The Olympic training field for planning quality library services - Marketing of Library and Information Services

The introduction of the "exchange concept" is the fundamental difference between traditional long-range planning and marketing planning. Providing value for the customer in exchange for the customer's tax money, fees, tuition, or time (price) is the focus of the market planning exercise. The components of marketing planning vary in that the focus shifts away from the institution or product to the ever-changing customers' wants and needs.

Marketing starts with finding out what the customers want. For the American public, it may be a winning Olympic Team - a group of athletes who are giving their "all" for the prestige and satisfaction of winning the gold medal for their team and country. For library staffs, a common perception is that customers want everything. Customers may seem to want every book ever written, every journal article published, every CD, video, and audio tape in addition to desiring that the library facility be open twenty-four hours per day, seven days a week. The customer seems to expect the library staff to have read, heard, or watched every item in the library collection so they may recommend just the right title at any given moment. This is the world as it may appear from a library staff's perspective.

However, price/value marketing originates with the determination of what the majority of the customers actually want - not what it may seem that they want. An equally important step from the standpoint of library management will be to match customer wants or preferences with available library resources. It is important to shed traditional thinking and realize that some services may no longer be considered basic and instead might be offered on a partial or full cost recovery basis in order to provide additional services the customers seem to prefer.

It will be critical to not be sidetracked by the wants of the "vocal few." Every community has a vocal minority, which, when allowed to influence policymakers, may cause the production of a distorted program with marginal community support. There are a few individuals in every community who, because of position, politics, resources, talent, or available time, may be able to get and keep attention on a specific idea. Sometimes these ideas may have merit for the majority. However, each idea, regardless of the source, needs to be examined apart from the messenger and in the context of the needs of the majority the library serves.

That is why it is critical to the success of any customer needs evaluation that it be randomly distributed, readily available, and easily understood so that the results will be perceived as meaningful by the users of the library, as well as by those who are potential users of the library's services.

What do service-oriented organizations do differently from other organizations which are not perceived as being service-oriented by their customers?

In 1980, Citibank compiled the results of a study conducted with 18 highly service-oriented companies. Citibank conducted detailed, structured interviews with 90 managers in these companies to learn how they think and what they do to create and maintain excellent service.... The Citibank study showed that, regardless of their size or the industry they're in, service-oriented firms have many things in common. They have similar policies and practices for delivering service; they think about service in the same ways; and their people talk about service in the same way, of ten using the same words. The message is: There's no mystery about what it takes to be a service leader. And the things they do will work in any company. They will also work for associations, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, schools and other organizations too. (pp. 15-16)