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How to Write a Marketing Plan

by Amelia Kassel
In recent years, libraries of all types have found it necessary to compete for both money and clients as major
changes have occurred. Corporate librarians have realized that they must show management why they are useful
and how they contribute to the bottom line. Public libraries face stiff competition for funding. Additionally, the
Internet brings a whole new dimension of competition that public, academic, and corporate libraries are facing
daily. Whereas budget problems have been around for some time, the recent competition from the Internet can
translate into fewer users, despite the fact that the Internet is also a crucial tool used by librarians for research and
mareting.
In an interview for this article, !uzanne Ward "author of !tarting and #anaging $ee%&ased !ervices in Academic
'ibraries, (AI Press, Inc., )**+, told me that -students are no longer a captive audience. because many do their
own research using PCs "and at the beach at that/,. !he says that both students and faculty are seeing less value in
the library infrastructure, and this is creating a need for more proactive strategic planning and mareting to eep
libraries from being discounted even more. Ward also e0plains that academic libraries sometimes create planning
documents that are updated periodically. !he contends, however, that not many even do this. 1ric 'ease #organ
asserts that, -As the perception of worth decreases so do ta0 dollars or other administrative support..
&ecause of all of these e0isting challenges and intensifying changes, it is not surprising that at least a handful of
libraries have turned to -tried and true. business models for improved planning and development, and that they
are employing mareting plans as one method for moving forward. Indeed, !uzanne Ward believes that -as time
goes on 2libraries3 must thin in this way to achieve goals.. 4ecent library literature supports the concept of
mareting. "!ee reading list at end.,
5ne approach to library services during the past )6 years has been to develop fee%based information services that
are geared toward businesses, local governmental agencies, or other target marets beyond what basic budgets can
otherwise support. $ee%based services in libraries enhance institutional image and prestige, mae contributions to
the community not possible before, create more opportunities for interaction, and have the potential for maing
money and diversifying revenue.
Without 7uestion, fee%based services re7uire a business and mareting plan, since, as Ward e0plains, -starting or
managing a fee%based information service is very much lie starting and running a small business..
!teps for Creating the #areting Plan
5ne of the fundamental procedures involved in any successful business operation is creating and implementing a
mareting plan. A maret is a particular group of buyers8or in the case of libraries, users or clients8who needs
services. A mareting plan consists of several components, each of which is described below.
&efore writing a mareting plan, it is necessary to define your target maret and to understand its needs. 9his
involves conducting maret research, which 1ric 'ease #organ describes as using transaction log analysis,
circulation records, user surveys, focus group interviews, and information interviews to provide insight on what
your customers really e0pect.
9o write a mareting plan, follow the numbered outline below.
). Prepare a mission statement.
9he mission statement clearly and succinctly describes the nature of the business, services offered, and marets
served8usually in a few sentences. !ometimes for larger companies it:s combined with a vision statement that
can be two to three paragraphs in length. !ome e0amples of mission statements can be found at
http;<<www.csuchico.edu<mgmt<strategy<module).
=. 'ist and describe target or niche marets.
In this section, list and describe potential groups of users or clients. After you create the list, identify various
segments of a maret. !egments can include specific types of people in a company by role8for e0ample, chief
e0ecutive officer, chief financial officer, or mareting director. >epartment heads are another type of maret
segment. $or segmenting the consumer maret, consider age groups. In addition, niche marets are an integral
part of mareting. Within a target maret of attorneys, for instance, there may be niche groups such as trial or
malpractice attorneys. In some instances, targeting by firm size is an important consideration.
?. >escribe your services.
As mentioned above, it:s necessary to conduct maret research to understand your maret and to identify the
services they re7uire. At the same time, inventory the services you currently offer and identify new services you
wish to provide. >etermine what it will tae to provide these services in terms of staff, e0pertise, and costs.
@. !pell out mareting and promotional strategies.
Aarious strategies wor better for different target marets and, therefore, several may be re7uired to triumph. 9he
ey for successful mareting is understanding what maes someone want to use or buy services and what type of
mareting strategy they respond to. 9his re7uires you to learn needs, problems, industry trends, and buzzwords.
9o get up to speed for a particular business maret, read trade journals and attend professional conferences to meet
prospective users or buyers in person. &ecome active in various groups whenever possible and form strategic
alliances. $ind out what wors best for the marets you serve.
9his is a trial%and%error process that re7uires testing and interaction with clients or prospective clients, although
reading case studies and interviewing and consulting with libraries that have already had mareting achievements
is one way to save time. 9o this end, I have included some references at the end of this article that contain success
stories of other libraries.
&asic mareting strategies include the following;
Betwor, either in person or electronically, by participating in discussion groups online where your target marets
congregate.
>irect mareting involves sending out sales letters, capability brochures, flyers, or special offers on a regular,
repeated basis to the same group of prospects. >irect mareting can only wor if you spea the language of your
target maret and contact them regularly.
Advertise in print media or directories, often with a specific offer to reap the benefit of an immediate response or
sales. Advertising lends credibility "image advertising, and, lie direct mareting, must be continuous.
>evise training programs that increase awareness about your services.
Write articles for local media or professional journals and newsletters that describe the benefits of your services.
>irect or personal selling is the one%on%one selling, often on site at a prospect:s office or company. >irect sales are
a particularly costly form of mareting since you only reach one person at a time. Cowever, if you present your
services to a group of people at a company, such as people from a particular department or several department
heads, direct sales can be beneficial.
!end out publicity and press releases through local newspapers, radio, and television stations.
Participate in trade shows at the local or regional level.
When a strategy wors, repeat it. &ut if it fails, and you have done it right, drop it. 9he ability to develop and
implement each of the strategies above re7uires learning and honing new sills. It will most liely be necessary to
read mareting and sales boos, attend courses or worshops, or hire consultants and specialists to assist you as
necessary.
6. Identify and understand the competition.
As part of the maret planning process, you must learn about your competitors and how to position yourself in
relation to them. >escribe your strengths and what you want to emphasize. 5nce you identify both direct and
indirect competition "for e0ample, the Internet as indirect competition,, you can determine how and why your
services are special and benefit users in a particular way. Dou can compete based on value, price, product, or
service, or some combination of these. Dour uni7ue position in the maretplace must be touted in your mareting
programs and mareting literature.
E. 1stablish mareting goals that are 7uantifiable.
#areting goals can include setting the number of new clients you would lie to ac7uire, the number of people
you would lie to reach, or the amount of income you would lie to generate. &e realistic and practical in
establishing your goals. 9ae a good loo at the available sills and resources that you can commit to implement
and integrate your goals into your mareting plan effectively. !tudy the budget re7uirements for the strategies you
select and plan accordingly.
+. #onitor your results carefully.
&y monitoring results, you determine which of your mareting strategies are woring and which are not. Identify
strategies that generate leads and sales. 9his involves tracing and evaluating customers: responses to each
mareting strategy. !urvey or interview regular users for comments about why they find a service important. As
you get to now your repeat clients better, meet with them for detailed feedbac and as them for ideas and
suggestions about how you can introduce your products and services to more prospects who are just lie them.
Client comments are invaluable for creating or enhancing your maret literature, and you can also learn and
incorporate terms or language common to a particular user group through this process. (ust as valuable, these
interviews lead to statements that can be used as testimonials "with permission of course, and in future brochures
and promotional activities.
Cints and 9ips for &eginners
Concentrate your efforts on finding customers who provide you with ongoing or repeat business.
Create a customer profile based on interviews as a way to understand e0isting clients. When you now why a
customer comes bac, you will be able to identify more of the same.
!tay focused on your target marets.
>on:t scatter your efforts. 9his is especially important for directing a particular mareting strategy to a specific
group.
&e persistent. #areting projects are the sorts of things that often need to be repeated over and over before
permanent change is achieved.
&e prepared to revise your plan as you learn what wors and what doesn:t.
>on:t be afraid of failure. When a strategy fails, view it as part of trial%and%error that you can learn from, and as a
natural part of the process.
9his Is 4eally a Plan for !uccess
Any successful business must have nowledge about prospective or current clients and must implement a
mareting plan that is regularly revised. #areting is beginning to catch on in libraries, and librarians are hearing
more and more about it. Fnlie the longer%term strategic planning documents, mareting plans in libraries should
be revised annually, lie a business model, and should reflect changes and revised goals based on the previous
year:s e0perience.
A mareting plan is an important tool for maing your library victorious in this age of change, where woring
smarter is necessary to achieve your desired results.
Amelia Gassel is principal of #areting&A!1, an information broerage that provides business and maret
intelligence worldwide. !he has an #.'.!. from the Fniversity of California at 'os Angeles. Gassel teaches
information broering as well as Internet and online research to students from all over the world at seminars and
in her e%mail%based, go%at%your%own%pace #entor Program. !he is an information industry author, speaer, and
worshop leader for national and international conferences. Dou can contact her at ameliaHmaretingbase.com or
at http;<<www.maretingbase.com.

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