Marketing is more than you think...A LOT more!

According to BusinessWeek Online author Steve McKee, marketing isn't just something, it's everything! McKee's opinion piece discusses how the best laid marketing plans can be undermined if they're not followed through in every level of an organization. In one example that hit home for me, he discusses how he noticed a Crystal Springs Bottled Water truck driving along spewing toxic fumes, which countered the company's own clear, crisp and sparkling clean brand image (I've had similar experiences with extremely rude, reckless drivers cutting off potential customers in company vehicles! Argh!).

I was happy to see this article because it demonstrates that marketing isn't something you do, it's a way of being in an organization. I think about how libraries add coffee bars and cushy chairs to create welcoming environments, but what good are those efforts if staff are not equally welcoming and our buildings are laden with "Do Not" signs? To be effective, a marketing orientation needs to permeate the entire library organization in everything we do. All of our actions, promotions, and services are embedded with messages, each signaling something about who we are to our patrons. It's important that one aspect is not contradicting what another is saying, or what we intend to say, so that patrons can instantly identify with our libraries and our missions.