Day

A day in the library on my tod in which I learn much goss that shall remain off blog. Couple of training sessions with both flavours of gender. Phone call from a confused Ken from Printing.com who I'll visit tomorrow. Couple of FoI resolutions. Heap of good sounds.

Home, Ying Wah then do battle with the cat's claws. Get scratched and bitten for my troubles. Poor Katie Cat ain't happy. Play with the excellent Tagcrowd. send a link to it to some coms and marketing folk I know and like. Check Arseblog and then relax.

More Postcards

Postcard Front

Postcard Back

Ken, the friendly designer we've been working with to source postcards to advertise the Cheshire and Merseyside e-journals and e-books gets in touch. The proof of the postcard is in as you can see above. The concept is you can access e-resources wherever you happen to be with an internet connection....

.....that'll be Matthew then

Spineless? Worth a look.

VLE, LDB, VD.....

There are times I feel like the Dario Gradi of the local library world. Makes a change from being old man Steptoe I suppose. Today's challenge comes from one of Davey B's boys, Tom. Can't help liking them because Dave B is the happiest man I know, Tom is just plainly pleasant and a human techie and Sean the other element of the triumvirate is also deeply pleasant. Must be a nice office to be in. Why the Gradi bit? Tom needs coaching through the how the hell do we market the VLE with no money and precious little time. Just like Crewe then, no money etc. Share some ideas and agree to call in tomorrow when I'm at Mossley or catch up with him on the phone.

Mind you the stoopid buggers think I have it sussed.....suckers!

Spooked Is Me

Monday

Freaky, sort the box of management crap we lent to Steve the QPR fan and get it back on the shelf. Weird kinda deal, he teaches the clas and takes a subset of the library as a mobile branch library type of thing. Seems to work OK.

FoI troubles me but one I was expecting, what I'm not expecting is a call from Sefton trying to make sense of one of their requests.

Important lesson for library users, heavy breathing behind me may get my attention eventually but far better to say hello, I tend to appreciate it more! It's also quicker. Also if I'm involve in doing something else and haven't noticed you enter the library just poke me with a sharp stick!

Chat to Gill about bids following the recent work we've done. Looks like BMJ is the front runner. Freaks me out because I see a need for more marketing to get people using what we have yet the support for that stuff is subsumed in the lust for more resource. I understand where it comes from, it's taken me years to slap it out of myself! Still begin work on the marketing toolkit we've developed for the group which gives them some free things they can do if they can be arsed to put some sort of effort in. In this I'm my usual stoopid self, the CD cover is everything! Shallow git or what!

Today

Bloods hell, not yet 8.00 as I type this and I'm on top of things so far. Dinner is prepared for tonight it just needs heating up. I've done the bits of tidying that I've got on my prevent the next Big T timetable. Cal is ready for school. News is done. Freaky or what! Corporate induction today and Helen is on the induction so where do you go with that one. Still it'll give her three days decent kip! Although I don't want to think how induction could impact on your dreamstate!

Footsteps

The river was rough, the wind was roaring and the roads all led away from Reggie today. Some quick FoI work, a section 21 and chasing up somebody else and the usual MP type request. tPCT have a bunch of orange crates delivered, they're on the move out of Reggie.

Update my marketing data and begin preparing for the next set of it. By and large the plan is to hit the AHPs first and then move through the segments.

Morning medline sesh with Helen and Nicola, hope it was OK for them. PM VLE stuff, not particularly focussed and my mind is elsewhere - stoopid bugger.

Oh dear I'm falling towards family history....need to watch that one. Still could be worse.....

More Marketing Bits and Bobs

So to the Zookoda experiment, there nestling in my inbox today was a kind message giving me broadcast permissions for the account I set up the other day. In the interim I'd created a mailing list for our Modern Matrons, and established the mail I wanted to send out.

The advantage as far as I can see is a pretty looking mail that asks to be paid attention to (it appealed to my inner-Paul)

As opposed to earlier efforts when I adopted the DIY approach.

The other advantage is though the metrics, I can see what's happening to the thing as it goes out (of course I get stoopidly excited about this).

I guess though the key thing about it is the fact that as a tool it's made me think about segmentation, headline benefits and all of the stuff that I should be thinking about. That and the metrics are important in that we've never really had a concrete way of measuring things. See the reading pays off.

Ambition as the Basis for Marketing Planning

Notes from Kendrick T (2006) Developing strategic marketing plans that really work: A toolkit for public libraries. London: Facet.

Foundations

Effective marketing will be characterised by actions to achieve specific targets within a wider vision. It will target key segments.

Key Dimensions of Ambition

• Vision - Vision provides context for later marketing activity. It's the mental image of the future desirable state of the library.
• Mission - Mission statement is a medium term movement towards the vision and is not only aspirational but is achievable. Key question for the mission statement is - Who's it for? Library Funders? Users? Library Staff?

• If for the user will they find it acceptable? Is it a service they want? Is it a service they recognise?
• If for the staff, do you want to wake up and recognise the statement as your working life?
• If for funders, does it include all the right buzzwords?

There is potential for conflict between the three and will challenge the development of a co-ordinated marketing plan. Effective marketing needs co-ordinated comittment.

• Values - defining values that underpin the mission helps generate a coherent understanding of the nature of the organisation.
• Image and Brand - vision, mission and values provide a context for the way the library projects its image and brand, the day-to-day perception of the library by its users.

Key Performance Indicators and Objectives (Quantitive Ambition)

Library ambition is defined by its performance indicators. They are necessary to measure progress and will determine some key priorities.

How to Write a Statement of Ambition for Your Library

Combines both Qualitative and Quantitative statements:

• Should have input from all levels of staff within service and stakeholders
• Should not be too long to confuse the marketing context nor to short and appear to be a glib slogan.
• Relates to the specific service it is designed for.

Errors to avoid:

• Having one person write the statement of ambition - delivery requires consensus and team effort.
• One statement of ambitions might not fit all, it is better to write one for each stakeholder group to reflect their vocabularies.
• Forget what the service stands for and believes in
• Forget the principles by which you operate
• Being anything other than excited and passionate about what you do
• Being out of touch with users, library staff and funders
• Being out of touch with performance metrics.

Timescales: Initially take no more than half a day developing the ambition. Do not set it in stone!

Strategic Marketing Planning for Libraries: An Introduction

Notes from Kendrick T (2006) Developing strategic marketing plans that really work: A toolkit for public libraries. London: Facet.

You Are Almost Certainly Doing Marketing Already

Already raising awareness of service with marketing materials, events, new book lists etc.

Need to recognise that promotional activities and materials are an important part but are not the WHOLE of marketing planning.

It's Time for More Professional Marketing of Libraries

Why?

• Maximise Return on Investment in Library Services
• User needs are changing as a result of contact with private sector, web, third sector etc. providers. Library offer needs to change to meet new needs.
• Branding is increasingly improtant and marketing is the key way to develop and support image and brand allowing lifestyle releationships to develop.
• Users are suprised at range and pricing of library services offered to them, marketing is about communicating messages over time.
• Marketing way of developing benefits into offer that communicates value to stakeholders. Planning allows outcomes to be monitored and measured.
• Can counteract negative stereotypes.

Bout inform, educate and persuade users, non-users, and funding bodies of the value and benefits of service.

The Challenge of Marketing Libraries

• Inadequate funding allocation to marketing, requires sustained and ongoing committment.
• Run's counter to 'do good' attitudes and beliefs of some library staff.
• Natural reticence on part of library staff means they want to be notices rather than shout about what they do well!
• Lack of clarity about the role of the library in society.
• Lack of marketing exposure and education amongst library staff.

Add to that the belief that marketing is a deceitful and dishonest profession. Ignores the notion that marketing is based on good communication, knowledge, responsive to user need, high energy, proactive, requires the need to persevere against all odds. All characteristics librarians claim to have.

Marketing aims to benefit from mutual profitibality with library users.

How can we make sense of marketing for libraries?

McDonald (2002) defines marketing as:

A dialogue with specific groups of customers whose needs you understand in depth and for whom you develop an offer with differential advantage over the offers of competitors.

• It is therefore a two way process of conusmer and librarian engagement
• Collects data routinely as series data that can be used to improve user focussed library services
• Segments users to create clear focused offers
• Identifies strengths and weakness' of competitors to provide information before developing service offers with superior benefits

Key thing to remember is each outcome expected of marketing will require different activity.

Marketing Planning to Help Libraries Prosper

Needs to be planned to be effective. Marketing mix will vary dependent if marketing is designed to:

• Increase number of users - will need to start from awareness raising, requires sustained effort.
• Increasing frequency of visits - focus' on existing users and their needs.
• Increasing amount of use of resources - core reader development role.
• Increasing the active life of users - encouraging loyalty with existing users and re-engaging lapsed users.

An Effective Marketing Planning Process for Libraries

• Effective marketing identifies drivers for users and builds services around them. Service must be differentiated not one size fits all at the minimum amount of cost.
• Balance between success in both users and funders eyes.

The plan needs to be a living document. Can come in two formats strategic and tactical.

Common plan elements are:

• Ambition, vision, mission, strategic intent - sets context
• The market for library services - highlights details from background research into market to justify strategy.
• Segmentation - identify segments and build rest of the plan around them.
• SWOT - by segment.
• Objectives - by segment - difine where you want to go with each segment, objectives expressed in purely quantative terms. Makes impact measurable.
• Strategies that are general not segment specific. Consider product, place, price, promotion, politics and partnerships.
• Action plan - how do you put all this in place and get it done.
• Resource requirement - identify required resources, keeps it realistic and justifies budget by allowing you to calculate return on investment.

What Sort of Process is Marketing Planning?

• It's an inclusive team process that the whole library should be involved in.
• It's a set of projects in a programme and needs to be project managed.
• It's an art that requires creativity.
• Should be integrated with all other planning.
• It's an ongoing process not once a year, monitored results should
• It's a change process that doesn't allow standing still.
• It should be fun and about growth and change.

Benefits of Marketing Planning for Libraries?

• Focus' on medium to long-term objectives.
• Sound basis for choice between competing activities
• Provides structure for systematic planning to prevent 'drift'
• Gives common ground for management and frontline staff.