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

It is important to emphasize once again that integration of the elements of the two processes, as illustrated in the schematic, provides a more reasonable and consistent approach to the marketing and planning efforts than either system employed independently. Weingand (1994) asserts that the elements flow together easily and naturally, allowing a synchronized response to "where to go" and "how to get there" questions.

The success rate of each system is directly dependent upon the success rate of the other. Marketing without planning is an exercise; planning without marketing is a formality. The relationship is somewhat analogous to that of theory and practice. Planning sets the conceptual framework; marketing implements the planning directives and creates an environment conducive to an effective exchange process. (p. 14)

Step One: The Planning Team

This marketing/planning structure actually begins (although not depicted on the schematic) with the creation of a planning team, a working group composed of stakeholders (representatives of those groups who will be affected by the decisions to come). The team should consist of members of both the internal and external environments, such as the library staff (including the director), policymakers, funders, and representatives from the library's various client groups.

Rochell (1981) stresses that here is a very real need for libraries to involve representatives from all levels of the community, as well as all levels of staff, in examining current status and assessing needs (p. 23). Although community and staff input is frequently sought in typical data gathering, it is less common for such representation to be the composition of the planning group. Long-range benefits can accrue when those to be affected by decisions have been part of the making of those decisions. Those planning groups that include this range of involvement not only contribute diverse perspectives but also develop a sense of "ownership" that may endow the final decision-making with an atmosphere of cooperation and consensus building.

Once the planning team is formed, there needs to be consideration of the planning cycle or how often the process comes full circle and begins to repeat. Under normal environmental conditions, a planning team can expect to work with small circles within a larger circle - individual operational year planning (typically tied to the budget development process) within the larger context of a five-year rolling horizon long-range plan (always extending five years into the future). Each year, as a new operational planning effort begins, the longrange plan is reviewed and revised as necessary. Therefore, the longrange plan forever extends five years into the future. Under unusual circumstances, such as a major funding alteration or significant community change, the planning timetable may need to be reviewed - particularly in terms of gathering new environmental data.

Step Two: The Marketing Audit

Environments, both internal and external, need to be routinely examined. Kotler (1982) defines the marketing audit as a "comprehensive, systematic, independent, and periodic examination of an organization's marketing environment, objectives, strategies, activities, with a view of determining problem areas and opportunities and recommending a plan of action" (p. 185). A marketing audit covers both the external assessment of client needs and the attempt to understand community systems. In addition to this analysis of the external environment, the marketing audit also analyzes the internal circumstances of the library - identifying strengths, limitations, and present practice. By looking both outward and inward, the entire environment of the library is examined.