Transcript Marketing Your School Library

Marketing Your School
Library
Why market?
“… we face the new and, for many librarians,
uncomfortable position of being in
competition.”
-Sass
Something to think about…
Customer service
“…librarian can use the personal touch to build
a brand and change user tastes…It’s the
service that our public receives that helps
them perceive the value the library brings.”
-Sass
General Ways to Market
-Burkman, “A Practical Approach…”
 Reports for administration
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Collect test scores for the school & compare scores of
classes that utilize the library to the classes that do not
Use your data for reports; not just data from an article or
study
 Reports for parents
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Include the whole family
Share with public library
Provide clear information about policies & usage
Make sure they see the library as an extension of
the classroom
Teachers & Students
“It is a challenge…to bring in teachers because [they]
often hold preconceived ideas of what a library can
do for them.”
 Word of mouth
 Contests
 Library web page
Ownership?
 Library Blogs
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http://www.grandviewlibrary.org/default.aspx
http://talkingaboutreading.blogspot.com/
 Video
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-anHpB1OFE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8EqGaRMUi4
 Email and other communications
Marketing Tips
http://www.goecart.com/enewsletter/Aug05/seven-marketing-tips.asp
Consider the marketing tip given to your group.
How can you take this tip for marketing a
business/product and apply it to the library?
Come up with some specific examples of
ways you could use this tip.
Tip 1:
 Customers are usually receptive to more
offers from you immediately after they buy.
Follow up every sale with another offer for a
product or service related to the one they just
bought. Many will accept your offer
...producing an easy sale for you.
Tip 2:
 Make your sales presentation more
believable (and more effective) by converting
general statements into specific descriptions.
Instead of "quick and easy", explain exactly
how quick and how easy. Also, reduce round
numbers like "15 pounds" into specific odd
numbers like "13.7 pounds". It sounds more
authentic.
Tip 3:
 Search for and test some alternative
marketing methods you may be overlooking.
That's how one internet marketer discovered
direct mail postcards. They proved to be a
highly effective and very low-cost way to
generate traffic to her web site. Plus they
conceal her marketing efforts from
competitors who can see (and copy) what
she does online.
Tip 4:
 You can make your sales message more
effective by presenting everything in terms of
the benefit it provides to customers. For
example, don't just list testimonials from
satisfied customers. Point out that those
testimonials prove you have an established
history of delivering what you promise.
Tip 5:
 You can constantly improve the effectiveness
of your advertising by allocating 80 percent of
your advertising budget to proven promotions
and 20 percent to testing new things. When
something new works better than your proven
promotions, move it to the 80 percent group
and start testing something else in the 20
percent category.
Tip 6:
 Include a Questions and Answers page on
your web site with the answers to frequently
asked questions. It enables prospective
customers to get instant answers to their
questions ...and reduces the number of
questions you have to answer yourself.
A Simple Marketing Plan
http://entrepreneur.com/marketing/marketingcolumnistkimtgordon/article60000.html
 Section 1: Situation Analysis
This introductory section contains an overview of
your situation as it exists today and will provide a
useful benchmark as you adapt and refine your plan
in the coming months. Begin with a short description
of your current product or service offering, the
marketing advantages and challenges you face, and
a look at the threats posed by your competitors.
Describe any outside forces that will affect
your service in the coming year--this can be anything
from diminished traffic levels due to construction if
you're a retailer or a change in law that could affect a
new product introduction if you're an inventor, for
example.
Section 2: Target Audience
 All that's needed here is a simple, bulleted
description of your target audiences. If you're
marketing to consumers, write a targetaudience profile based on demographics,
including age, gender and any other
important characteristics. B2B marketers
should list your target audiences by category
(such as lawyers, doctors, shopping malls)
and include any qualifying criteria for each.
 “Librarians typically target students…but
leave out the other groups.”
Section 3: Goals
 In one page or less, list your company's marketing
goals for the coming year. The key is to make your
goals realistic and measurable so that you can easily
evaluate your performance. "Increase sales of
peripherals" is an example of an ineffective goal.
You'd be in a much better position to gauge your
marketing progress with a goal such as, "Increase
sales of peripherals 10 percent in the first quarter, 15
percent in the second quarter, 15 percent in the third
quarter and 10 percent in fourth quarter."
Section 4: Strategies and Tactics

This section will make up the bulk of your plan, and you should
take as much space as you need to give an overview of your
marketing strategies and list each of the corresponding tactics
you'll employ to execute them. Here's an example: A client of
mine markets videotape and equipment. One of her goals is to
increase sales to large ministries in three states by 20 percent.
Together we've developed a strategy that includes making a
special offer each month to this prospect group, and one of her
tactics is to use monthly e-mails to market to an in-house list.
 Your tactics section should include all the actionable steps you
plan to take for advertising, public relations, direct mail, trade
shows and special promotions. You can use a paper calendar to
schedule your tactics or use a contact manager or spreadsheet
program--what matters most is that you stick to your schedule
and follow through. A plan on paper is only useful if it's put into
action.
Section 5: Budget Breakdown
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The final section of your plan includes a brief
breakdown of the costs associated with each
of your tactics. So if you plan to exhibit at
three trade shows per year, for example,
you'll include the costs to participate in the
shows and prepare your booth and marketing
materials. If you find the tactics you've
selected are too costly, you can go back and
make revisions before you arrive at a final
budget.