Doing your homework

Who knew that marketing meant doing so much homework? And that you could never actually turn in it in because you always have to redo it?! Doing homework on your patrons, however, will have big pay-offs for you as you market away.

The American Marketing Association website, as I've mentioned before, can be a big help. There's an academic resource center with all kinds of marketing research materials for your use. Many come from, as you might expect, Uncle Sam, but there are other fun tools too that I was unfamiliar with like SecondaryData.com and PollingReport.com.

My favorite marketing web site, KnowThis.com contains a wealth of info too. On their Market Research and Internet Marketing Research page, you can get help with both primary and secondary research including research and survey design.

In related news today, LISNews reports that Beloit College has released it's Mindset List that describes the significant events and perspectives of freshman students. It's mainly for fun, but it's a good reality check.

My tip? There's really no such thing as homework in library marketing. Market research is a day-to-day part of librarianship. Keeping a constant sharp eye out for expressed and unexpressed needs can make a big difference. If you don't believe me, read this short article called How to Create the Accidental Evangelist for examples about little things you can do just by paying attention to the people you serve that count big in the long run!