Marketing Strategies for the Use of Research4Life Resources

Overview Discussion of the concept of marketing Strategies for the implementation of a marketing plan Development of a Research4Life (R4L) resources marketing plan for your institution note: this module includes material from the Publicizing e-Resources at Institutions presentation of ITOCA (

Why market R4L resources? Many information options for users are on the Internet; we want R4L resources to be key option Marketing can be specific or broad – for one, several or all programs (depending on users) To educate users about full potential of these resources To enrich curricula, research, policy and, for HINARI, clinical practice To increase the use and justify the support by the publishers (currently committed through 2020)

Definition of Marketing in Libraries “Marketing is a way of thinking which has to pervade the whole approach of the library staff. It has to do with predicting and providing services that people need and with providing services of the best quality.” Wakeham M Marketing and health libraries Health Information and Libraries Journal: December 2004:21(4)237-46

Marketing R4L Resources is a whole process centered around the needs of the institution’s users to identify what users want and communicate with them (or) To supply R4L and other electronic resources to the various user groups teach users skills to be self-sufficient encourage the use of these resources over a long period of time a strategic tool of management

Overview - Marketing Plan 1. Examine the library's mission or purpose 2. Assess library capabilities with an internal assessment – a marketing audit 3. Find out what products (services) your users want through market research 4. Develop goals and objectives based on your mission and the results of your internal audit and external research

5. Select strategies to promote your products that will work best and reach your user groups 6. Create a plan of action that describes all the steps needed to carry out the strategies for meeting goals 7. Evaluate the outcome of the plan Ohio Library Council Marketing the Library (accessed 18 Aug 2015) Overview - Marketing Plan continued

Marketing Audit Goal is to examine products offered and assess the value of the products to the users by assessing: Product - library services, resources, instruction, etc. available to users - particularly R4L & other electronic resources Price of Service - includes direct and indirect costs to produce and deliver the product

Marketing Audit continued Place - considers delivery and distribution of the products and services, location of services, availability, and accessibility particularly to the R4L & other electronic resource Promotion - how libraries let users know what products are available Ohio Library Council Marketing the Library (accessed 18 Aug 2015)

Marketing Segments ‘Marketing segments’ is another phrase for ‘client groups’ – to identify and differentiate Common groupings for academic libraries include status (faculty, researcher, student – undergraduate or postgraduate, staff) or geographic Groupings also can be by information needs and/or skills Senior management is a marketing group – support is essential

Role of Staff All staff promotes service when they interact with users Staff creates relationships with users based on the quality of service Regarding R4L resources, the role of staff is to: –identify potential users and their information needs –customize and package services for identified groups –train users to be self-sufficient

Promotion Promotion or ‘marketing communication’ is the key element to marketing must be clear and state what is being promoted, why and to whom and what effect is expected is not synonymous with marketing in which significant data gathering and analysis are done is a tool of the overall strategy is campaign to communicate with a specific group of users about a specific service/resource (R4L and other electronic resources)

Promotion Includes Institutional or Library websites Training workshops, seminars or meetings Direct mailing – targets limited audience and personalized Advertisements, banners and posters – attempts to reach a wide audience but with a simple message

Promotion Includes continued Leaflets and newsletters – reaches a wide audience, can convey considerable information; limit to one topic Events – reaches a wide audience; can convey considerable information and allows interaction between staff and users Word of mouth – referrals by teachers or colleagues and library staff particularly with users

Evaluation notes if the library or health information center has been successful in achieving the objectives of marketing – the promotion and use of R4L resources confirms if the users’ needs have been correctly identified and met measures performance objectives: data on institution’s use of various R4L programs’ resources instructional assignments using these resources

Marketing on Website

Successful Marketing May include active bidding for funds from institutional and outside sources Can take up considerable staff time and staff may need training Will involve tools –surveys –attendance at meetings –becoming involved in projects from other parts of the organization –talks with visitors to the library –focus groups

Surveys For marketing, a survey can be defined as ‘a set of questions people are asked to gather information or find out opinions, or the information gathered by asking many people the same questions.’ Cambridge Dictionaries Online (accessed 19 Aug 2015) dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/survey

Keys to Surveys Write a good and short introduction Ask questions that provide the information you need Ask important questions first, then demographic ones Organize the questions in logical groups Use easy-to-understand language Avoid technical terms, jargon and acronyms

Keys to Surveys continued Use even number responses (a,b,c,d) so that the respondent cannot use a neutral answer Be sensitive to the feelings of your respondents Thank the respondents Keep survey short, simple and to the point Questionnaires and survey designs – a free tutorial

Summary of Marketing Strategy Clear and to the point Avoid using technical jargon Keep it Short and Simple (KISS) Packaged appropriately to suit audience

Ongoing Strategy Create ‘listening posts’ for feedback –word-of-mouth, help desk, suggestion box, surveys Periodically –analyze effectiveness of communication strategy; continue to evaluate –write report and present findings According to findings –fine tune communication strategy to meet user needs –there is always a better way to do things Marketing of R4L resources is an ongoing activity!

Additional Resources American Library Association your library (contains numerous downloadable resources that are applicable to academic institutions) Association of European Research Libraries Expert Tips for Marketing Your Library libereurope.eu/blog/2013/06/03/expert-tips-for- marketing-your-library/ North Carolina State University Library Library Marketing Plan Workbook ing_Plan_Workbook.pdf

Exercise Develop an institution’s marketing play by using the accompanying (Excel spreadsheet) workbook. Note: This document can be printed and distributed at workshops. The participants would complete the exercise manually. Updated

Appendix 1 Marketing Strategy completed by: National University of Samoa – Nursing Lecturers, December 2013