Taking Care of Business
Joan C. Divor, Business Services Librarian
Burlington County Library System
Uri Toch, Reference Librarian
Schaumburg Twp. Dist. Lib. (IL)
Marketing’s Importance
“Community partnerships and marketing are very
important. A library is more than a building. It is
about relationships within a community. You
have to have relationships for your library to
thrive.”
Michael Madden, Library Director, Schaumburg
Township District Library
Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
EXPLAIN the benefits of business outreach
DESCRIBE what your library can offer.
CREATE an benefits-based “elevator speech”
for communicating your library’s value.
LIST local contacts for accessing the
business community & marketing strategies.
IDENTIFY 3 – 5 things you can do within the
next 3-6 months to build visibility.
Who are they?

What “segments” of the business
community should we focus on?


“Traditional” vs “Non-traditional”
Understand the fluid nature of business
segments.
Our Relationship to the Business
Community
– win
2. You can do this NOW
1. Win
Win - Win
Business
Good
the Library
Library – –
Good
forfor
Business

stature
/ imageknowledge
/ testimonials
 Enhanced
Free, premium
business

 Advocacy
Synergy –
Resources & staff

/ Support
 Partnering
Comprehensive
& objectives
 Sponsorship makes them look good
Unique & Powerful
Positioning!
You Can Do This Now - Exercise

Resources – start w. what you have now
Book resources (directories, circ books)
 E resources / databases
 Staff


Marketing – build on what you do now
Website
 Brochures, bibliographies
 Programs

Know & Describe Capabilities and Benefits
1.
2.
Know resources; train staff
Develop benefits-based talking points: 90
second “elevator”; 10 min ppt
The “Elevator” Speech Answers:
What do we do?
 Whom do we serve?
 What makes the library unique?
 How does the library bring value?

Targeted to your specific
audience.
Elevator Speech - B.A.S.E.




Brief
Articulate
Sincere
Enthusiastic
Exercise
Marketing in Action:






Outreach to community—personal touch
Outreach to community—the broad touch
Special displays in the library
At the reference desk/the ref. interview
Via Web 2.0 —e-letters, wikis, building
database for special contacts
Partnerships with the business community—
chamber touch and others
A Cost-Effective Approach: Word of
Mouth Marketing
Let others do the talking; the same way
businesses succeed
 Multiplier effect
 “Word of mouth marketing is a key to
the library’s future. We need to figure out
how to politely get in people’s faces.”
Gary Price
 Examples of word of mouth (buzz)
marketing

Sources of other Marketing Ideas
Library literature
 Library Marketing Committee
 Benchmarking other local libraries (Your
ideas here)
 Benchmarking other nonprofits/for profits
 Serendipity—other avenues

Barriers to Marketing Success
Time
$
 Training
 Library staff are often risk averse

Overcoming Barriers: Creating the
Marketing Mindset
Administration’s support
 Marketing gives us what we need–
statistics and partnerships.
 Entrepreneurial thinking (civic
entrepreneurship, increasing funding
options)

NEED: Business Know-How




Local contacts, govt agencies,
organizations
Business trends & market data
Business planning guidelines
Marketing directories
STRATEGY: A practical toolkit

Your website, and/or a program (hands on)
 Local focus
 Highlight library resources – especially
databases / ebooks
 Booklist circulating & reference books
 Screencasts on your website
BCLS Biz Gateway:
http://explore.bcls.lib.nj.us/business
Community Partnerships: Business
Content and Contacts
Government agencies offer access to
expertise.
 Colleges and universities have a wealth
of business expertise.
 Not only helps with programs, but helps
develop reputation in community among
other nonprofit organizations.

Possible Program Partners
Small Business Development Centers
(or other state agency)
 Small Business Administration (or other
federal agency)
 Federal Reserve (Money Smart Week)
 Division of Employment Services (state)
 Planning Departments (local)

Your Community Touchpoints
Exercise: List individuals and/or
organizations in your community that
serve the business community, that you
could approach and possibly partner with.
For each organization, list one or more ways
you could approach them or create a
relationship.
Marketing Scenarios: Applying the Mindset

A library that is already very successful
 A library with a small staff and small business
community
 A random comment at the reference desk
Exercise 4 - Worksheet / Discussion
3 – 5 things
Summary - Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
EXPLAIN the benefits of business outreach
DESCRIBE what your library can offer.
CREATE an benefits-based “elevator speech”
for communicating your library’s value.
LIST local contacts for accessing the
business community & marketing strategies.
IDENTIFY 3 – 5 things you can do within the
next 3-6 months to build visibility.
Summary – take-aways
Name one thing you learned or idea you
got today that you didn’t know before.
Email us ideas/articles
 We will share to others?
Build into a group == maybe become a
blog.
For More Information: Reads and Links
Inspiring Business Web sites
 Collection Development
 For more information

Know Your Library…
It’s Good for Business
Joan C. Divor, Business Services Librarian
Burlington County Library System
jdivor@bcls.lib.nj.us
www.bcls.lib.nj.us
Uri Toch, Reference Librarian
Schaumburg Twp. Dist. Lib. (IL)
utoch@stdl.org
www.stdl.org