Preparing for the millennium: the case for using marketing strategies - Marketing of Library and Information Services

No business would present a product for sale without knowing what the costs were, yet libraries have blissfully operated for many years without having this information. While libraries have had budgets, they have typically been of the line item variety, and the costs for each product have not been known. This has made decision-making regarding what products to offer, which ones to downsize, and which ones to eliminate virtually a subjective exercise.

There is another aspect to examine when deciding which products to offer, even when information from the marketing audit and relative cost factors are known. This aspect is demand. A proposed product may be very cost effective and may be well suited to meeting an identified need, yet the reality of demand must be considered. A trial period for a new product can be put in place in order to determine whether appropriate demand will be forthcoming.

It is not an easy matter to decide which products should be offered. With adequate information available, however, the library manager can make informed and objective decisions - and make them in the context of the planning process. Without the necessary cost data, vital information would be lacking and subsequent decisions less well-informed.

Step Seven: Determining Channels of Distribution

The next component of the "Ps" to directly affect product decision-making relates to how each product will connect with the target clients. Kotler refers to distribution as "place" - a term that is relatively straightforward when the product is available through a single location. The concept of place becomes more complex when there are multiple access points, including both physical sites and other alternative delivery systems. Therefore, it is necessary to examine "place" in the context of product distribution and channels of connection between products and clients - with an emphasis on access. When access is held out as the driving goal, objectives and actions can be developed that will move the library toward providing distribution channels that meet client needs in terms of both time and point of use convenience. There are obvious costs connected to distribution and access, and specific judgments will need to be made as to which channel(s) within a range of alternatives will be selected for each product.

There are nine decision factors that are concerned with the distribution decision flow from initial product determinations through the entire life cycle of the product (Weingand, 1987). With access as the decision frame, these nine factors need to be included in the ongoing discussion and evaluation process.

Factor #1: Quality of Service

Distribution must be viewed as an integral part of each product, for a product that cannot be used is of very little value. This interdependence of product and distribution can be observed in several use measures: the nature of the information output (level of accuracy, language, appropriateness, and so on), the format in which the product is available (audio, print, visual, person-to-person, program, etc.), the type of access (building, electronic, mail, and so on), and the speed of obtaining the desired information.