Read this first: The big balancing act

Traditionally, marketers (librarians) and customers (patrons) have engaged in turf battles, of sorts. Both sides want more control over end products and processes. An obvious though simplified example is price: Customers want the lowest possible prices, and marketers and their companies want profits. Today, this tug-of-war is taking center stage on the Internet. Customers are sharing their ideas, media, and complaints/compliments with the wide world and their voices carry a lot of weight. Overall, this is a good thing, but it does raise some issues about how to balance organizational goals with customer needs and wants. If this is a topic you think about too, take a look at a post I wrote on KnowThis where I take an initial stab at this topic from a broad marketing perspective. I'm going to follow up that post with one here on LM that takes a closer look at this "balance of power" topic from a librarian point-of-view. It's truly an issue that I've been bandying around in my mind quite a bit and talking with marketers about to get their take. I hope you'll share your ideas on this too!