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.