Marketing in the Special Library Environment

SPECIALIBRARIES DEVELOPED IN response to a need for specific information and the emerging recognition that an organization with quick access to good information may have a competitive advantage. Effective marketing is an ongoing well-executed process of planning for favorable exchange to help achieve organizational objectives. Marketing plans in special libraries integrate library services and functions with organizational goals and objectives, influencing the behavior and performance of the organization by the way information from the library is communicated and used. Successful special libraries, located in either profit or nonprofit organizations, effectively increase organizational opportunities by discovering and delivering information that is really needed. Integrated strategic marketing planning within the special library environment focuses the library toward organizational strategic thinking and planning and offers the opportunity to develop more effective library services, which may lead to overall improved organizational decision-making. INTRODUCTION Special libraries develop their own culture. They are part of the culture of their parent organization, thinking and doing things the way the organization thinks and does things. They are part of the common assumptions and beliefs and part of the shared values and understandings of the organization. The organization’s culture sets the tone and style of communication within the organization, Janet E. Powers, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Library, 1200S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605 LIBRARY TRENDS, Vol. 43, No. 3, Winter 1995, pp. 478-93 @ 1995 The Board of Trustees, University of Illinois POWERWMARKETING IN THE SPECIAL LIBRARY ENVIRONMENT 479 promoting the common interpretation of “reality” of the organization. Behaviors, emotions, talk, and physical objects reflect the culture of an organization. Organizational leaders define and influence culture by their behavior and response to organizational situations. Special libraries are also influenced by the very traditional cultures of libraries, specifically the expectation of the familiar. Since most special libraries do not adequately fulfill traditional library roles, not fulfilling the expectation of the familiar is a part of the culture of special libraries. How special libraries handle the expectation of the familiar in a positive meaningful way defines an important component of their culture. Additionally, the culture of special libraries defines them as special-i.e., not academic, school, public, or research. A widely used definition of a special library is from White (1984) and suggests that a special library “exists to support and enhance the mission of the organization in which it is housed” (p.25).Special libraries provide special services to specialized clientele in a specialized location. The culture of special libraries sets special libraries apart from traditional libraries, that distinction becoming a part of the organizational culture surrounding the special library. Successful special libraries influence organizational culture, responding proactively to traditional roles of libraries and the expectation of the familiar by defining and promoting a more current and service-oriented image. The special library creates a “reality” of itself within the cultural arena surrounding it that provides a positive and consistent philosophy that accurately reflects the mission. Blending special library culture and organizational culture into a positive service-oriented client-based image within the culture is a challenge for most special library managers. An integrated marketing plan is a very effective tool for a special library to define and transmit its image, philosophy, and mission within the organizational culture to create a dynamic process of information exchange. Strategic positioning within the organization will become a more defined and planned process with the development and implementation of a marketing plan. MARKETING PLAN Marketing plans in special libraries integrate library goals and objectives with organizational goals and objectives. An integrated marketing plan blends internal and external environments (objectives, goals, strategies, and plans) of an organization with public relations, advertising, and communications, including publications, and presentations of the organization’s culture and image to convey a consistent message to a target audience. The marketing plan orients the organization toward a path of future growth and opportunity, 480 LIBRARY TRENDWWINTER 1995 thereby creating priorities to achieve goals and objectives, and provides a framework for organizational communication. The planning process identifies, promotes, and evaluates organizational activity. The marketing process is the process of exchange-i.e., taking something of value and exchanging i t for something needed. The process of developing a marketing plan creates the plan and the path to future growth and development. The process itself is critical to the success of the plan. The process of developing the plan defines it and is more important than the plan itself. The process of planning is the product of planning. Again, the organizational culture influences the marketing planning process; an open empowering clientcentered culture will offer the best opportunity for inclusiveness in planning, resulting in a comprehensive shared marketing plan. There are several models of strategic marketing planning, many based on Kotler’s strategic marketing planning process. Crompton and Lamb (1986) offer comprehensive steps in developing a marketing plan. The marketing plan developed in this article borrows concepts from both models as well as from the Marketing Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations by the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation (Stern, 1990) and Drucker’s (1993) The Fiue Most Important Questions You Wil l Ever Ask About Your Nonprofit Organization. Although developed primarily as a strategic integrated marketing plan for special libraries in nonprofit organizations, special libraries in profit organizations may also incorporate many of the same processes and steps outlined later. Define the Organization The first step in integrated strategic marketing planning is to define the mission, goals, objectives, underlying philosophy, and messages of the organization. The process of articulating an organizational mission will set the tone for the process. While it is important to create change within the current environment, and the process of planning is very time consuming, appropriate time allotted to creating a shared mission is time well spent. “What business are we in?” is Drucker’s (1993) number one question in his listing of the five most important questions a library will ever ask. It is a very important question, especially for special libraries. Traditional libraries have of ten been influenced by what is called a social service culture (Kotler, p, 76). Good-hearted efforts, the true democratic process, and equal access to equal information have long been accepted as library missions. Special libraries generally do not have that as their mission, although many still react to that in their culture. Their mission is part of the organization mission and serves to support that mission. While the special library mission POWERSIMARKETING IN THE SPECIAL LIBRARY ENVIRONMENT 481 may support the organizational mission in a very specific and defined area, it is still a support mission. The mission establishes the business of the organization. Goals and objectives describe the desired future of an organization. Goals of ten have an implicit message or philosophy. Ben-Shir (1993), director of the Health Science Resource Center at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, Illinois, has developed a philosophy of service in two very important messages. The first message is “the front door is the phone.” Hospital staff do not often have time to come to the resource center, therefore the library will deliver services to the staff. The second message is ”the resource center is a secret weapon for hospital staff.” Working with staff to meet their deadlines, Ben-Shir’s messages further develop the philosophy of service for the resource center. Other messages that special libraries may wish to consider as they develop goals include promoting leading edge technology to ensure speedy document delivery, creating and maintaining a friendly and helpful workplace, listening and responding to information requests, developing a client-centered library, and providing quality information services. Goals may be image goals, action goals, or philosophical goals. Part of the process of establishing goals and objectives is to look at organizational strengths and weaknesses. Why are certain areas strengths and others weaknesses? Are there enough resources allocated to create a strength out of a weakness? Will that alone make it a strength or is something else creating a weakness? What may be causes of strengths and weaknesses? Special libraries will have a brighter future if their departmental goals and objectives support the institutional goals and objectives. An important philosophy for the special library’s goals and objectives is that our future will improve your future. Emphasize to your library clients the value timely information will have on decision-making, confidence, planning, and strategizing. Successful special libraries recognize and accommodate the real needs of clients and not perceived needs. Goals and objectives will reflect real needs if messages and philosophy are focused on client need. Supporting institutional goals and objectives is the first step toward a client-centered approach to defining needed library services. Listen to the messages from the organization. Respond to the messages in terms of benefits the library may offer clients. Recognize the individual in the client and offer customized services based on individual information needs. Participating in the organizational process of defining mission, goals, and objectives offers the special library staff an opportunity to participate in the exchange process-i.e., in the process of building a shared vision for impacting the culture of the organization. Working 482 LIBRARY TRENDS/WINTER 1995 with managers and executives within the organization helps build a framework for developing collaborative programs and resource sharing. Again, the philosophy of most special libraries is based on their mission to support the information needs of the parent organization. Supporting the information needs is much easier to accomplish when there is a process of communication to truly understand what those needs may be. Define External Forces The second stage in integrated strategic marketing planning is to carefully analyze and define external forces, including threats and opportunities. Fundamental forces that shape the external environment include demographic, economic, technological, political, and social indicators. The impact and nature of many of these forces will be felt differently in different organizational structures. Nonprofit organizations may be more heavily influenced by social or economic indicators, whereas a multinational corporation may respond very keenly to some political forces in developing countries where they are heavily invested. Defining and recognizing the impact of fundamental external forces on the organization and on special libraries offers the opportunity to plan and prepare for the future. The culture of special libraries will be influenced by some fundamental forces. External threats and opportunities will impact the direction of the special library. Having some kind of plan to identify and track threats and opportunities from the external environment will help the special library focus on planning for the future. A movement toward an information-based economy may signal increased support for work in special libraries; i t may also signal increased competition. As information and communication technologies advance and mutually influence one another, their progress and future influence the way libraries get information and do business. Information systems departments in some organizations may challenge special libraries to deliver information. Special libraries may want to respond by marketing the real value of a special library, which is getting needed information to the client. Traditional library instruction teaches the reference interview process, which is the process of communication exchange and of implementing the communication process to create favorable exchange. Assessing and determining what is really needed is a very important value to the work in special libraries. Globalization is another trend that may alter the culture of special libraries. Global economic competition is changing the way POWERWMARKETING IN T H E SPECIAL LIBRARY ENVIRONMENT 483 businesses work. Economic changes in the world market restructure our ideas on the value of information and means of access to it. Networking management, rather than hierarchical management, is one response to the pressures of a volatile economic market. The special library may want to revisit its client base, look very closely at a needs assessment, and respond with services that address globalization. The changing nature of competition and public trends may influence corporate thinking on many levels of product development. There is a growing emphasis on individual over institutional thinking, influencing consumer decision-making. Empowering individuals toward self-fulfillment, self-definition, and entrepreneurial career opportunities are shifts in thinking resulting from this trend, and they could alter the way an organization may want to think about handling its business. The special library may become an active participant in this step of the overall marketing plan by taking the initiative and gathering materials and resources on trends and by forecasting. Maintaining and promoting a resource file describing trends may assist senior management in decision-making and planning. A service the library may wish to develop and market to the organization actively engaged in the process of marketing planning is a service to track trends that directly impact organizational planning and development. Both the special library culture and the organizational culture will respond to external forces; the challenge is to blend both cultures into a cohesive analysis of tracking and managing trends and the potential impact those may have on the business of the organization. Conduct a Marketing Audit A marketing audit is an organized examination and assessment of the library’s activities, including needs and capabilities. Building from the previous internal and external analyses, the marketing audit details where the organization is and why. By plotting the current place of an organization, the marketing audit will offer possible paths toward a desired direction, an improved marketing position, and increased performance. The process of conducting a marketing audit leads to the action plan. An effective audit is designed to assist management in effective decision-making to develop better marketing strategies. An audit in a special library considers the culture of both the organization and the special library, mission, objectives and goals, 484 LIBRARY TRENDWWINTER 1995 and philosophy and messages. The marketing audit also analyses the “P’s’’of marketing: product, publics, price, place, production, and promotion. The product in most special libraries is library services available to clients. Interlibrary loan, periodical routing, borrowing privileges, online and CD-ROM searching, selective dissemination of information, in-depth research, and information analysis are some of the services available in many special libraries. Trend analysis and tracking and prospect research may also be valuable services special libraries perform. In some cases, the collection may also be considered part of the product. Specifically unique and targeted files, special collections, antiquarian materials, and special publications may be a library product. Often, though, the collection is the tool available to provide the service, and the services are the product of a special library. The publics are the clients using the library. Often the publics in the special library are, very simply stated, the staff of the organization. Part of the challenge of the marketing audit is to analyze different publics and their need for the product. Are there staff who never use the library, and, if so, why? Are there staff using the library in only a very static way, staff who seek citations only rather than subject queries? There are many effective marketing research tools to further analyze publics, including surveys and circulation and use statistics. How do objectives, goals, and philosophy impact potential library clients? How might a new objective impact one particular department and why? The price of services includes direct and indirect costs needed to produce the product. In the special library environment, price relates to what the client must give up to use the product or services offered. Often in a special library environment, price refers to the overall cost of the library in relation to the value of the service. Here cost-benefit analysis and statistics may support library services. What is the value of the service to the client? What does the client need and is the client getting what is really needed? Information services may be costed out and analyzed relative to the overall benefit the library services provide. Place in a special library generally refers to delivery and distribution of the product. Many special library clients go months without setting foot in the actual library. Ben-Shir’s (1993) message that the telephone is the front door is an excellent description of place in a special library. Place is where the product or service is delivered. Delivery of information to the location requested by the client is place. Barriers to place include some of the limits to technology. However, the real barriers to place are often in the cultural and philosophical thinking of place as an object rather than as a POWERS/MARKETING IN THE SPECIAL LIBRARY ENVIRONMENT 485 process. Place is often the process of delivery, is often dynamic, and