Future or fad? Online social networks in the spotlight.

You can't go anywhere or watch anything these days where someone isn't talking about online social networks like My Space and Facebook. In fact, just this morning the CBS Early Show aired a segment on the dangers of My Space (you can watch the clip here). And, obviously, the news isn't all good. Indeed, there is a mixed sense of caution and enthusiasm among the general public and marketers in particular, as they jump into the murky waters of these networks.

A recent Knowledge @ Wharton article describes marketers' uncertainty about the staying power of these sites, and caution that one ought to be prepared for the "next big thing" that will lure users from their current network to a different one. Librarian Brian Mathews expressed similar sentiments in his blog post.

Despite these warnings, even the Wharton article concedes that social networking is embedded in Internet culture, and won't disappear even though the tools may change. Certainly marketers are moving ahead with new and different ways to generate these kinds of communities. The Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association's blog reports that book and music vendor DirectGroup is working on bringing its book clubs online, and the qtags blog describes how companies are turning to mobile phones as socializing tools.

Whatever your views on these communities, it seems as though they're here to stay and we librarians will need to address how we best fit in these environments. To help make sense of all this, a joint project of Northeastern University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences offers an online learning tool, complete with blog, for librarians faculty and students to explore "new media" including these community sites. A post on the AcademicPR listserv describes the project: "Northeastern University, with the help of the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences, has launched a new online learning tool with a supplemental discussion blog. The online learning tool and blog explore "the key concepts in new media and address a host of new media issues including the collapse of distinctions between media forms and the societal effects of new technologies such as blogs, chat rooms, TiVo, and Facebook."'

Categories: neat_trends | new_news | technology_tools

ALA PR forum to spread the word about WOM

While I try not to recap every press release or listserv post here on LM, this notice from ALA was one I thought I ought to pass along: The ALA Annual Conference will include a PR forum on word-of-mouth marketing to take place Sunday, June 25, 2006, from 8 to 10 a.m. I'm excited to see attention being given to WOM, which is just starting to be considered a formal part of marketing plans. I won't be at ALA this year, but if anyone attends this, I'd be interested to know how it was.

Update: There was a very good comment to this post that brought up some important questions about WOM, which you may want to look over. I took a stab at addressing them, but would be interested in other comments along these lines.

Categories: excellent_events | new_news

A tiperoo or two on recruiting for focus groups

After having been involved in some focus groups from both sides of the discussion, I thought I'd pass along my 2 cents about how to address one of the biggest challenges in putting such a group together, namely, recruitment.

I love working with undergrads, but it can be like herding cats to get even the most motivated into a single room at a certain time. I was really proud of the last focus group I put together about undergraduate research because we had just the right number of people (5) and they were all very engaged in the conversation. Here are some things I learned that might help you too:

• Recruit about double the amount of people you want and expect that half won't show up. I was nervous about doing this the first time, but at least with undergrads the rule seems to hold true.
• Give incentives. Snacks and refreshments are a must, but you should also offer something extra. We gave students $10 on their ID cards, which they seemed to like. I didn't want to offer "serious" cash since, not only would it cost more, but I also wanted to talk with people who weren't solely motivated by money. A colleague of mine told me about how she offered a very active library contingent the opportunity to select a book for the library. That was a HUGE incentive for those die-hard library fans! Ultimately, the incentive depends on the patrons in question.
• Don't spam prospects. (This one was key for me). Since a focus group is by nature focused, your recruitment strategy should be too. With my group, the topic was undergraduate research, so I asked my contacts in the Honors Department to help provide names of people who are doing research and might be interested, and also to send out some targeted e-mails on my behalf. In addition, we have an opt-in mailing list where I sent a request. The patrons on the list self-identify as being more engaged with the library than average, so the odds were good I'd find some people who were eager to share their ideas about research (and I did!). By doing these things, the focus group comes across as relevant and worthwhile to participants, and not just another piece of spam. I concede that this may leave room for a biased sample, but in my case I specifically wanted researchers rather than non-researchers and undergraduates rather than non-undergraduates, so I figured that being selective (applying purposive sampling) in this way was alright. I actually ended up with a wide range of research experience just by chance, which was very helpful.
• Send reminders. What can I say? People need reminding. However, I wouldn't send too many - maybe one a week out and another the day before. I kept a spreadsheet of who planned on coming, who canceled, who wasn't sure, etc. I also made sure that I told people up-front what to expect and answered any questions they had.

These were the key things I've learned about focus group recruitment, and this past time it was no sweat getting enough people who also turned out to have terrific insights! I'm sure many of you have other successful recruitment techniques and I'd be happy to hear them. (Feel free to leave a comment!)

Categories: tips_to_try

Guest post from Nicole McGee on non-users

Guest post from Nicole McGee

Nicole McGee, of the Municipal Reference Library in Virginia Beach, VA, has been very helpful in passing marketing goodies for the blog my way.  In fact, she had so many things to say that I offered her a guest post for her to share some of her thoughts.  Nicole chose to write about a book called The Must-Have Customer:  7 Steps to Winning the Customer You Haven't Got, and reflect a bit on reaching out to our potential patrons who donÂ’t yet use the library.  

Here'’s what Nicole had to say:

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The Virginian-Pilot (4/27/06, p. D5) had a short review of a new book (April 2006) called The Must-Have Customer: 7 Steps to Winning the Customer You Haven't Got by Robert Gordman. In my experience, this is a discussion all library marketing committees have on a regular basis. How DO we reach those pesky "non-library users?" And as this new book addresses, how do we win back the customers who are lured away? Warm, cozy bookstores and your favorite local wireless hang-out, among others, are all competing against libraries for peopleÂ’s attention and "business." And in a lot of cases, they're winning. So how do libraries effectively get the word out about all their services and collections?

Marketing literature in unexpected places is one potential strategy. MPPOW (my previous place of work) placed advertisements for our classes and our peer advising program in the local buses. The 2002 ACRL Innovation in Instruction award was CSU-Fresno's InfoRadio program, a series of public service announcements creatively promoting information literacy skills that aired on the campus radio station.

And also related to this topic is the idea of "library as place" and all the ways that it affects people'’s decision to return or not (un)welcoming policies (see Aaron Schmidt's, aka The Walking Paper blogger, Flickr pic), (un)inviting atmospheres, and a customer service-(un)savvy staff, to name a few.

One solution is knowing what future patrons want or expect from your library. While browsing through The Cluetrain Manifesto, the idea that the "internal" (companies, libraries, etc) and the "external" (patrons) need to be able to communicate freely, i.e. online, in an integral component. Organizations who don't build this into their culture, if one follows this idea from the book, will become far removed from the pulse of the conversations happening online and will quickly become obsolete. And IMHO, this is yet another strong argument for library blogs, RSS feeds, and other exciting forms of communication and exchange that are at the heart of Library 2.0 concept.

Here's the link to the Amazon.com if you want to read more about this new book: http://tinyurl.com/q9dzg

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Thanks for sharing your point-of-view, Nicole!  I hope to hear from others on this topic too. I plan to address reaching out to non-users more on this blog, since it'’s an important obligation we share.  One thought I'm exploring is how to use our biggest library fans to help draw in those who are the less-than-enthusiastic.  More (hopefully) later.

Categories: must_reads | tips_to_try

An excellent new blog tends to service issues

A group of librarians from New Jersey joined together to write the blog Library Garden. In it, they explore the best of all topics: service (which is what marketing is all about anyway, right?). And not only that, but they are all over the map professionally, so the blog is very well-rounded with many viewpoints. The writing and ideas are fantastic, and I was very happy to add it to my aggregator. Way to go, Library Gardeners!

This new-to-me blog has been up and running since February. Thanks to Meredith of Information Wants To Be Free for passing this find along!

Categories: must_reads

Noteworthy nuggets from MarketingProfs

In my continuing quest to inform you of the best of MarketingProfs, here is a list of the most recent, and most relevant article for librarians:

• Jumbo Shrimp Marketing - This article gives 5 tips for getting bigger by acting smaller. Because the emphasis is on service and relationships, I thought this one was a great read for librarians.
• Generating Leads, Brand, Relationships, and Trust at the Same Time - The focus of this piece is on bringing relationships, trust and value to service providers' marketing mixes.
• Brand Transformation: When (and How) to Revitalize a Brand - Given the results of the OCLC's perception report, some librarians may be interested in these insights into how they can revitalize mature brands.
• Has Advertising Killed Itself? - An interesting discussion of buyer behavior, clutter and how to get through to the intended audience.
• The Fundamentals of Permission-Based Email Marketing - How to set up, segment and evaluate database information to increase the effectiveness of e-mails.

Categories: must_reads | resource_roundup

It's all about soul

Did you know that brands have souls? At least, that's what one marketing consultant argues. According to her, "brand soul" is "a company's ability to connect with consumers by building affection for its product or service...It's not just about the product but about the company's general philosophy -- one that the consumer hopefully comes to believe in." Libraries are overflowing with soul, as librarians continue to stand up for important principles and patrons' rights. Given that most people associate libraries with books, it seems as though we're not communicating the spirit of libraries very well. When we think about branding, its important to recognize the emotional relationship people have with brands. I think a good place to start is by taking a close look internally at the personality of the organization as a whole so we can communicate that to patrons.

Categories: usable_theories

Long overdue post about library marketing in online communities

I've been suspiciously silent on the topic of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, as well as blogs and their potential for library marketing.  Why?  Well, I'm still trying to sort out what I think about the libraries promoting themselves in these forums.  There's been a lot of debate amongst librarians on both side of the issue.  On the one hand, many people stick to the view that librarians should go where the patrons are, virtually and physically, and since so many people are using sites like MySpace, we should have a presence there too.  On the other hand, others say that the purpose of these communities is socialization, and libraries would be unwelcomed guests in this environment and it’s not the place to "sell" our services.  While I'm still not stuck to any one opinion, my current view tends to fall somewhere in the middle:  yes, we should be there, and no, we shouldn't use it to overtly promote.

At my school, the community tool of choice tends to be Facebook, although I've seen some people using MySpace too.  At first, I was wary of inserting ourselves there, but I've been talking quite a bit the students in my advisory group (I highly recommend this, by the way), and they tell me that students are accustomed to some level of promotion in Facebook and it's easy enough to ignore if one wants, so intrusiveness isn't much of an issue.  I've also seen many student organizations advertise themselves and their events there, and there are even a few groups (actually, 6 at last count) that have organized themselves around the library because they spend so much time here.  Many libraries too have dipped a toe into these services.

Now that I don't consider intrusiveness a barrier, I'm more concerned about other issues, namely, value.  When we choose to have a presence in these communities, what are we offering that's of value to us and our patrons?  If the point is to just "be there," I'm not confident that will do much good, even though it probably won't hurt anything.  What can we offer that would be a good fit in a social setting and that might lead to some meaningful interactions?

There are some positive steps in the right direction on this front.  The Hennepin County Library's MySpace profile has a great design as you'd expect from them, but also links to resources that seem appropriate for teens in this environment such as college, dating and health advice as well as homework help.  I was also impressed with Aaron's recent Walking Paper post about Denver Public Library's MySpace, a site that features great music in keeping with the spirit of MySpace, and also relevant services.  What I like best is that they also refer to their guides that link to excellent, teen-specific sites like a local teen music studio, and music reviews by teens.  DPL seems to have found how to mesh well and respect the MySpace culture without being pushy.  Even the marketers seem to think that obvious advertising doesn't fly here, but offering relevant products/services and information that are appropriate to the environment are most effective.

The greatest potential for library marketing purposes may be market research.  My hero in this arena is Brian Mathews, AltRef author, who had the guts to do what I've only been thinking about, which he outlines in his Intuitive Revelations white paper (must-read material!).  Basically, he set up a keyword search in student blogs to find instances of words like “assignments,” etc. and then offered his help if it seemed relevant to the conversation.  In the comments of his post, one librarian expressed concerns about students feeling as though this was an invasion of privacy, to which Brian responded, "I have found that if I stay on topic, that is, commenting only on academic/research related postings, that the students don’t seem to mind my 'intrusive' behavior. I think this whole point of social software is to interact and communicate. As long as I can add value they welcome the assistance."  I agree wholeheartedly, particularly with the focus on value from the patron’s point of view.  I'd also like to see patrons offering us help through these mediums.  I keep thinking about those 6 student groups in Facebook whose members say they "live in the library" and I can't help but wonder what great insights they may have to share on our facilities and services.  Why not ask?  I admit that I haven't jumped full-force into Facebook yet, but I'm going to be looking at this over the summer.  I'm especially interested in our advisory group being there and opening it up to any student who has thoughts or ideas to share, sort of like an ongoing focus group.  

Done right, I think librarians can be a welcome addition to blogs and social networks by:

• Adding value to our services from our patrons' perspective


• Being respectful of the social environment we're a part of (no library-ese, no sales pitches)


• Inserting our expertise and resources in a relevant way (such as in response to an expressed need, as Brian's initiative does)


• Monitoring discussions to assess needs and improve our services


• Having fun and engaging patrons!

Categories: neat_trends | tips_to_try

Power to the patrons!

I was really thrilled when I read the Church of the Customer's report that the BBC is going revamp its Web presence to make way for user-generated content and reader communities!  The short story is that the BBC going to great lengths to engage users with its services by putting its entire program catalog online, encouraging users to create their own blogs and post their videos to the site, and allowing for more customization. It's also asking people to help with the redesign to make use of what services like Flickr and YouTube offer.  The BBC says it bases these changes on three concepts:  share, find and play. (Shouldn't that be a library slogan?)

To my way of thinking, this is exactly the path libraries should be taking as well.  There'’s a shift going on with what patrons want to do with information.  They don'’t just want to find it, but they also want to create it, organize it and share it.  As information providers, it makes sense to accommodate these needs in our physical and online spaces.  This can seem a bit intimidating to those in library-land at first, as it may appear as though we're ceding some of our authority and control, but giving up control is a very good thing to the extent that it invites patrons to become active partners with our organizations rather than just occasional users.  These trends don'’t imply, however, that we need to give up our expertise, but rather, that we find other relevant ways to apply it.  For example, what about offering workshops on saving, tagging and organizing files and bookmarks, and allowing patrons to share some of their finds in a library-sponsored forum?  For me, these trends are very much in keeping with our mission and purpose.  After all, we are stewards of information, and if our patrons are generating content, what better way to demonstrate what we have to offer than to help them be successful in their own personal information endeavors?  In addition, we have always fostered and supported communities, so why not invite them into our virtual spaces to share their thoughts with others, just as we would in our physical spaces?    

From a marketing and service standpoint, the more personally involved patrons are with our libraries, staff and fellow patrons, the more strongly tied they will feel to our mission and success.  It's those personal connections which will help to guide, sustain and differentiate us as patrons are faced with ever more choices and alternatives.  I'm excited by all of the possibilities technology is offering us to help the library come alive for those who want more than a passive library experience, and I hope we'll be prepared to offer that level of interaction in all our services.  

Categories: neat_trends | new_news

One to hang on your wall

This short but inspiring post comes from the Duct Tape Marketing Blog, and it belongs pinned up in a special place on every librarian's wall. It's called, "Your Marketing Stinks and It's Your Fault." Inspired yet? Well, give it a read and you might change your mind! The post states the importance of defining what makes you unique and sticking to that quality no matter what. Doing this takes guts and a stomach for risk! Not doing this means your marketing will stink and, worse, your library itself may be destined for failure. [Note: Before posting to the wall, cross out references to "small business" and replace with "library."]

Categories: creativity_and_inspiration

Market research you can use: Search engine user behavior

KnowThis.com provides access to "good resource nuggets that are freely available" on its Focus on Market Research Reports. One such report librarians may want to explore is Search Engine User Behavior Study (PDF) from iProspect. The results confirm what many of us know: most people click on links displayed on the first result page and almost all people alter their keywords if they don't see desired results in the first three pages. People also tend to stick with one search engine and a significant number tend to trust the companies that show up near the top of the first page, believing they are the best in their field.

Findings like these help to inform our understanding of our patrons and their behaviors, which in turn help us create better services.

Categories: research_and_reports

Book it to these new titles

It looks like I'm going to have to put some more books on my to-read list: Paul Williams of the Idea Sandbox Blog pointed out a forthcoming book entitled, The Bear Necessities of Business: Building a Company with Heart by Build-A-Bear founder Maxine Clark. Build-A-Bear has received some praise for designing customer experiences that foster good word-of-mouth and customer relationships. This book is about building an organization from the ground up, as Maxine did, but I'm interested to know if there might be useful insights for librarians here too.

The other book comes by way of a note from Pat Wagner on the AcademicPR listserv called, Real-Life Marketing and Promotion Strategies in College Libraries: Connecting With Campus and Community, edited by Barbara Whitney Petruzzelli. The description states, "Real-Life Marketing and Promotion Strategies in College Libraries is a "how-to" guide to marketing and promotional activities that will raise your library's visibility in the face of increased competition from other information providers."

Categories: must_reads

A plethora of presentations

Steven Cohen of Library Stuff fame posted a reminder about a presentation he gave on libraries and communities with SIRSI/DYNIX Institute, which prompted me to take a look-see at this and other offerings that are available on the site. There are lots of very promising presentations! In addition to Steven's, I'd also take a look at Alane Wilson's on the OCLC perceptions report (this got high marks from Candice Clevenger on her LibTalk blog). I've listened to Dr. Koontz's "Knowing Who We Serve Presentation," and would recommend it if you need some instruction in marketing basics like the 4 P's and segmentation. I also really enjoyed Pat Wagner's "Fast, Cheap and Decent Strategic Planning."

These and many more presentations are available on the SIRSI/DYNIX archive. Enjoy! :)

Categories: train_yourself

Taking stock of good ideas

Amazing ideas for products and services can come from anywhere and anyone. To capitalize on their organization's wealth of ideas, the founders of a company called Rite-Solutions created an internal stock market of ideas where employees from all ranks and positions could offer up their innovative proposals (complete with stock ticker) for other people to "invest" in. Every employee receives $10,000 in "opinion money" that they can invest in their favorite ideas. People who volunteer to work on successful projects share in the proceeds when their "opinion money" becomes actual money. Take a look at the full New York Times article, "Here's an Idea: Let Everyone Have Ideas," for all the details.

Wouldn't it be terrific if a process like this were used to help in marketing library services?! This could be used to help uncover inventive ways to do market research, and to design, promote and assess services. Maybe patrons could also have "opinion money" to invest! As CEO of O'Reilly Media, Tim O'Reilly asserts in the article, "creativity is no longer about which companies have the most visionary executives, but who has the most compelling "architecture of participation." That is, which companies make it easy, interesting and rewarding for a wide range of contributors to offer ideas, solve problems and improve products?"

Categories: creativity_and_inspiration

A McIdea

Adrants reports that a McDonald's in Tulsa initiated a SMS (text) scavenger hunt where customers use their mobile phones to figure out clues and get mobile coupons (called mCoup's) in a campaign called Mobile Whoa!.

I don't know all of the behind-the-scenes agreements and such that went into getting this off the ground, but I don't see why libraries couldn't use text messaging with a scavenger hunt game or maybe even a research assignment as a way to promote resources in a fun way. Just a thought.

Categories: neat_trends | technology_tools

Tell me what you do...

This post from Duct Tape Marketing caught my eye as it ties into a previous discussion about bibliographic points-of-view. The post is about how to answer the question, "What do you do for a living" in a way that demonstrates your value. The example used is that of a doctor who tells people he, "help[s] people stay in their homes longer, go to one more grandaughter's [sic] wedding and attend their great, great grandson's Bar Mitzvah."

What would librarians say? We help students get A's on their papers? We enrich people's lives through reading? We create community and opportunity for everyone?

A good book-to-be (?)

A big thanks to colleague Nicole McGee for always having my back and catching all the stuff I miss! Nicole's find comes from the Branding Blog and a post about a forthcoming book entitled, Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?: Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing. Nicole and I both agreed that the title alone was worth the read, but this looks like it strikes a chord with librarians and their work. Library services tend to fall into what's called an unsought product category, which consists of those things people don't normally think about seeking out unless they have to (like life insurance, for instance). [I'm overdue for a post about product categories, so keep your eyes peeled - I might just get to it!]. Now, the fact that our services are generally unsought until there is a pressing need, and that patrons/customers are more empowered than ever to be selective about the promotions they expose themselves to, means that it's pretty easy for them to filter us out. That's why I think this book could be really useful. The authors founded a company called Future Now, Inc. and have a patent-pending Persuasion Architecture methodology, which, from what I can gather, is used to apply customer information to Web designs that lead people to take action (in our case, use our stuff!). The book is based on this technique, but seems address both online and off-line sales strategies, so it will be interesting to see how widely applicable this idea of Persuasion Architecture is. The book is due out in June and if I get a chance to read it, I'll review it for you and let you know how it is or isn't relevant for us.

Innovation ingredients

BusinessWeek and the Boston Consulting Group ranked the world's most innovative companies. What do these companies have in common? A few characteristics stand out to me: a collaborative spirit and a knack for forming fruitful partnerships, incentives for the companies' creative thinkers, flat hierarchies with lots of internal communication, and looking outside of the organization for ideas. Libraries too would benefit from making innovation a top priority, since marketing depends on being able to creatively identify and fulfill patrons' needs. The author of the article states, "Today, innovation is about much more than new products. It is about reinventing business processes and building entirely new markets that meet untapped customer needs." While this sounds more than a little businessy, I do agree that libraries are relevant only to the extent that they serve patrons' purposes, and that to do this, libraries ought to be innovation hubs that encourage librarians to continually revisit how we do things and how we identify needs. I think you'll be interested in some of the approaches used by companies in this article to do these very things.

If you need a little help in keeping your own creativity muscle in shape (and who doesn't?), you may want to sign up for the Idea Sandbox's monthly e-newsletter. This month's creativity tip is all about how to avoid squashing good ideas before they even get off the ground.

Categories: creativity_and_inspiration

Get a grip on your community standing

This study conducted by the Urban Libraries Council has been floating around on the blogosphere, and details how successful Chicago libraries have bolstered their community standing and formed partnerships (from Infoblog). I checked out the "Engaged Library Toolbox" as other recommended, and it consists of a series of worksheets that take stock of your community and library assets. Essentially, it's a SWOT analysis that focuses on community building. The only piece I see missing from what I've read is guidance in deciding which of the potential opportunities you uncover should be pursued. Most of us can't do them all, which is why in addition to looking at strengths and opportunities as this toolbox does, it's important to look at threats and weaknesses. Doing so allows you to hone in on what you can realistically accomplish and/or fix the things you need to so that you can go after certain opportunities. This guide from QuickMBA.com outlines how to do a SWOT and also gives you an example of a SWOT Matrix that allows you to analyze what your SWOT means.

Categories:: tips_to_try

Need a buddy?

I'm working on getting my blog to be a bit more compatible with my whole marketing philosophy, which includes being accessible, personable and collaborative. To that end, I created a new screen name with AIM: JillatCabell (It's also now in my Blogger profile). Eventually, I'll stick an indicator on the blog that will tell you if I'm online or not, but feel free to add me to your buddy list and contact me if you'd like. This is one in a long line of blog changes I need to make. I'll get to them as I can and let you know!

Categories: random_stuff

Using WOM for library events?

The applications of word-of-mouth (WOM) are pretty much limitless. This article about using WOM at corporate events to increase sales struck me as useful to librarians who put on events and who give presentations and/or organize conferences. Some of the major tips include making sessions interactive, adding a surprise like an unexpected meeting place, and soliciting feedback. One tip I particularly liked had to do with setting WOM goals. When planning your event or session, think about what you want attendees to walk away from your event or session saying. Then, make sure you devise key phrases that capture your goal and design your session accordingly. I could see this being especially helpful in short conference sessions in which speakers try to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. By creating a key WOM phrase, participants can easily remember the main point and pass it along to colleagues.

A little event WOM magic could go a long way to making more interesting and memorable library events!

[Article from Creating Customer Evangelists blog.]

Categories: tips_to_try

Marketers seeking librarians

I was pretty thrilled to see this post from MarketingProf's Daily Fix blog called Opening Doors Without Key(word)s. The author pointed out that there are some things Google just can't find and that it's often hard to figure out which keywords to use if you're not quite sure what you're looking for (I am not making this up!). He also expressed remorse for the loss of the print card catalog as it lent itself to accidental discoveries (is this sentiment refreshing or what?!). Anyway, I had to post a comment reminding readers that librarians help people negotiate research questions all the time and that our online card catalogs do allow for discovery and are searchable even when you don't have complete information. Anyway, give it a read and just ignore my overuse of the word "great" in my comment. :)

Categories: must_reads

All competition is local

Our library is a pretty hopping place, most of the time.  Earlier this week, I wondered why so many people pack into this building to do things they could probably do elsewhere, like check e-mail or type papers.  I thought that it might have to do with a shortage of social spaces that are also conducive to getting work done on campus and that we fill an important niche.  This got me to thinking about the bigger picture of competition and the nature of competition in the library world in particular.

The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became of the idea that most competition is local, which is especially true for libraries.  Just think, even the biggest, most well-known brands only have a competitive edge to the extent employees on the local level respond to and get to know their neighbors.  A barrista who remembers my name and coffee drink from day to day is a more compelling reason for me to patronize Starbucks than the look and feel of Starbuck’s Web site, for example.  If that barrista is consistently rude and messes up my order, I’ll go to the competitor down the street, no matter how much equity Starbuck’s brand wields.

For libraries too, their success or failure seems to hinge on how the stack up to their competition locally.  If students can only find social space or an item on reserve at your library, than you definitely have an edge.  If you’re the only game in town for children’s programming on Saturday mornings, you may also have a distinct advantage.  Likewise, if a coffee bar with free WiFi opens up across the street, you may be in for some trouble, depending on the needs of your patrons.  It seems that the local scene is where the threats and opportunities lay, no matter what’s going on in the grander scheme of things.

Of course, any good marketing plan considers broader social, technological and environmental changes, as those things do indeed shape behaviors on the local level.  But when all is said and done, it comes down to what you can offer that the guy down the street can’t and finding a way to sustain that advantage.

No sooner was I thinking about all of this when MarketingProfs came out with an article on the topic called The Surprising Secret of Successful Differentiation.  In it, the author talks about how marketers should look beyond the core benefits of a product or service to find the feature they will use to distinguish themselves.  For libraries, we are not different because we provide information (lots of entities to that), but we’re different because provide expert assistance in finding a broad array of information that is just right for patrons while respecting privacy, preserving documents for the future, and providing education and programming, all without a profit motive!  We’re different in other ways too, but you get the idea.  

Getting a leg up on the competition is not about out-searching Google, or out-Wiki-ing Wikipedia, for instance.  It’s about integrating ourselves so tightly into our communities that we can offer personalized services that no one can match.  While we don’t want to neglect the larger world, our ability to match services to specific needs on the small-scale local level might be our most important advantage.  Agree?  Disagree?  Am I missing something?  Let me know!

Categories: usable_theories

What's your bibliographic point of view?

I've been watching this truly excellent show on the Food Network called, The Next Food Network Star. On the show, contestants have to compete with not only their cooking skills, but also their personality, timing, organization, you name it. In one episode, the judges instructed them to create a dish that reflected what they called, "your culinary point of view." Surprisingly, I noticed that the majority of the chefs were all over the place, culinarily speaking, and I didn't get a good sense of what they were all about. Believe it or not, this made a huge difference to me in how I responded to them and I strongly favored those who could clearly express who they are and why I should care about their food. The existing Food Network stars are great at this, by the way! Rachael Ray gets her meals done in 30 mins. or less; Alton Brown (my personal fave) is the master of food "edutainment"; and Emeril kicks it up a notch with BAM!

The point, you ask? I got to thinking that librarians would have an easier time selling their libraries and services if they too had a POV - a bibliographic one! In services marketing, the person providing the service is a huge factor in the service equation, so we as service providers ought to figure out what the heck we stand for. Doing so would be especially helpful in situations where we have one brief opportunity to make an impression on patrons, like in instruction sessions, at fairs and in presentations. Knowing what we're about will help patrons to identify with and remember us. We already have great examples in the library world: Steven Bell is the "Kept-Up" guy and Nancy Pearl is the over-the-top stereotypical librarian lady. Some of you might be the "cool new technology librarian," the "librarian who always knows the latest news/books," the "scholarly communication guru," or "the librarian who is the fun anti-stereotype." This POV idea is a lot like the one-minute commercial people throw out at job fairs, but this is more about you personally.

One problem I notice with our profession is that we always want to be everything to everybody. Not a bad motive in and of itself, but it can be bad when it muddles communication. Instead, pick one thing about your job that love, are passionate about and good at, and try to eventually personify that "thing" when you interact with patrons. After they get to know you, they'll see your other sides, but your POV could get you a foot in the door (just look at that nametag guy! His "thing," by the way, is approachability!).

Category: tips_to_try

The alternative teen scene

I've been meaning to post about this incredible find for a while now: If you work with teens, you really ought to make Alternative Teen Services one of your top must-read blogs. The content is just fantastic, with two teen services librarians' views on working with their patrons. Here's their description: "Welcome to the Alternative Teen Services web site. This web site is the collaborative effort of two teen librarians who work for the Kansas City Public Library. It is a grassroots publication tool that we use to share our personal ideas and our collection of resources with the public. It is not an authoritative source on working with teens. Instead, it is a look at our take on serving teens, what we think is important, and a collection of resources that other teen librarians can use such as program ideas, collections ideas, and general theory for serving teens. We want this web site to be fun, informative, and inspirational"

The authors seem really passionate about what they do and they have lots of creative programming ideas. I first found them when reading the post, Library 2.0 Services to Teens, which lists public libraries that are connecting with teens through podcasting, MySpace, blogs, etc. Very neat! The authors are also looking for contributors, if any of you are so inclined.

Categories: resource_roundup

Lusting for info: A new trend from Trendwatching.com

Trendwatching.com's latest trendy-trend is what they term INFOLUST, which is (you guessed it), customers' insatiable cravings for on-the-spot information. The report is a fascinating discussion of how existing and emerging technologies will empower people to find out anything about anything no matter where they are. I was particularly interested in the merging of the physical and the virtual with SMS codes placed on physical objects (like "for sale" signs in yards) that can be entered into cell phones to get full details (like square footage, asking price, etc.). While most of this report has to do with information in the consumer sense, trends like these will certainly shape patrons' expectations and the ways in which we think about and deliver services. As the report concludes, "INFOLUST is obviously not about advertising, it's about pull, not push. So are you providing your customers with every price, product, comparison, and story element that you can, on THEIR terms, not yours? Are you making this information available to them wherever they need it most, accessible through whatever channel or device they prefer, so they can get the best of the best, the cheapest of the cheapest, the first of the first, the healthiest of the healthiest, the coolest of the coolest?" Food for thought!

Categories: neat_trends | technology_tools

Cruising the LII

I was poking around on the Librarians' Internet Index to scope out its marketing resources, and I found a few things you might be interested in that have some general applicability:

• The Library of Congress' Market Segmentation guide has, "books and other resources that discuss marketing to particular segments of the population along with other sources that are important in determining the size and power of a particular market segment." It includes generational, ethnic, geographic and other segments (complete with LC Subject Headings, of course!).


• HispanSource is, "is your one-stop source for information related to the U.S. Hispanic/Latino community. Use HispanSource to develop sound business plans, marketing plans, and sales strategies."


• AdCracker: I have only just begun to play with this resource, but it looks promising. While the site is devoted to selling the AdCracker software, there are some neat free features that help to unleash some of that advertising creativity bubbling beneath the surface.

Categories: resource_roundup

Hello? What's this?! A new blog!

This will teach me to keep up with my feeds: MarketingVOX reports that MarketingProfs.com (as you all know by now, is one of my top marketing sites) now has (drumroll...) a blog! Yes! Ok, you can tell I'm more than a little excited by this news. The blog is aptly named, Daily Fix, and I'm addicted!

No answer is ever final

One concept that raises its head in buyer behavior lit but that I don’t hear much about in library land is the idea of post purchase evaluation.  Just getting patrons to use the library and its resources is only half the battle.  The other half is convincing them they’ve made a good choice long after they’re done.  Patrons may evaluate whether or not going to the library was such a great idea for quite some time after they attended a workshop, event or asked a question.  For example, maybe that student you helped with citations on Monday types his paper on Friday and realizes you were referring to the wrong style guide.  Or, he sings your praises for teaching him all about your library’s nifty new citation management software.   Whatever the case, we never really finish our transactions with patrons, which is why those interactions are more like relationships.

Here are some ways that we could help reinforce patrons’ sense of satisfaction with library services after their visit (in-person or online):

• Ask workshop and program attendees to provide their e-mail addresses on an optional basis.  Then, a few days to a week later, send them an e-mail asking them how their projects are going and if you can be of further assistance.


• Be liberal with your contact information so that patrons you’ve helped can easily get in touch with you by phone, e-mail or live chat if they have follow-up questions or concerns.  Foster conversation and put a friendly face on the library through blogs, wikis, discussion boards and live chat.


• Surprise patrons by sending hand-written thank-you’s to a random group of those who recently borrowed items along with some recommended readings or library news.


• Give patrons something tangible to walk away with such as research guides, tip sheets, your business card, a summary of resources and strategies you discussed, etc. to serve as reminders of the terrific service they received and to avoid possible frustration later as they try to remember what they learned.

Share your tips too and leave a comment!

Categories:  tips_to_try | usable_theories

Marketing now has a manifesto

"It is not about targeting audiences, it is about engaging communities. It is not about delivering key messages, it is about facilitating conversations. It is not about control, it is about empowerment." Posted by: Jeffrey Treem

"It" is marketing and this is just one sentiment expressed in Jaffe Juice's Marketing Manifesto. I think you will be floored (and excited) by how these marketing values are not entirely dissimilar to librarian values, broadly speaking. This is an incredibly exciting time to market library services as marketing becomes more humanized and we are challenged to find new ways to forge meaningful relationships with patrons. Give the manifesto a read to see how progressive marketers view what they do, and why librarians should throw out some of their old, preconceived notions of what marketing is all about.

Categories: creativity_and_inspiration

The marketing power of metadata

ResourceShelf points out a new publication from PerX entitled, 'Marketing' with Metadata - How Metadata Can Increase Exposure and Visibility of Online Content. It's an interesting piece but I'll leave it to those of you more knowledgeable about these topics to judge its usefulness.

Categories: research_and_reports

Know this!: Advertising

Another installment of KnowThis.com's excellent Principles of Marketing Tutorial has arrived: Advertising. This tutorial is just terrific! In this part, you will learn about the importance of advertising, how to manage advertising decisions, and also trends. Yeah!

Categories: train_yourself

Blog power!

"Harness the Marketing Power of Blogs" (via MSNBC) is a short article about how and why blogs are great marketing tools. It lists how organizations can benefit from blogs and some tips for being a successful blogger. This may be a nice piece to pass along to those who have yet to be converted. ;)

Update: The Duct Tape Marketing Blog has more on blogging and some creative ways in which you can offer blogs as service to customers [patrons]. I've always thought the library could be a resource for blog training and helping patrons set up their own, which is one of the ideas the author suggests. Take a look at the other ideas, here.

Categories: must_reads

One heck of a how-to!

WOM Basic Training posted my favorite how-to to date: Democratizing Marketing. The post has 5 tips for opening up the marketing process to get the word-of-mouth ball rolling, and they're also excellent pointers for librarians! Here's the list with my comments, but see the original post for all the details:

1. Wow 'em with your product. A great product generates great buzz. There's not a company or library out there that can't use this tip!

2. Meet an unmet need. Good librarians have built-in unmet need detectors. Putting the detectors to work even outside the library is a good way to find niches to fill.

3. Become a resource for information. Ding! Ding! Nailed this one! But, we can always find new and exciting ways to apply our expertise and make it relevant for patrons.

4. Create community. Marketing is all about relationships and making them meaningful. Not only can we serve communities, we can spark them! (I've also written about this topic recently, here and here).

5. Invite them to help create marketing. The days of employing marketing to talk at patrons is over. Marketing is a dialogue that begs for patron involvement.

Categories: must_reads | tips_to_try

Average Joe advertisers

USA Today has more on how customer-generated content is leaving its mark in the Advertising world. The article outlines how average Joes are lending their creativity to some big players including Converse, Ban and MasterCard. These mini case studies could certainly be adapted for libraries in our advertising endeavors. For instance, I liked the MasterCard approach of asking customers to fill in the blanks in an ad featuring a man sitting in a field with a typewriter. What about patrons doing something similar with a library theme? Take a look at the article and see if any of the ideas would translate well to your institution!

Categories: neat_trends | tips_to_try

Something borrowed and something blue

The New York Times reported yesterday on JetBlue's ambitions to grow big but market small. To do so, they're whipping out a lot of interesting tactics I thought librarians might want to borrow. Yes, JetBlue is still using plenty of the traditional stuff to get its message out, but more interesting is their focus on customer involvement and word-of-mouth, which is how the company grew from the beginning. Some examples of their tactics are: setting up "story booths" for people to share their JetBlue flying stories; leaving boxes labeled "Help Yourself" filled with airline snacks for passers by to grab; treating customers to free movie nights (that's supposed to happen here in Richmond!); and they will put postcards in seat pockets for passengers to journal their travels. As NYT columnist Stuart Elliott remarks, "The idea is that by involving the target audience in creating, producing or selecting the ads to be directed at them, a campaign will be more engaging and memorable than standard fare."

It's interesting to see this trend toward more consumer participation and I hope these tactics will spark some creative ideas for your libraries!

Categories: neat_trends | real_life | tips_to_try

Brains busting ads

Nicole McGee of the Municipal Reference Library in Virginia Beach informed me of a new study reported on in seedmagazine.com. The report is called The Ad-Busting Brain and it discusses a study that suggests the brain does not attribute human personalities to brands. In the report, lead author Carolyn Yoon of the University of Michigan advises, '"Advertisers should keep in mind that when they use personality terms for a product reliable, trustworthy, cheerful —consumers are not associating those purely human qualities to the products in question."'

These are pretty interesting findings and the results should appear in the June issue of the Journal of Consumer Research (great journal, by the way!).

Categories: research_and_reports

Market research in the blogosphere

RSS4Lib points out a great example of how librarians can use blogs to keep their finger on the pulse of patron needs. The post discusses an experiment in which a librarian used RSS feeds to notify him when students added posts to their blogs with certain keywords such as "assignment" or "library." If the posts were relevant, the librarian would add a comment with some helpful insights.

Regardless of how comfortable you are adding comments to posts, I certainly think monitoring blogs can help librarians identify new avenues for service and stay ahead of needs and trends.

Categories: tips_to_try

What color is your market planning?

Here's another good, and relevant, one from MarketingProfs:

"To create a complete marketing plan, one that drives near- and longer-term marketing action, I need only four "colors."

Here's how structuring the "color set" will help you focus your research, derive relevant conclusions, and then use all that information to create workable, living action plans for your marketing efforts."

You can read the entire article, "The Four Colors of Market Planning," here.

Categories: must_reads | usable_theories

Today's word is "marketing"

Thanks in advance for indulging me with this post that has little substance but lots of entertainment value. One of my favorite T.V. Shows, The Colbert Report, features a segment called "The Word" every episode. Last night's Word was Marketing, and of course, I was unable to resist the urge to mention it here on LM.

If you're not familiar with the Colbert Report, it airs on Comedy Central and is in fact a comedy. You can watch The Word segment here.

Categories: random_stuff

Got advice?

The "Got Milk" guy had some interesting advice to share with advertisers. In his interview with Business Week, Jeff Goodby discussed the elements of a great ad campaign. One of my favorite insights is, "People are the best ad medium I know of. When you get a person to wear and talk your brand in a positive way, that's what we are all aiming for. If you don't create advertising that is welcomed, I don't see how you get there." Goodby also talked about the responsibilities advertisers bear in producing ads that are a part of people's everyday environment and that those messages should be welcomed, not scorned.

In library land, I think many of us suffer from poster pollution, and that's why these innovative ways of leveraging patrons' word-of-mouth and being selective and thoughtful in how we use advertising appeal to me.

Categories: must_reads

CGM training in podcast form

The Church of the Customer blog co-author Jackie Huba describes a podcast that she and other marketing mavens created on the topics of consumer-generated media (CGM), consumer-generated content (CGC) and citizen marketing. The podcast is part 1 of 2. According to Huba's post, "We discuss how social media is changing the landscape for marketers, examples of this new media/content and what marketers should do to embrace the people who are creating this stuff." I'll be listening to it for sure and I recommend you do the same as this is a very important marketing development, particularly for librarians.

Update: I did get a chance to listen to this yesterday and I wanted to give you the scoop: In this Part One, the speakers mainly discussed the meaning of CGM and also the other terminology used to describe this idea of customers creating "media stuff." They debated the pros and cons of the calling it CGM, CGC, or citizen marketing, and they did start touching on examples like the whole Snakes on a Plane phenomenon. I think that Part Two, which will be up next week, will focus on what companies can and should do about this form of customer involvement with brands.

I'll give you my take on all of this after I hear Part Two next week.

Categories: must_reads | train_yourself

More media, less patience

OMD released a study on consumers' media engagement. (While you have to pay AdWeek.com to read the entire thing, a short summary is available here). The significant findings:

• Media consumption takes up more of people's time than sleep.
• Consumers' top complaint is deteriorating personal interactions (their second most common complaint is unwanted advertising interruptions).
• Consumers have been slow to adopt new media devices like MP3 players and PDA's.

OMD CEO Page Thompson says the study is significant because, "it underscores the need to move from an advertising marketplace that is based on impressions and demographics to one that is based on behavior and engagement."

This kind of data could be useful to librarians to as we think about moving our services into the realms of cell phones and other mobile devices as it helps us to better understand patrons' use of and attitude toward technology, as well as the context in which our services will be used.

Update: On a related note, The Kept-Up Academic Librarian points to a survey that suggests about 80% of podcast downloads never make it to MP3 players; they're consumed at the computer.

Categories: research_and_reports | technology_tools

Say "I do" to engagement

ClickZ has more on the big marketing trend toward engagement, specifically in the form of consumer-generated-media. As author Pete Blackshaw says, "Marketers are finally recognizing the consumer voice (most evident in the Web's mushrooming digital trail of consumer-generated media (CGM)) is currency for credibility and trust with consumers. It's also a wellspring of great ideas, unique concepts, and untapped niche messaging opportunities."

This is a trend I think librarians would do well to seize. My favorite example is the University of Virginia's Libra Video, a library orientation created by students for students. Our patrons are an amazing source of energy and creativity that can be a real asset to our work and our marketing efforts!

Categories: neat_trends

Another fair game idea

Thanks to Library Coordinator Eugenia Hull of Blinn Collage for telling me about a fun game her library tried with great success. The original idea belongs to Prudence Morris who is now a reference librarian at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Eugenia writes, "I thought I would share a successful table our library had at a 'fair" type setting last year. We had some Sherlock Holmes decorations, and students who visited our table were given clue cards with the title and author of one of our books as well as a handout with brief instructions for searching our online catalog for the book. After finding the book's call number in our catalog and locating the book on the shelf, they would find a coupon for free food from local fast food restaurants or money-off coupons from other local businesses which we had placed in the book's date due card pocket. It was a great way to get students into the library as well as introduce them to the library catalog. The students seemed to enjoy it a lot!"

Categories: real_life | tips_to_try

Library Marketing now features categories!

Thanks to one observant reader who gave me a gentle nudge (ok, a big push!), to include categories in my blog, Library Marketing now has 'em! A couple of notes: Blogger doesn't support categories, so I found a nice and simple hack for getting them up. Those of you who share my frustration with this lack of functionality may like the hack too. Also, because this hack uses Blogger's own search function, it may take awhile for posts to be read by Blogger and put in the appropriate categories, but they will make it there. And, finally, this will only work for posts I write from now on unless I feel ambitious enough to go back and tag previous posts, which I don't see happening in the near future. I hope this helps you use Library Marketing more fully! I'm hoping to play around with the interface some more in the near future, so I'll keep you updated!

Categories: random_stuff

Fair game

I always see some creative sales pitches at fairs, and VCU's Off-Campus Living Fair I participated in today was no different. I handed out a library resource guide with renter information for the students who were checking out all of the rental properties represented. What was most interesting was doing a little recon to scope out how all of these vendors differentiated themselves. I stopped by one popular table and asked the staffers what they were doing to draw people in. What I found was a fun idea that might work for librarians too:

The table had a Finding Nemo theme and a colorful poster that read, "Finding the Southside," which was a take-off of the Nemo theme that referred to finding properties on the south side of town. They also had a wheel students could spin that featured different Finding Nemo characters and, depending on what character the spinner landed on, students won a certain prize. Prizes included tiny cans of Play-Doh (my favorite give-away of the day), erasers and other small items. What I especially liked is that the table had a fun feel to it and that the game created a little experience for students to walk away with.

This got me thinking, of course, about what librarians could do with this idea in a fair setting. I liked the spin-the-wheel game and thought that a library take-off of Finding Nemo could be something like "Finding Library Resources" (or something catchy) where the spinner could land on all of the most helpful or new resources/services the library has to offer be it a podcast, Interlibrary Loan, online journals, or whatever (Nemo character decorations optional). Then, when students land on the spaces, librarians could (conveniently) talk about what the resource is and give a library-ish prize (gummy worms aka "bookworms," bookmarks, pens, pencils, etc.) along with printed information about the resource/service. Of course, other games would do too, but the most important things would be to 1. Create an experience patrons would be drawn to, have fun with, and could talk about with others and 2. Teach patrons what the library has to offer.

This isn't a new idea, just one that saw working well and want to try. I'd like to hear about games you've tried in similar settings - leave a comment!

Categories: real_life | tips_to_try

Marketing: It's for science and techie librarians too!

Gary Price's Resource Shelf points to the Winter 2006 issue of Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, which has an outreach and marketing theme. Give it a read!

Categories: must_reads | real_life | tips_to_try

Ready. Set. Engage!

NYT Columnist Stuart Elliott reports on one of the new trends in marketing: engagement. According Elliott's article, engagement was a hot topic at this year's Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) convention. So, what's engagement? In the article, Joseph T. Plummer, ARF's chief research officer, says, "What we need is a way to determine how the targeted prospect connected with, got engaged with, the brand idea," he added. "With engagement, you're on your way to a relationship instead of just a sales transaction." Engagement, then, is a way to get people emotionally involved with a brand. The article offers some good examples of how brands are "engaging" their customers.

Not to get mushy, but I agree that feelings matter and that, in the library world, feelings about the library as an experience matter. Our relationships with patrons are not just transactional, they're emotional and ongoing. These ideas about engagement, or whatever you call it, are useful in planning and implementing services so that they nurture and strengthen the bonds between patron and library.

Categories: new_news | neat_trends

Marketers who move (and shake!)

I would be remiss if I didn't thank the folks at Library Journal and Marylaine Block in particular, my colleagues and readers for selecting me as a 2006 LJ Mover & Shaker. Thanks, everyone! :) I want to also congratulate all of the other librarians out there a movin' and a shakin'! In particular, I though you all would want to read about fellow "Marketing Movers" Karen Rossi, Joan Bernstein, Gary Shaffer, and Ruth Sinker. It's so great to see all of the important work they're doing! Congrats all around!

Must-reads from MarketingProfs!

I can't tell you how much I just love MarketingProfs.com (I may even shell out the money one day to become a Premium Member, which is saying something for me!). Today, there are 3 very, very good articles for librarians that I recommend you save and read when you can.

The first is entitled "Turning Customers Into Your Sales and Marketing Department". The work refers to Fred Reichheld's research on something called a Net Promoter Score (I've mentioned this before). The authors go into a fair amount of detail about how to apply the Net Promoter Score and leverage your most enthusiastic customers to your advantage. I would be interested to see if this concept could/should be adopted for non-profits as I think it has potential in rallying our most dedicated patrons and unleashing their natural promotion skills.

The second article is called, "Marketing in Accelerated Culture" and it's fantastic! In fact, print it out and hang it on the nearest wall because the ideas presented here should guide marketers well into the future. The author, brand strategist Jay Pattisall, describes how and why old-school marketing is taking its last breaths, while newer marketers are making gains. As Pattisall boldly asserts, "In the future, marketing can no longer follow culture. It must lead culture." Right on!!

Finally, the article, "Strategic Social Marketing for Nonprofits" maps out a revised marketing mix for non-profits who are in the business of "selling" ideas and particular behaviors, rather than widgets. Sounds like us!

Power to the people! Social computing and marketing meet!

There were some important posts (here and here) on Mico Persuasion last week that outline the sources of upheaval in the marketing world. That is, traditional, institutional-controlled marketing is becoming marginalized by customers who wield enormous power thanks to new social technologies.

The posts reference a Forrester report that I haven't purchased, but the posts contain illustrative excerpts from the report that do a good job of summarizing the major points. You may also want to look at the TrackBacks and comments on the posts as some are fairly useful. The bottom line is that since customers are bombarded by too much "stuff" in the form of marketing messages, they've devised their own ways of filtering through it all by relying on social networks and their peers and colleagues. This is the BIG trend in marketing that I have discussed and will continue to discuss as it's crucial that librarians work out new marketing strategies given these new realities.

Heck, even Google, not known for its successes with social communities, is giving new strategies a try with its partnership with Nike and their joint soccer social network called Joga.

There will be more on this topic to come!

Wow! A whole world wide web of marketing resources!

The University of Texas at Austin's Advertising World really is a whole world of resources in one place! The sheer number of sites listed is mind-boggling, so enter at your own risk. The sites are grouped into a broad range of categories like Creativity, Fun, Market Research, Subliminal Messages, Word-of-Mouth, and on and on. Enjoy digging through this mound of Web sites (I know I will!).

What's in a product?

So, what's in a decent product that makes it an amazing product in the eyes of consumers? Kathy Sierra of Creating Passionate Users has some thoughts on the matter that I think librarians may find intriguing. Specifically, she outlines 10 ways to make your product desirable. I won't repeat them all here, but they include such goodies as "pay attention to the emotional appeal," "make it meaningful," "support a community of users," and "never underestimate the power of fun."

What's important to keep in mind with both products and services is that they are jam-packed with psychological and emotional meaning for people. Consider something as common as a bag of M&M's, for example. How do you feel about this product? Does it bring back feelings of nostalgia? Are M&M's your favorite comfort food? Do you find the M&M's spokes-candies fun and adorable? Now just think about how much meaning and emotion is embedded in an institution as established and widely-regarded as the library!

What I like about Kathy's post is that it reminds us that we don't just consume products, we have relationships with them. For these reasons, consumer psychology and behavior are important to understand in order to create services that have appeal on many levels. One popular site that is helpful for an introduction to such concepts is The Psychology of Consumers: Consumer Behavior and Marketing.

Beware of buyer

The marketplace has evolved from a "buyer beware" mentality to a "seller beware" attitude, which is a good thing. However, the newly found power customers wield means that one unhappy customer can spell big trouble for companies (and libraries too!). In fact, a Knowledge @ Wharton post reports that 100 dissatisfied customers can cost retailers between 32 and 36 percent of current or potential customers due to bad word-of-mouth! These results stress the importance of librarians providing consistent, high-quality customer service

What can librarians do to keep their patrons happy? One possible solution comes from Blog Business World. A post there suggests that companies create customer service blogs that keep a dialogue going between customers and employees. Doing so helps to ensure that surly customers don't keep their concerns bottled up, but instead tell employees about their problems so they can be resolved. I also like this idea because it increases libraries'/businesses' transparency to foster trust and relationships with patrons/customers.

Posts this week

Posts may be more infrequent that usual this week since I am out of the office for most of it. I'll be back on Monday and daily posts should resume then. Thanks for reading!

Keeping up with the competition: Amazon and downloading DVD's

The New York Times today reports that Amazon.com is in talks with Hollywood studios about offering a service whereby customers can download movies and TV shows and burn them onto DVD's. There's no telling what, if anything, this could mean for libraries, but it's worth keeping an eye on these trends as companies develop new ways of delivering information as they could influence patrons' expectations of library services. These trends could also illustrate ways in which librarians could modify their own services.

Podcasting a net to a targeted audience

I know I'm a bit biased on this, but my colleague here at VCU, Pete Kirlew, has recently unveiled an ambitious project he's been working on that illustrates some important marketing principles. Pete is the creator of Librarycasting SE, which employs screencasts, videos and podcasts to deliver educational and information resources in the sciences and engineering. You can learn more about the project here.

It's a very rich resource and one that is tailored to the needs and preferences of science/engineering faculty and students, many of whom don't come to the library building itself but who still require assistance in navigating resources. Pete has even created RSS feeds for the major topic areas so that users can hone in on exactly the information they need quickly and efficiently. While I won't describe every feature of the blog in this post, I encourage you to take a look at it. I was particularly impressed with how Pete's knowledge of his audience shaped every aspect of the blog and how his delivery of information includes visual and audio content to accommodate a variety of learning styles.

Like I said, I'm a bit biased but I think you'll agree that there is a lot of inspiration to be found here. Just imagine making library lectures and other events, new resources and services, and how-to information available in these various formats, customizable for numerous audiences, and easily deliverable through RSS. What exciting marketing opportunities!

I'd also like to hear about similar projects you're working on. Please leave a comment if you'd like to share.

Satisfied doesn't cut it

Harvard Business School's (HBS) Working Knowledge reviewed the new book The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth. The author, loyalty expert Fred Reichheld, argues that satisfied customers are not sufficient for business success and that instead companies should aim to turn customers into promoters.

While the book focuses on a measurement system Reichheld calls the Net Promoter Score, the excerpt HBS features is worth a read as it describes how businesses have gone about building lasting (and profitable) relationships with customers. What's most interesting is that a number of the companies profiled such as Chick-fil-A and HomeBanc Mortgage Corporation spent very little on advertising to generate business. So how did they grow? The found success by paying and treating their employees exceptionally well and by providing outstanding service on a consistent basis, which meant lots of repeat business and referrals. These examples are good reminders that great marketing means great service, which doesn't require flashy ads and big promotion budgets.

A new marketing book for librarians hits the shelves!

Author and head of the Department of Library and Information Science of Kota Open University, Dinesh Gupta, informed me of the release of a new book he co-edited entitled Marketing Library and Information Services: International Perspectives. The book features 40 papers from 47 contributors in 20 countries.

As the description states, "The marketing of library services has now been recognised as an essential agenda item for almost all kinds of libraries all over the world. Presenting contributions from a truly international group of librarians, this book provides a broad spectrum on the topic, providing a useful tool for both working librarians and future librarians to understand vital issues relating to the marketing of library and information services at the local, national and international level."

Thank you for passing this along!

Update: Dinesh Gupta informs me that he is no longer head of the Department (his next rotation is in 2007) and his university's name has changed from Kota Open University to Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota. I appreciate the updated information!

More on creating community

Duct Tape Marketing continues its discussion of community with the post, Contests Create Community. It points out how two organizations, the Washington D.C. Metro System and MasterCard, have asked customers to become involved with their services and promotions via contests. I was thrilled to see these companies inviting customers to be a part of their services and in such a fun way. Heck, if the D.C. Metro System can do it, so can we (and numerous libraries already have!).

Hone your sales and promotion skills!

KnowThis.com has some great new resources that will help you develop your sales and promotion techniques.

The first is an article called "Sales Training is Not Only for Salespeople." I couldn't agree more! In fact, the article even mentions librarians as an example of professionals who need top-notch sales skills: "Librarians face many challenges in getting customers to use their services when Internet access opens numerous information sources previously only available in libraries." Wow! The article outlines self-directed and trainer-directed training opportunities. If you ever have to man a table at a fair or work a service point, then you need to take a look at this!

The second resource is another installment of KnowThis.com's Principles of Marketing Tutorial called Promotion Decisions. This is a must-read for all librarians who need to get a firm grasp of or reminder of the basics. As the tutorial points out, "when non-marketers hear someone talk about "promotion" they frequently believe the person is talking about advertising. While advertising is the most visible and best understood method of promotion, it is only one of several approaches a marketer can choose to promote their products and services." That's a crucial point to remember when drafting your marketing plans! I would also suggest that this be the last thing you consider in your plans and that primary emphasis should be on the product/service you provide. Like a marketing professor of mine told me, nothing gets the word out about a bad product faster than a good promotional campaign.

The world comes to Wyoming in Wyoming libraries' new marketing campaign!

Thanks to Tina Lackey, Publications and Marketing Manager at Wyoming State Library who contacted me about her libraries' brand new marketing campaign, Bringing the World to Wyoming. The campaign aims to let people know that, "Wyoming's libraries are as expansive as the state, and as close as down the street." The Web site has information about the campaign where you can view their amazing billboard ads and radio spots. They also have an online store that offers tons of neat items like an apron, tote bags and even a doggie T-shirt!

Tina also sent a press release, which you can view here (PDF).

Thanks, Tina, and good luck!

Museums using podcasts as part of marketing arsenal

The Museum Podcasts newsletter features one museum that is employing podcasts as a marketing tool. An article describes how Panhandle-Plains Historical Musuem is reaching out to a non-traditional audience by offering podcasts that include discussions between students and curators about exhibits as well as artist interviews. The issue also includes an article about how Grace Museum is working with university students on a podcast project. Terrific inspiration for librarians here!

Transforming patrons into communities

We'd all agree that libraries are vital in sustaining and creating community, but how does a librarian actually go about "making" a community that will, in turn, sustain the library?

Duct Tape Marketing points to a post by author Guy Kawasaki that may be useful. In it, Kawasaki outlines 8 principles that are essential in community building, all of which librarians can do or do better. Some of my favorite are: Create something worth building a community around; Create an open system; and Welcome criticism. The Duct Tape Marketing post also features a podcast interview with Kawasaki on the topic.

In my own attempts at community building, I've found that creating an advisory committee has been an amazing way to harness the enthusiasm of patrons to come up with creative solutions. The students on my committee are very passionate about libraries and they never hesitate to voice their opinions, good and bad, while also sharing their excitement with other students. I don't know how I could do my work without the two-way communication and insights this little community offers. What strategies have you used to foster community in your library?

Update: A great comment on this post prompted me to clarify what I mean about creating communities from a marketing perspective. Certainly, librarians' responsibilities include reaching out into existing communities on their terms and on their turf so as to support those communities without imposing upon them. There is, I think, another kind of community as well, and that is one that derives its purpose from the library itself and members of those communities act as library advocates and advisors. I do not mean to imply that patrons must come to the library building itself in order to be a part of this community, but that they share a common passion for the library and the services it provides. Librarians can create an environment that fosters the formation of these communities by opening up lines of communication and giving people exciting news and services to rally around. In this sense, such communities sustain the library by invigorating its mission and telling others about its value. These are not artificial communities that librarians can mechanically construct, but they originate from genuine relationships between library staff and patrons and can be nurtured by creating some of the elements Kawasaki mentions in his post. At least, that's how I see it today, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this as well!

"My media"

"Where is the consumer? What do they want? Where do they want it? What messages will work for them?" Substitute the word "patron" for "consumer," and you might think this was a librarian talking. But, in fact, these words come from Yahoo!'s COO Daniel Rosensweig at the 2006 American Association of Advertising Agencies Media Conference and Tradeshow in Orlando, Florida. In his talk (accessible here), Rosensweig addresses many of the same topics that we librarians are contending with including user-generated content, self-publishing, consumer rating of information, information overload and the rise of communities that filter this information for their members, and the personalization of technology, among others. Speaking from a marketing perspective, Rosensweig addresses how to reach people as the advertising industry is experiencing a shift from "mass media" to what he calls "my media." In a nutshell, he sees the interaction between marketers and consumers on the Internet as a great opportunity to reach people and to gather information about what they want, using the Internet as an enormous database.

This talk is pertinent for us for a number of reasons. First, I contend that librarians concerned with marketing should pay close attention to what marketers in a business setting are up to. While we don't share the exact same concerns, talks like Rosensweig's are good reminders that we are all generally seeking to do essentially the same thing, which is to get people to use our stuff. Advertising is undergoing a major shift right now due to precisely the same changes in technology and information that we deal with (see this NYT reporter's write up of the Four A's conference for a summary of the major trends). They, like us, are trying to figure out how to communicate with people given that people are much more connected with each other than ever and there is a lot of information clutter out there. We can learn a lot from how marketers are responding to these changes, while still upholding the integrity of our own profession and recognizing our differences. Second, it was very interesting for me to hear a leader of one of our competitors talk about how Yahoo! wants to help consumers find what they need to know before they even have to ask, and also help people to find, create and enhance content. The marketing directions companies like Yahoo! take will influence the expectations patrons will have for us, and so whether or not we go down similar paths, we ought to be aware of what's going on in the larger information world.

I'd recommend taking a listen to Rosensweig's talk (it's not very long) for an interesting perspective on information and advertising. Talks from other advertisers are posted, though I haven't listened to them yet. Enjoy!

Google's long shadow

An article in yesterday's New York Times, demonstrates that librarians are not the only ones who are concerned about the impact of Google. Google also has ad execs on edge. The article discusses how Paris-based advertising and media conglomerate Publicis, opened a firm called Denuo that employs futurists whose job it is to defend Publicis and its clients from Google's entrance onto the advertising stage by anticipating trends. I had to smile at a comment from one lead futurist who the article quotes as saying, "Traditional ad companies, with their human-touch marketing skills, will always have an important edge over Google, he said. "Human beings can never be captured in an algorithm, and Google only understands algorithms," he said."

Here too is where librarians have an edge over Google. Marketing as a whole is becoming much more personalized, and librarians are experts in tailoring answers and resources for people in a very personal way through reference interviews, needs assessments, etc. Librarians, like the ad execs in the article, should scan the horizon for trends at that offer new ways to create and deliver those personalized, value-added services. If it takes a Google to shake things up to get organizations on their toes and thinking creatively about marketing, then such competition is a positive development, and not one to fear. Goolge's bold moves on numerous fronts presents a perfect opportunity to clarify and express our value, both for patrons and for ourselves.

Step up and take a swing

ALA's "Step up to the Plate @ your library" program will launch in April, but librarians can register now for free promotional tools. See the press release for details.