
  needs to be marketed, libraries should also work
  with these other groups for a link back to the
  library.

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Library Web Sites

• Library web sites can also offer access to all
  types of products, services, and materials such
  as customized access electronic postcards and
  greeting cards email services. web resources
  from local information sources such as the
  newspaper index and business directory local
  history programming activities (online book
  clubs, book discussions, technology classes
  online, summer library programs, and online
  reference), and selling library products online.

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customized access

• As customers acquire greater access to more
  databases, electronic journals and other online
  information resources, customization and
  personalization of library and information
  services become more important, particularly when
  users do not have to enter the physical facility.
  Customizable portals have become popular in
  academic libraries and corporate information
  centers, and, as users become more accustomed to
  customizable features on the Internet, they will
  expect the same options from all their libraries.

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The Internet

• The Internet has the power to improve the
  library's image and to allow the library to offer
  enhanced services. Although it takes time to set
  up and maintain services on the Internet, it can
  reap rewards in terms of user satisfaction and
  recognition.

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Use E-Mail

• Libraries should promote the use of
  information technology as an integral part of
  library services by using e-mail as a tool for
  marketing its products and services.
• The benefits of using e-mail to communicate
  with customers include building relationships
  and developing loyalty by informing users of new
  products and services, seminars, events, etc
• Conducting market research by analyzing users'
  messages and creating and maintaining one-to-one
  relationships with customers.

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Use E-Mail

• Where a large proportion of the users are on
  e-mail it is an easy way of reaching them,
  quickly and cheaply. It can be targeted more
  precisely than most other methods and so is
  effective at reaching specific audiences. By
  maintaining up-to-date address lists different
  user groups can be targeted with different
  versions of the advertising message'.

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Marketing the Technology Itself

• Marketing the library through technology goes
  hand-in-hand with marketing the technology
  itself.
• Many communities and community members are not
  aware of the technology that the library already
  offers. In order to be able to market libraries
  through technology and to market the technology
  itself, the technology needs to be usable and
  friendly.
• People need to be provided with training so
  they can use these services easily and
  effectively.

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Marketing Today

• The rise of social media powered by Web is a
  dramatic change for marketing. Wikipedia defines
  social media as the online tools and platforms
  that people use to share opinions, insights,
  experiences, and perspectives with each other.

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social network service

• A social network service focuses on the building
  of online social networks for communities of
  people who share interests and activities.
• Most social network services are primarily web
  based and provide a collection of various ways
  for users to interact, such as chat, messaging,
  email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging,
  dicussion groups.

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Using Modern IT in Promotion

• Be part of the multimedia wave.
• YouTube, MySpace, blog and WIKIS are examples of
  new tools that you need to understand in order to
  effectively use them to reach your markets.

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YouTube

• YouTube is too big a marketing opportunity to
  overlook. Create short videos and post them to
  YouTube and other video-sharing sites.
• YouTube is a popular video hosting service. Users
  can view and rate videos and upload their own.

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MySpace

• MySpace is a popular social networking website
  offering an interactive, user-submitted network
  of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups,
  photos, music and videos internationally.

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WIKIS

• Wiki's are a way to get your voice heard on the
  Net. You can start a wiki about anything you
  want. This allows you to discuss something that's
  important to you while at the same time getting
  opinions and information from other people that
  visit your wiki. Allow your readers to become
  part of your Web site. They can add their ideas
  to your wiki and make your site that much better.
  
• The best part about a wiki is that you don't need
  to learn any new software or install anything or
  upload any files to your computer. You also don't
  need to know HTML or any other type of
  programming language. You just need to type into
  your browser. Simple.

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Weblog

• blog (short for weblog) is a personal online
  journal that is frequently updated and intended
  for general public consumption.
• Blog can be hosted on librarys website.
  Generally, weblogs are devoted to one or several
  subjects or themes, usually of topical interest,
  and, in general, can be thought of as developing
  commentaries, individual or collective on their
  particular themes.

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Marketing Planning - General

• Marketing Requires a Team Approach
• Every employee is a trusted spokesperson about
  the library in the eyes of the customer.
• Marketing library services is a responsibility of
  everyone in the organization. It is the service
  that the customer receives from all of the staff
  that helps them perceive the value of the
  library. Although front line people primarily
  shape the customer's experience, support
  personnel, rarely seen by customers, are also
  involved in customer service.

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Personal Skills

• Your manner whether in person or on the
  telephone, will affect your users' rating of the
  library. You need to be professional and use
  quality procedures but you also need to smile and
  establish a personal relationship with as many of
  your users as possible. If you react positively
  to complaints, people will be encouraged to tell
  you about other things they would like changed.

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Personal Skills

• Actively listen to and participate in the
  conversations about your library. By actively
  listening you can learn what your customers care
  about and get smarter about designing and
  delivering services that delight your audience.

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Internal Marketing

• Internal marketing requires that heads of
  libraries and information centers be committed to
  taking the lead and insuring that those
  activities which are the essence of internal
  marketing - internal communications and
  customer-consciousness among employees - are
  embraced.

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Internal Markets

• Internal markets are the employees and
  departments within the library or the
  organization who are both internal customers and
  internal suppliers. Good internal working
  relationships enhance external relationships.

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Marketing Planning Process

• WHAT IS A MARKETING PLAN?
• The market plan is the actual process which will
  establish the library's business goals and
  objectives and figure out how to achieve them.
• The marketing plan is the tool which will ensure
  that the library services and products are viewed
  in a focused and clear way.

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Steps in the Marketing Planning Process

• Market Research (Background Research and
  Analysis)
• Market research involves the systematic
  gathering, recording and analysing of data''
  relating to the demand for a service or product
  (Katz, 1988).
• Information gathered through market research will
  provide the potential for opportunity-identificati
  on and the basis for making marketing decisions.

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Market Research (Background Research and
Analysis)

• There are two basic functions of market research
  
• (i) To reduce the uncertainty of the
  decision-making process of marketing
• (ii) To monitor and control the performance of
  marketing activities.

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Market Research (Background Research and
Analysis) Step

• This step involves a careful examination of the
  overall mission of the library and an analysis
  also of its collections, services, budgets,
  plans, reports, and any statistical information
  the library may have on library use and users.
• The step also involves examination of
  Macro-environment - the forces which operate in
  political, economic, social and cultural and
  technological contexts. They are known in
  marketing jargon as PESTs.

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BACKGROUND RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS -CONTD

• In the event, however, that this information
  is not available in the library then it ought to
  be a top priority for the information
  professionals to begin collecting such
  information immediately.

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BACKGROUND RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS - CONTD

• An analysis of this information would enable
  library managers to assess the strengths and
  weaknesses of staff, stock, services, equipment,
  physical facilities, and finances in order to
  determine whether it would be prudent to either
  market more the products we already have in our
  libraries or whether to produce new products to
  improve existing library services.

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BACKGROUND RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS - CONTD

• The review and analysis stage would reveal
  whether a new marketing plan is necessary or
  whether an earlier plan already present in the
  library could with some modification and
  adjustment be used to achieve the purpose in
  mind.
• Review and analysis stage would also reveal the
  number of programmes that need to be implemented.

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Caution

• develop one or two programmes which can be
  implemented rather than developing too many
  programmes which can never be implemented.
• Making a decision in this regard would
  necessitate assigning priorities to projects
  that are the most critical to implement in terms
  of user categories to be served.

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DECIDING ON PRIORITIES

• What benefits do we want to offer to our target
  market?
• Do we want to increase the usage of our library
  among our present users?
• Do we want to attract potential users?
• Do we want to create or acquire new products for
  current users?
• Do we want to create or acquire new products for
  potential users?

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RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

• After deciding on priorities in terms of which
  products to produce and which user groups to
  target, it is necessary to find out what
  resources will be required to accomplish our
  prioritized marketing projects

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RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

• In the event additional resources are required
  then a more realistic appraisal of the exact
  resources needed will have to be made taking into
  account the impact of external factors such as
  political, economic, social, and technological
  on projected resource requirements.

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MARKETING PLANS - OBJECTIVES

• Once the problem of resources has been tackled,
  the next step would be to clearly articulate the
  objectives of the marketing plans.
• The objectives we articulate must be specific,
  measurable and have a time limit. They must be
  consistent with the overall mission of our parent
  or sponsoring organizations.

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MPLEMENTING MARKETING PLANS

• Professor Jerome McCarthy gave us the widely
  known Four Ps of the marketing mix product,
  price, place and promotion.
• PRODUCT Implementing the marketing plans
  requires understanding of the concept of Product
  Life Cycle which implies that all products pass
  through four successive stages known as
  introduction, growth, maturity and decline.

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Product Life Cycle

• Introduction Phase
• A special effort must be made at this stage to
  advertise the new product
• Growth Stage
• The product achieves a wider distribution and use
• Maturity Stage
• The level of use of product stabilizes

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Product Life Cycle

• Decline in the Demand Stage
• May be caused by either new rival products
  appearing in the market or a change in customers
  preferences

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Product Life Cycle

• A decision regarding whether to introduce new
  products or to redevelop the existing products
  can be made by identifying the particular stage
  in which the product is in the Product Life
  Cycle.

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PRICE

• Price products at a level at which library can
  afford to produce them and users can
• afford to buy them

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PRICE

• Factors to be considered in Pricing
• ability of the potential customers to pay the
  price
• size of the demand
• analysis of the production costs
• impact of competition

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PLACE

• 'Place' refers to where, when and how a product
  will be made available.
• Use Both Traditional and Modern Marketing
  Techniques
• Learn from Others - We can enhance the marketing
  of our Library and Information Services by
  learning from others. Not copy things blindly but
  see what is applicable in our particular type of
  library bearing in mind the resources you have
  available at your disposal.

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Place - Simple Requirements

• Attractiveness of the library
• Reliability, dependability of library service
• Responsiveness, willingness and promptness of
  staff in the delivery of services
• Size of the collection
• Suitability of study space
• Availability of photocopying machines
• Relevancy of library programmes
• Convenience of library hours
• Safety of the location
• Fairness of the library policies
• Availability of computers

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PROMOTION

• Promotion is closely linked with Place. It
  is concerned with public relations and
  advertisement of new products.

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Newsletters and Leaflets

• Newsletters and leaflets are both a means of
  delivering information. A newsletter can be used
  to list interesting new web sites, new journals
  and online services, and perhaps more general
  science news of interest. It does not have to be
  long but should be produced on a regular basis.
  Leaflets and guides can be handed out, and
  displayed on notice boards. The library notice
  board should be in a prominent place.

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Use Both Traditional and Modern Techniques

• Make sure EVERYONE knows you have something new
  in your library
• Send out flyers announcing it
• Set up a display (if you have room)
• Invite key users for a personal demonstration
• Signs and posters
• Feature story in your newsletter
• Talks and seminars
• create promotional videos about your library

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Library Home Page

• A Library Web home page serves as a promotional
  tool advertising in-house library services and
  electronic information resources on the web. The
  pages should include an e-mail link to the
  library making the librarian easy to contact.

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EVALUATION AND CONTROL

• Evaluation and control is the final step in the
  marketing planning process. It gives feedback on
  whether or not our ongoing plans are working or
  whether improvements are necessary.

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Conclusion

• 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).

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When Not to Market?
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Practical Assignment

• List the items you would include in a leaflet to
  acquaint new users to your library.