Information Outlook, Vol. 6, No. 11, November 2002

Marketing: Realistic Tips for Planning and Implementation in Special Libraries

By Amelia Kassel

Amelia Kassel, MLS (UCLA, 1971), is president and owner of MarketingBase (http://www.marketingbase.com), a successful business, marketing, and competitive intelligence research and information consultancy firm. Amelia is a recognized author and national and international speaker. She is a frequent presenter and gives workshops for library and information conferences and associations. She has taught at the University of California Berkeley Extension for more than 15 years, first in the Library Science Division, and more recently for the Business and Management Education/Marketing Program. Amelia is author of The Super Searchers on Wall Street and many articles in Searcher Magazine and other information industry journals and newsletters. She can be reached at Amelia@marketingbase.com or 707-829-9421.

Time for Marketing

Many librarians are aware of the necessity for marketing, and yet they are not able to find the time for it. But some of the wisest know an exceptional secret: Marketing and writing a marketing plan (which serves as a guide to implementing marketing goals) are critical to the future of the profession and to increased support for libraries.

While this may sound great, most librarians still have a number of questions and concerns, such as these:

· How do you find the time for marketing?

· Isn't writing a marketing plan boring?

· Who will do the marketing?

· I just don't have time.

· I don't have a budget.

Fortunately, there are a number of librarians out there who have dealt with these issues. Some conduct low-cost marketing and promotional events, and others write marketing plans or study various marketing methods. They plan and then implement their ideas. Some have learned marketing through osmosis or trial and error, whereas others budget for and retain consultants who play an invaluable supporting role. Included in the group are solo librarians and consultants, as well as corporate librarians, who share marketing responsibilities with other staff or a team or are solely responsible for marketing.

Various library types, settings, and job functions differentiate these people, but one commonality is that all have found a way to allot time and funds for marketing. Moreover, all enjoy marketing and are enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge with others. Planning and preparing to market your library or information center does not have to be agony, although that's a common perception. The words of wisdom of these people will encourage those of you embarking on this new adventure and, at the same time, support you with practical and realistic techniques.

Finding Time

Laura Claggett (UOP LLC and formerly librarian at Helene Rubenstein Library for 18 years) summarizes a not especially obvious yet remarkable way to find time for marketing: "Marketing is part of the fabric of a normal day." Claggett has integrated marketing into her daily professional life; she doesn't consider it an extra activity. "Marketing is a way of thinking and acting," she said. "It's about getting the word out, always."

Others admit that marketing activities are time-consuming. Although it takes dedication, Laura Zick (formerly of Clarian Health Partners Medical Library and Informatics Training Program and now at Eli Lilly and Company) says, "You gotta do it, no way around it."

Lorene Kennard, librarian at Morningstar, conducted a user survey that gave her good ideas for a marketing plan. Then she sent out daily "Did You Know?" e-mails describing services during National Library Week. They were well receivedusers told her they couldn't wait for the next one. She says that, for the solo librarian, marketing and PR fall under the category of "be careful what you wish for." Kennard says, "I put off marketing for a long time because I was already swamped and I was afraid of being overwhelmed." She admits, however, that it must be done.

Budgets and Marketing

Marketing can be low-cost or sophisticated, but it should be considered imperative. Each organization must realistically assess the financial and staff resources necessary for an investment in marketing programs. Ann Swing Kelly's paper, "Marketing Information Products for Your Library/Organization: From Nickels and Dimes to Dollars,"¹ focuses on marketing strategies with a variety of price tags.

Debbie Hunt, library consultant and one-time solo librarian for an engineering firm with 300 employees, has some practical suggestions. "Walk around to see what employees are working on," she said. "Find ways the library can help."

Judith Siess, publisher of the OPL (One Person Library) Newsletter (http://www.ibi-opl.com), calls this "personal touch PR" and covers the topic in her upcoming book about marketing and advocacy. Hunt says that while focus groups can be time-consuming and difficult to put together, monthly brown bag lunches asking for user feedback worked like a charm and helped create word-of-mouth referrals for library services. Hunt suggests a newsletter and signs publicizing library services created with desktop or wordprocessing software using colored paper and large typesomething that just about anyone can do.

At the engineering firm, relationships developed between employees who otherwise did not see each other regularly, which ultimately affected the company's bottom line. The CEO backed the library and recognized its value. Support from upper management makes a huge difference; if you don't have it, one of your first tasks should be to communicate your value. Indeed, part of marketing is making everyone, especially CEOs, aware of how information services can increase profits, advance new product development, prevent disasters through due diligence, and safeguard a company's market share with competitive intelligence research.

Kristine Dworkin, marketing specialist for the Global Library and Information Services (GLIS) at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, writes about the Coffee Schmooze and the High Tea Talk Series.² "The series has since expanded from putting on events dealing with issues such as electronic copyright, news retrieval technologies, and patents to include experts on everything from tacit knowledge to venture capital and technology spin-offs," Dworkin says. "This has not only led to lively discussion, it has elevated the library's image as a place that challenges and feeds employees' intellect."

Margaret Yussack was hired to market the Canada Ontario Business Service Centre, which provides information services to businesses in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and three surrounding communities. She didn't have a big budget, so she secured free advertising from regional business newspapers. Yussack also developed strategic alliances with organizations that could use the center's servicesor whose constituencies couldsuch as economic development offices, libraries, funding institutions, government information centers, and other service organizations. These groups became part of an unpaid, informal marketing team and were a significant source of word-of-mouth referrals. Without a marketing background, Yussack used networking skills to meet people in the community and successfully promote the information center.

Outside Consultants

A number of organizations commit to a significant budget for a consultant to help develop or write a marketing plan, advise about marketing programs, or conduct surveys or focus groups to gather customer input. They view this commitment as an investment that is important to their future. Barbara Wilson of the Rohm and Haas Company Knowledge Center retained a communications consulting firm—CRA, Inc., based in Valley Forge, PA—to develop a communication strategy rather than a marketing plan. One assumption in the strategy is that it's critical to prioritize important stakeholders in the company and build relationships with them. To accomplish this, the consultant suggested using a disciplined approach for one-on-one contact rather than the more common mass communication techniques. The goal is to encourage employees to "buy in to the library" and feel a sense of ownership. Library staff are charged with building relationships with both existing users and potential customers (the consultant calls this "structured relationship management"). A library staff member is assigned to develop a relationship with a prospective client according to a flexible plan for the frequency of contacts. The outreach librarian serves as "relationship manager."

When Peggy Carr (Carr Research Group, http://www.carr-research.com) was manager of the Business Information Center at Martin Marietta Corporation, she hired Chris Olson and Associates (see article by Olson on page 18), a marketing firm that specializes in promoting the services and products of libraries and information professionals to develop brand identity.

"This was dynamite," Carr says. "We received three PR awards and flowed into a wonderful routine marketing program."

The Marketing Plan

Market planning is a continuous process. It's true that preparing a business or marketing plan can be daunting (and some would say boring), but you don't have to let it get the best of you. Debbie Hunt recognizes that there are experts who write marketing plans for a living but says, "I know the library and the people." Identifying and developing a body of knowledge about your target markets cannot be emphasized enough. To learn what your market wants, keep abreast of trends that affect it. Stay on top of what people need, either informally, through ongoing daily contacts, or through user surveys that are conducted periodically or cyclically as corporate goals change. Becoming familiar with your clients' requirements is just the start. You also have to learn the buzzwords and what makes the target market tick or respond. Then you must communicate the benefits of your services in various formats, either print or electronic, in a way that your market can relate to. Hunt describes the marketing plan as a "living document." She suggests putting it where you can see it, reviewing it monthly, and evaluating whether it's working. A marketing plan must be revised annually, on the basis of what's working and what's not, and according to new goals, services, or target markets. Remember that it's necessary to assess your changing goals and target markets in the context of your organization, and to offer new products and services as needed.

Whereas Hunt encourages a simple marketing plan, Laura Zick developed an extensive plan for her organization, covering many details.³ The nearly 40-page plan includes the following:

· Executive Summary

· Description of Program Environment

· Tasks

· Task Implementation Timeline

· Financial Considerations of Task Implementation

· Survey and Survey Results

· Appendix One: Focus Group Questions

· Appendix Two: Prototype E-Newsletter

· Appendix Three: Example of a Virtual Reference Center

Zick says that the planning process generated marketing ideas, but the major advantages were that it coalesced staff thinking and got the staff behind the plan. She says, "The work of creating a marketing plan (or just knowing that it's being written) often pushes some staff outside their comfort zones." To cope with the issues that come up, Zick offers the following advice:

· Explain the reason for the plan and emphasize its importance (i.e., it is not an "extra" but a critical piece of work).

· Involve users in the plan. Brainstorm with them to see what marketing techniques have worked for them.

Zick believes that users are often clamoringor worse, silently wishingfor services and resources that are already available. They just don't know that what they want is available. A lot of a marketing strategy is about communicating to users what already exists.

She also believes that marketing should never stop. Don't decide to prepare and implement a marketing plan without accepting the fact that marketing must be repeated, ad nauseam!

And most important, she says, remember that "Every interaction with a customer is a marketing moment."

When Marketing Doesn't Work

As a librarian for a special library within a public library system, Uri Toch says, "We never had a clear marketing plan, and this hurt us." Although the library is no longer functioning, he cites the basic problem as "no lines of communication" with their patron base and believes that more aggressive marketing to decisionmakers would have been the answer to the problem. Uri's assessment explains it alla marketing plan and regular and consistent marketing to the right target market, and with the right message, is the answer.

Product Shows

Lisa A. Zwickey, senior research specialist at J.J. Keller and Associates, Research and Technical Library, says her library has gotten an overwhelmingly positive response to its marketing efforts. The library participates in a quarterly in-house trade show featuring new product offerings and showcasing internal capabilities for sales representatives and other employees. Library staff highlight new library materials, library-produced reports, new research tools, and, most recently, a virtual tour on the library intranet. Each staff member takes his or her turn at the booth during the show. They take requests for materials and research and give away books and other prizes.

Conclusion

Whether you're working on a shoestring budget or with sizeable financial and staff resources, dedication to the marketing process and to creating a marketing plan will make a difference. Those in the know agree that this is an investment for a successful future.

Additional Resources

· Laura Zick's website bibliography: http://www.dochzi.com/bibs/market.html.

· "Marketing Special Libraries Bibliography" and other resources from http://www.sla.org.

· Marketing Tips for Information Professionals: A Practical Workbook by Charlotte Wilson and Roger Strouse (adapted and updated from a workbook by Peggy Carr). Research associates: Charlotte Wilson, Dairy Management, Inc.; Corilee Christou, Cahner's Publishing; LexisNexis Staff. LexisNexis, 1999. http://ip.lexis-nexis.com/reference/MarketingTipColor.pdf .

· Amelia Kassel speaks about marketing and conducts a seminar: "How to Write a Marketing Plan."

· "Practical Tips to Help You Prove Your Value" by Amelia Kassel. MLS (Marketing Library Services), May/June 2002, http://www.infotoday.com/mls/may02/kassel.htm.

· "How to Write a Marketing Plan" by Amelia Kassel. MLS (Marketing Library Services), June 1999, http://www.infotoday.com/mls/jun99/how-to.htm .

¹ See http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Library/InFire/Conferences/1999/Kelly.pdf

² Dworkin, Kristine D. Library Marketing: Eight Ways to Get Unconventionally Creative, Online, January 2001

³ See http://birch.palni.edu/~cihslc/CMLmarket/cmlmarket.html