A Bold New
Marketing Plan:
Communicating the Library's Role
in Pharmacy Education
Sunday, July 20, 2008
1:00- 2:30 p.m.
Presented by
Peggy Barber
Library Communication Strategies, Inc.
for the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
Market driven libraries . . .
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Know their markets.
Treat everyone like a customer.
Have everyone on the marketing team.
Ask, ask, ask. Then Listen.
Innovate constantly.
Don’t fear the competition.
-Mission-Based Marketing, How Your Not-For-Profit Can Succeed in a More Competitive World,
Peter C. Brinckerhoff, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1997
©Library Communication Strategies 1830 N. Fremont St. Chicago, IL 60614
773-989-4514
librarycomm@librarycomm.com
www.librarycomm.com
Market Your Library:
Reach out to faculty and students
Goals
- Explore basic marketing principles and how they apply
- Learn how to build a marketing communication plan that works.
- Identify ideas and strategies to help you market your library.
Agenda
1:00
Introductions/Opening Remarks
Discuss: What is your biggest marketing challenge?
If you could have a marketing miracle, what would that look like?
Why market?
What you can do
Marketing Basics
1:15
Build a Marketing Communication Plan That Works
1:30
-The Message
What makes a good message?
Exercise: What’s the message?
-Target Audiences: Who needs to hear the message?
-Strategies: Beyond Bookmarks & Brochures
Discussion: What do you do now? What works?
Exercise: Write 7 strategies
-Evaluation: How do you know it’s working?
2:00
Introducing the Power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing
What it is, why it works, who should do it, how to do it
2:20
8 steps to success: The Plan Outline s- Introduction: The Why
- Goals: What is the dream?
- Objectives: What are the measurable outcomes?
-- Positioning: Image/Who are we?
Exercise: What's your unique selling proposition?
Wrap Up
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Marketing Basics
Marketing is that function of the organization that can keep in
constant touch with the organization’s consumers, read their needs,
develop products that meet these needs, and build a program of
communication to express the organization’s purposes.
—Philip Kotler/SidneyLevy, “Broadening the Concept of Marketing,” Journal of
Marketing, January, 1969
Key Elements
A four-step marketing program . . .
1) Research: Analyze the situation and get the facts (primary and secondary
research).
A. Describe the community including demographic characteristics and
trends.
B. Describe the library, including staff, support, governance, circ,
trends, etc.
C. Define your audience (market segments) and their needs
2) Plan: Set strategic goals, determine objectives, develop service strategies.
A. Start with the library’s mission. (Become mission driven, market
dependent)
B. Develop services and delivery methods to meet identified needs,
wants and desires.
C. Develop a positioning strategy.
3) Communicate: Public relations, advertising, advocacy, partnerships.
A. Develop a communications plan. Have a clear rationale. Formulate
goals and measurable objectives that support the library’s strategic
goals. Identify your positioning, message, target audience(s),
strategies for reaching them and evaluation measures. Establish a
budget, timetable and assign tasks.
B. Focus on listening to key markets.
C. Develop tools such as a basic fact sheet for the library, press kit,
talking points, etc.
D. Build a press contact list—media and opinion leaders—and use it.
E. Develop a media plan with timeline for sending releases, placing
stories and public service messages.
4) Evaluate: Are objectives (measurable) being met?
A. Set up evaluation procedures.
B. Measure performance vs. plan and adjust for the variance.
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Definitions
Advocacy: Persuasive communication designed to plead or make the case for a
cause or point of view. Libraries and other nonprofit organizations use advocacy to
win support for funding and other issues that affect their users.
Advertising: The purchase and placement of time or space for announcements and
messages in the media.
Brand: Brand is another word for identity as conveyed in print and other
communications. A logo is one way to convey identity.
Community relations: How a library interacts in the locality in which it operates.
Direct marketing: Promotion designed to go directly to a target audience—
generally direct mail.
Emarketing: Reaching out to particular markets of users/potential users using the
Internet as a communications and distribution channel.
Lobbying: Advocacy focused on passage of legislation. This is subject to IRS
guidelines in the U.S.
Market: Potential users or customers.
Marketing mix: A mix of controllable variables that may be used to reach goals
and objectives. Traditional core variables include: Price, product, place and
promotion.
Positioning: How you want users and potential users to perceive your product or
service—what separates it from the competition.
Point of purchase: Promotional materials placed at the contact “sales” point to
attract user interest or call attention to a special offer.
Public relations: All the ways that your library relates/communicates with the
public, including community/campus outreach, customer service, the media.
Publicity: Communications intended to promote your products or services that do
not involve paid advertising, e.g. news releases, public service announcements,
fliers, posters.
Strategic marketing plan: The entire marketing process including research,
design, development and distribution of products/services, communicating the
value and evaluating the success of these efforts.
Target audience/market: A segment of the population selected as the focus of a
marketing effort in order to accomplish the stated objectives.
—Adapted from the Section on Management and Marketing: Glossary of Marketing
Definitions, IFLANet, developed by using Peter Bennett's Dictionary of Marketing Terms,
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Library Communication Checklist
The following list is intended to help answer the following questions:
 Is this library welcoming?
 What is our message?
 What is our style?
1.
Accessibility—Can people with disabilities easily use the library building and
website?
2.
Brand/Identity—Does the library have a clear and consistent image?
Includes consistent use of logo and location info, including web address.
3.
Customer service—Is the library's commitment to excellent customer service
reflected in the courtesy and helpfulness shown to customers? Are there ID
tags for staff? Can staff members articulate the library message? Does frontline staff provide feedback on customer wants, complaints, compliments?
4.
Décor, decoration—Is the library too light or too dim? Is the library clean,
clutter free? Is it welcoming? Is there effective use of posters, banners, art,
and other promotional tools such as screen savers?
5.
Display—Are books and other materials displayed face out? Are there displays
of faculty and student work/research and the libraries’ special collections?
6.
Local ownership—How well does the library reflect the university? Are there
opportunities for the users to give feedback on library service and get
response? Share ideas and interact with other users?
7.
Message—Does your library have a key message that expresses its mission?
Does everyone on the staff know it? Are library policies clearly and widely
communicated?
8.
Media—Does your library have a presence in relevant media? Is someone
assigned to work with the press? Does your library initiate stories, interviews
and placements of feature stories, ads?
9.
Outreach—Does the library have a life outside the building? Does it have a
presence in the life of the university and the community?
10. Programming—Does the library actively offer and promote programs/training
sessions? How are programs promoted?
11. Print materials—Are there too many? Too few? What is the message? How is
it communicated on . . .bookmarks and flyers . . .letterhead and business
cards. . . newsletters? Are they attractive, professional?
12. Signage: Internal and External—Is the library easy to find? Is it easy to find
what you're looking for? Is the library mission visible? Does signage reflect
awareness of diversity?
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13. Telephone—Does a person or a machine answer the phone? If it’s a machine,
does your telephone greeting help or harm your image? Is it clear? Easy to
follow?
14. Website—Is the image/message consistent with other library
communications? Does it take advantage of the unique qualities of the Web?
Is the website a “branch library?”
15. Body Language—What is the unspoken message being delivered by staff?
What other ways are you communicating?????
Marketing as a Team Sport
The Challenge:
Focus on your campus community. Get their attention.
Listen.
See the BIG PICTURE.
Get beyond the library.
Responsibilities:
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Appoint a Marketing Team (director must be a member).
Develop marketing plan and budget.
Identify goals, objectives, benchmarks, new services, communication strategies.
Plan and develop ongoing research, including a schedule.
Develop and keep materials up-to-date, consistent in look, tone and content.
Monitor trends in libraries, community and nation.
Keep in regular contact with key markets (via attendance at key groups, etc.).
Sponsor in-house training on marketing related topics/library goals.
Develop expertise via training, reading and doing excellent work in marketing
and communication.
Spread the word. Be proactive.
Marketing Is…
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All about them—not us.
About people—not stuff.
Listening, not just telling.
Organized, focused, consistent.
A team sport—everyone has a role to play.
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Building a Marketing Communication Plan
Use this outline as a map for developing your plan.
1. Introduction (Briefly explain why you are proposing this plan.
Identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
(SWOT). Include relevant research, observations.)
2. Communication goals (The dream. Big picture. No more than 3.)
3. Objectives (3-5 doable, measurable outcomes)
4. Positioning statement (Briefly describe what you would like the
library’s image to be in the hearts and minds of others. What
makes you unique?)
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5. Key message What is the most important thing you want people
to know/do? In 10 words or less. What are three talking points
that support it?
6. Key audiences (Include external and internal. Be specific.)
7. Communication strategies (How will you deliver the message?
E.g. media, publications, displays, presentations, word of mouth.
Include a timetable, budget, and who’s responsible)
8. Evaluation (What worked and what didn’t? Did you accomplish
your objectives?)
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Getting Started
Follow the outline provided in developing a marketing communication plan for your
library. Your plan may be an overall, multi-year plan for the library or focus on a
particular project (winning support for a new building) or audience. Be sure to
indicate: Year I, Year II, Year III, a timetable, person responsible and budget.
Tips:
1.
Think first. Why are you doing this? Your introduction should explain the
purpose and nature of the proposed plan. Keep it brief with a few good
supporting facts and examples.
2.
Build your team. Involving others—library staff, students, faculty—makes for
more and better ideas and a stronger sense of ownership.
3.
Stay focused. All elements of the plan should build on and support the others.
Objectives should support the goals. The message should reflect your
positioning. Strategies should relate to your key audiences.
4.
Turn the dream into reality. Make your objectives concrete and measurable
steps toward achieving your goal. Evaluation measures should reflect your
objectives.
5.
Think like the people out there. Your positioning statement is also a vision
statement of how you want your library to be seen by others. What kind of
image do you want to communicate? What makes your library special? What
separates you from the competition?
6.
Target your audiences. Remember, if you try to reach everyone, you reach
no one. This does not rule out other more general communications. Your
internal audiences, funders and other influentials are givens. To be strategic,
your plan should focus on no more than 3 additional audiences.
7.
Keep it simple. Your key message should be easy to say and remember—
ideally, no more than 10 words. It should be something you can say in a
conversation, presentation or interview. It may/may not be adapted as a
slogan.
8.
Remember the rule of 7. What seven strategies can you use to reach your
target audiences, including internal and funders? If your strategies include
publishing a brochure, identify how and where will it be distributed and to
whom. Which groups will you contact for presentations?
9.
Be ambitious but realistic. Remember, “If it’s not doable, it won’t get done.”
10. Keep everlastingly at it. That’s what John Cotton Dana, perhaps our first,
best library promoter, would say. Evaluate and learn from your successes and
failures. Update and revise your plan accordingly.
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Sample Messages
We teach 21st century research skills.
Our library offers the best of both worlds—print and electronic.
We can help you study/work smarter, not harder.
Librarians are partners in teaching and learning.
We help researchers advance their knowledge and ours.
The library is where scholars come to visit the past and imagine our future.
Our library has resources the Internet can never offer.
Let us take you beyond Google.
We put the “know” in knowledge.
Information literacy means being information smart.
If you know how to use a library, you know how to learn for a lifetime.
Learning never ends at the library.
Got questions? We’ve got answers.
Slogans/Taglines
UA Libraries: Where You Come First!—University of Arizona Libraries
Connect. Discover. Create—Binghamton (N.Y.) University Libraries
Your Information Advantage—McIntyre Library, University of Wisconsin, Eau
Claire
Discover the power of information @ LCCC Library—Lorraine Community
College, Ohio
Information: Past, Present and Future—Briggs Library, South Dakota State
University
Ask a librarian. Get help now.—Hardin Library for the Health Sciences,
University of Iowa
Eat, Drink and Make A’s—Hunter Library at Western Carolina University, NC
Preparing for the Future, Commemorating the Past—Monroe Community
College LRC, N.C.
Better research, better papers, better grades!—Rutgers University Libraries,
New Brunswick, N.J.
Your kind of place: Your library. Online. On campus. On your way. —
University of North Carolina, Wake Forest, N.C.
For more messages and slogans, see the ALA Campaign for America’s
Libraries: https://cs.ala.org/@yourlibrary/.
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Good Ideas
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All first-year students at the University of Richmond (Va.) receive a
personalized letter from an Outreach and Instruction librarian at the Boatwright
Library. The letter briefly introduces him/herself and the library’s services. Each
letter is signed and a business card enclosed. The letters work—many students
use the contact and some tell next year’s freshmen students about it.
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“Eat, Drink, and Make A's" is the headline on a poster produced by Hunter
Library at Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, N.C.). The poster features
a WCU football star (a Computer Information Systems major with a 3.9 GPA)
posed with a stack of books and a cup from the library’s café. The chancellor
asked for a copy for his office! The posters appear in all residence halls and
dining halls.
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Davidson County Community College Library (Lexington, N.C.) goes a step
beyond with a “Coffee Hour” sponsored with Student Services and Prism, the
College’s Cultural Department. The weekly event features free refreshments,
music, book signings and other cultural happenings. One student calls it “the
only time or place where faculty and students meet and talk on the same level.”
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Librarians at the University of Michigan-Dearborn take new faculty members
in their subject areas out for an orientation lunch. The lunches are paid for out
of the provost's faculty orientation budget.
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The library at South Dakota State University (Brookings) offers free coffee
and donuts for Finals Week event sponsored by various campus departments
and organizations. We are told there were no problems with trash or spilling.
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Library staff at Washington State University (Pullman) welcome new students
with a special “Information Station” set up at the entrance to the library. It gets
promoted in New Student/Week of Welcome resources, and other publicity. All
types of questions are answered. Library employees look forward to staffing the
desk and say they learn a lot.
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At Colorado College (Colorado Springs) the library created customized READ
posters featuring the president of the College, a faculty member and students.
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Introducing Word-of-Mouth Marketing
The very best way to get the word out is to tell people. Really. If every staff
member and user told 10 people about this incredible resource, and those 10
people told 10 more people, and those 10 people told . . .
Key elements:
 A plan
 A clear, memorable and consistent message
 A good product/great customer relations
 A prepared and committed "sales force"
 People who are willing to testify
Sample message: Did you know you can use the library in your pajamas? Our
website is open 24/7.
1.
Don't just pass out bookmarks. Encourage frontline staff to deliver the
message at every opportunity.
2.
Feed the grapevine. If someone indicates they are pleased with the service
they received, ask them to “Please tell your friends.”
3.
Send a message with your message. Add a signature line to your email
correspondence with the library message.
4.
Collect testimonials. If you hear a compliment or success story, share it
with the sales team so they can share it with others. Invite testimonials from
students and faculty.
5.
Enlist the whole library “family” as part of your marketing and sales team.
Make sure all staff (not just professionals or full-time)—know the message,
understand why it’s important and the key role they play.
6.
Seek out experts. Reach out to faculty, university administration and
student leaders and other referral sources to help deliver your message.
7.
Wear the message. T-shirts, buttons and other props are conversation
starters and can help make your point.
8.
Keep current. Make a point of reading library updates so you can be a
knowledgeable spokesperson.
9.
Be alert for new and creative ways of delivering the message.
10. Have fun! Be enthusiastic. Encourage your "sales force" to be. Remember, it's
not just what you say but how you say it.
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Some Wisdom about Word-of-Mouth Marketing…
“No advertising is as trusted as the spontaneous testimony of
delighted customers.”
--Betsy Sanders, former Nordstrom vice president
“Get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as
far.”
--Will Rogers
“It’s easy. Use the 3 Bs to get the word out: bars, beauty shops,
barber shops” --Liz Cashell, Director, Henry County Library, Clinton,
M0
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
--Bill Gates
Tips for Reaching Out to Faculty
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Have a plan/timetable for communicating on a regular basis.
Find out their preferred method of communication.
Make time for personal contact. Set a goal for number of visits.
Have a clear and consistent message.
Don’t just talk. Ask questions. Listen. Report feedback.
Take them to lunch.
Aim to keep them informed—not bombarded.
Talk in plain English. Avoid library speak.
Focus on how they can benefit, e.g. “We can help you…”
Give them your business card.
Don’t just tell them. Show them. Demonstrate new resources.
Encourage them to tell their colleagues, as well as their students.
Suggested Script for Faculty Visit
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Introduce yourself/why you’re there.
Ask about their special needs/challenges/suggestions.
Deliver your message. Personalize it based on what they have told you.
Conduct a demonstration (if appropriate).
Thank for their time.
Remember to...
Keep an open face/body.
Smile.
Listen.
Keep it brief.
Say thank you.
Send a thank you/other follow up.
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Resources
PUBLICATIONS
Libraries, Mission and Marketing: Writing Mission Statements That Work.
Linda K. Wallace, ALA Editions, 2004. 247 pp. $27 (before ALA member discount).
The mission statement can and should be both a communication and planning tool.
This book tells you how.
Mission-Based Marketing, How Your Not-For-Profit Can Succeed in a More
Competitive World. Peter C. Brinckerhoff, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1997. $49.95.
Clear, step-by-step ideas about identifying and understanding your markets,
considering the competition, needs vs. wants and lots more. Practical and
interesting.
Reinventing Library Buildings and Services for the Millennial Generation,
Richard Sweeney, Library Administration & Management, Vol., 19, No. 4, Fall 2005,
pp. 165-175. A research-based look at characteristics of the millennial generation
(1979-94) and how librarians and libraries can meet their needs and expectations.
Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing. George Silverman, American
Management Association, 2001, $17.95. Silverman says traditional advertising
doesn’t have the impact it once did, and makes a great case for an organized,
strategic approach to word of mouth. This is good news and a practical strategy for
libraries, since we couldn’t afford traditional advertising anyway.
ONLINE
Academic PR Discussion List
An idea exchange for academic library staff interested in marketing/PR related
topics. Ask a question and you’re sure to get an answer—or at least some good
ideas. Sponsored by the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL). To
subscribe, send a message to listproc@ala.org. In the body of the message, type:
subscribe ACADEMICPR followed by your first and last name.
Brands, Millennials and Universities
www.marketingprofs.com/preview.asp?file=/4/benson2.asp
Intriguing article by Joseph Benson about what those in academia should know
about the millennial generation, the choices they make and building a brand. From
the online Marketing Profs newsletter (Oct. 5, 2004).
Campaign for America’s Libraries: www.ala.org/@yourlibrary
Click on Academic and Research Library Campaign and you’ll find the @ your
library® Toolkit for Research and Academic Libraries with sample press materials,
ideas and strategies for promoting your library, including Terri Holtze’s “100 Ways
to Reach Your Faculty.” See Tools and Resources for slogans, downloadable
graphics, campaign research findings and more. From ALA and the Association of
College and Research Libraries (ACRL).
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John Cotton Dana Public Relations Awards:
www.hwwilson.com/jcdawards/nw_jcd.htm
Sponsored by ALA and H.W. Wilson, this annual competition honors outstanding PR
programs in public, academic, school and special libraries. You’ll find a tip sheet,
entry form and judging info on the website.
Library Research Service: http://www.lrs.org/
Comprehensive resource for research and statistics about public, school and
academic libraries. Includes tools for designing your own research and comparisons
with other libraries as well as links to opinion polls, economic and social statistics
and more.
LibQual: www.libqual.org
An excellent set of training and tools, including a Web-based survey, from the
Association of Research Libraries to help academic and research libraries assess and
improve their services, change organizational culture and market their services.
Marketing Library Services: www.infotoday.com/mls/default.shtml/
A bi-monthly newsletter with excellent ideas and advice for information
professionals in all types of libraries. You'll find practical suggestions for strategic
planning, increasing business and proving your value.
Marketing Treasures: chrisolson.com/marketingtreasures/indexmt.html
A free monthly newsletter filled with ideas, insights and examples of how libraries
of all types are getting their message out.
Speaking Faculty Speak & Abandoning Library Lingo:
http://www.trinity.edu/mmillet/files/Speaking%20Faculty%20Speak%20and%20Ab
andoning%20Library%20Lingo.ppt
A presentation by Michelle S. Millet, of Trinity University, San Antonio, on
communicating with faculty.
Wabash & Lake: www.wabashandlake.com
This Chicago consulting firm publishes an irregular free email newsletter telling how
to create "customer evangelists." This isn’t all about libraries, which makes it even
better.
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