Reaching the 2440 Year Old Segment

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Reaching the 24-40 Year Old Segment
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• Presented to
• MCLC
• Deborah Brown McCabe
• School of Global Management and Leadership
• Arizona State University
• August 19, 2008

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Perhaps no place in any community is so totally
democratic as the town library. The only entrance
requirement is interest.
Lady Bird Johnson
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Overview of the Session
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• Motivation for the study how target segment was
  determined
  
• Qualitative study procedures and results
• Quantitative study procedures and results
• Strategies and tactics for the future

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Objectives of the Qualitative Study
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• Identify the information needs of the target
  segment?
  
• Identify how the segment currently meets its
  information needs (sources such as Internet
  search engines, book stores, libraries, online
  databases, etc.)
• Determine if the target segment has a third place

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Objectives of the Qualitative Study
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• Identify what draws the segment to its third
  place
  
• Determine which channels of communication are
  most effective in educating the target segment
  about the services and resources available at
  libraries
• Identify the services the target segment wants in
  libraries

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Research Design for the Qualitative Study
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• Qualitative/exploratory study
• Literature search
• Depth interviews
• Focus groups
• Projective methods

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Research Design for the Qualitative Study
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• Projective methods
• Word associations
• Sentence completions
• Fun, Halloween, Information, Weekend, Reading,
  Elections, Relax, Holidays, Books, Advertising
  
• After work, people relax by _____.
• When I am looking for information on something, I
  would _____.
  
• People who like to read books would _____.
• When I am reading a book, I like _____.
• When a company is promoting its services, the
  best way to reach people is _____.

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Key Take Aways
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• Information needs satisfied by a quick Internet
  search
  
• Lack of time, not lack of interest, keeps segment
  away from the library
  
• Segment wants instant gratification and prefers
  personalized services

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Key Take Aways
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• Large portion of segment is not aware of the
  collection of CDs and DVDs housed in the
  library.
  
• Perception of a shortage of books, DVDs and CDs
  that are of interest to them.
  
• Perception that the service is unfriendly.

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Key Take Aways
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• Word-of-mouth is viewed by the segment as the
  most trusted vehicle for receiving information
  
• TV is the easiest way to get the groups
  attention
  
• Other channels have potential.
• Do not want to be contacted by text message or
  flyer

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Key Take Aways
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• Improve the library by commercializing it in some
  way
  
• Add cafeteria
• Coffee bar
• Locate library in closer proximity to other
  public places
  
• Malls
• Restaurants
• Organize events for weekend nights

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Key Take Aways
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• Conflict in what the segment wants to see in a
  library
  
• Wants traditional library resources
• Wants commercial model of a bookstore
• Wants two sections solitude vs. social
  interaction

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Objectives of the Quantitative Study
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• To build on the exploratory results in the
  qualitative study
  
• To sample a representative group of 24-40 year
  old residents of Maricopa County and predict the
  segments behaviors

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Objectives of the Quantitative Study
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• To address these issues
• The best channels for reaching the target
• The targets evaluation of existing library
  offerings
  
• The targets evaluation of potential library
  offerings
  
• Third place factors
• To evaluate the issues in relation to
  classification variables

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Quantitative Research Survey Design and
Development
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• Survey design
• Issues to consider
• Representative sampling
• Question design and reducing possible error
• Socially desirable responding
• A business of the future vs. a library

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Quantitative Research Survey Design and
Development
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• Survey administration
• Issues to consider
• Zoomerang sample
• Descriptive statistics provided
• Data analysis inferential statistics

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Quantitative Study Results
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• Sample size of 1034
• Median age 33
• 83 have some college education
• About 2/3 earn between 25-74,999 annually

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Quantitative Study Results
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• Average number of visits in typical 3-month
  period
  
• 3
• Average number of visits in last 3-month period
• 3
• But thats not the whole story . . .

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Quantitative Study Results
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• Median number of visits in typical 3-month
  period.
  
• 1
• Median number of visits in last 3-month period
• 0

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Quantitative Study Results
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• Ways to slice and dice the data
• Demographic groupings
• Gender
• Education
• Race/ethnicity
• Income
• Users vs. non-users
• Lifestyle/values groupings
• What interests them

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Qualitative Study Findings
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• Importance of third place factors
• This business should be a place to . . .
• socialize with friends
• meet new people
• relax
• work on physical fitness
• work on mental fitness
• have something to eat or drink
• be entertained

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Qualitative Study Findings
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• Importance of third place factors
• All factors are of above average importance
• 1 relaxing and socializing with family and
  friends
  
• Men more interested than women in the business
  being a place to meet new people
  

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Qualitative Study Findings
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• How the business should communicate about its
  offerings
  
• 24-40 year olds most prefer communication via the
  Internet regardless of race/ethnicity, income, or
  education.
  
• Segment least prefers flyers on the house door or
  in the utility bill or text messages
  
• Overall, women are more positive about all
  communication modes.
  

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Qualitative Study Findings
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• Segments interest in current offerings
• Average likelihood of frequenting the business if
  it has
  
• Downloadable books, music, movies, on-site
  entertainment, information presentations.
  
• Below average likelihood of frequenting the
  business if it has
  
• Gaming, subscription-based resources, social
  networking, books, DVDs, CDs for purchase,
  no-fee, downloadable podcasts.
  

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Qualitative Study Findings
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• Segments interest in current offerings
• In general, women are more receptive to these
  offerings than men and people with a minimum of
  some college are more receptive than those with a
  high school education or less.

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Key Take Away
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• The segmentation story should be about . . .
• Users versus non-users

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Qualitative Study Findings
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• Differences in the views of library users vs.
  non-users
  
• Users, overall, have more positive views than
  non-users about the library.
  
• Younger users from the segment are the most
  receptive to the third place concept and all of
  the products and services presented.

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Qualitative Study Findings
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• Can categorize their responses to current and
  potential offerings into two categories
  utilitarian and hedonic
  
• Utilitarian getting fit physically and
  mentally, meeting new people
  
• Hedonic relax, eat and drink, entertainment

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Qualitative Study Findings
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• The users are higher on utilitarian goals and
  hedonic goals than non-users
  
• They are very high on their interest in
  traditional offerings
  
• They are high on their interest in potential
  offerings.
  
• Why is this?
• They are the doers they are the engaged.

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Engaging Users and Non-Users
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• Tell them the story they need to hear
• Users make them more aware appeal to their
  utilitarian and hedonic goals
  
• Consider tactics consider strategic goals
• Non-users think strategically

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Libraries will change, technologies will change,
even patrons will change, but the role of
libraries as the gateway to something greater
should always stay the same.
Quiet Please Dispatches From a Public Libraria
n
by Scott Douglas