Q:\elenita\irc directors workshop quito 2010\barbar marketing workbook 21 may 10

IRC Marketing:
The Power of a Plan
Presented by
Peggy Barber
Library Communication Strategies, Inc.
for the U.S. Embassy, Information Resource Center Staff

June 9, 10, 11, 2010
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Quito, Ecuador

Market driven Information Resource Centers . . .
• Know their markets.
• Treat everyone like a customer.
• Have everyone on the marketing team.
• Ask, ask, ask. Then Listen.
• Innovate constantly.
• Don’t fear the competition.
—Mission-Based Marketing, How Your Not-For-Profit Can Succeed in a
More Competitive World, Peter C. Brinckerhoff, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1997

©Library Communication Strategies
1830 N. Fremont St. Chicago, IL 60614 312-649-0028
librarycomm@librarycomm.com www.librarycomm.com

© Library Communication Strategies… IRC Marketing: The Power of a Plan 2

IRC Marketing: The Power of a Plan
Goals -Learn basic marketing principles
-Build a marketing communication plan that works.
Agenda- Wednesday, June 9, 2010
8:30 Introductions/Ground rules
What is your biggest marketing challenge?
If you could have a marketing miracle, what would that look like?
9:00 Marketing Basics
Basic concepts and terminology- page
Definitions- page 6

10:00 Building a marketing communications plan
Review plan outline - page 12
How is this plan different from your IRC annual plan?

10:30 Break

10:45 Research- The art of listening
What have you done? What works?

11:15 Research tools and strategies
Primary-Secondary
Quantitative- Qualitative
Communication Audit- Communication Checklist- page 8
Draft an IRC Communication Checklist and respond to it

12:15 Define your audience - inreach and outreach

1:00 Lunch
2:00 Primary research tools
Focus Groups- Consumer Conversations
Key Informant Interviews
Draft a discussion guide
Intercept Interviews
Staff Feedback
Surveys

3:00 Secondary research tools --community analysis- IRC analysis
What data is available? How do you use it?
Describe the IRC- staff, support, services, trends
Track key numbers as benchmarks

3:30 Break

3:45 Why research?
Questions? Discussion


Agenda- Thursday, June 10, 2010
Action and Discussion

8:30 Planning begins with the Introduction
Why? - What is the current situation?
SWOT analysis
Draft your introduction

9:30 Goals and Measurable Objectives
The goals--the dream- no more than 3
Objectives--three to five measurable outcomes

10:30 Break

10:45 Positioning
What is your unique selling proposition?- Personality?
What do you want people to think and feel about the IRC?

11:45 Key Message
What is the most important thing you want people to
know/do?.... ..In 10 words or less, plus three talking
points that support it.
How will you test the message?

1:00 Lunch

2:00 Key Audiences
Internal and External- Be specific
Whom do you need to reach to meet your goals?

3:00 Strategies- Review the possibilities- Share experiences
Inreach-How to involve IRC and Embassy staff
Outreach activity
Media relations- pr-publicity
Advertising
Programs
Print materials
Partnerships
Word-of-mouth marketing
Social media

3:30 Break

3:45 More Strategy discussion- Plus Evaluation


Agenda- Friday, June 11. 2010
Action, Discussion and Finish Your Plan

8:30 Social Media-
Inventory the possibilities and share experiences
Develop guidelines for best use of these tools by IRCs

9:30 Word-of-Mouth Marketing- How and when to use this powerful
and affordable strategy
Scenarios of WOMM in action

10:30 Break

10:45 Partnerships- Another powerful, affordable strategy
What does your IRC have to offer as a partner?
Who/what are possible strategic partners?
Where do you need to be 'at the table?'

12:00 Finish your plan

1:00 Lunch

2:00 Presentation and discussion of draft plans

3:15 Break

3:30 Develop useful tools
Basic Fact Sheet
Message Sheet
Communication policy
Customer service policy

4:00 Wrap-up
What's next?
What additional tools do you want/need?
Can you/will you turn your plan into action?


Contents

Marketing Basics 6
Key Elements. Definitions, Communication Checklist, Marketing Is…Marketing
as a Team Sport, Sample PR Policy, Sample Customer Service Policy

Building a Marketing Communication Plan 11
Getting Started, 8-Step Marketing Communication Plan Outline,
Sample Marketing Communication Plan, Sample Message
Sheet,
Sample Slogans/Taglines, Really Good Ideas

Building Partnerships 19

Introducing Word-of-Mouth Marketing 20
Must Have’s, Sample Message, Tips, Word-of-Mouth Checklist for Libraries

Really Good Resources 22


Marketing Basics
Marketing is that function of the organization that can keep in constant touch
with the organization’s consumers, read their needs, develop products that
meet these needs, and build a program of communications to express the
organization’s purposes.
—Philip Kotler/Sidney Levy, “Broadening the Concept of Marketing”
Journal of Marketing, January 1969

Key Elements
A four-step marketing program . . .
1) Research: Analyze the situation and get the facts (primary and secondary research).
A. Describe the community including demographic characteristics and trends.
B. Describe the IRC, including staff, support, governance, circulation trends,
etc.
C. Define your audience (market segments) and their needs.

2) Plan: Set strategic goals, determine objectives, develop service strategies.
A. Start with the IRC’s mission. (Become mission driven, market dependent.)
B. Develop services and delivery methods to meet identified needs and
wants—also desires.
C. Develop a positioning strategy.

3) Communicate: Public relations, advertising, advocacy, partnerships.
A. Develop a communications plan. Have a clear rationale. Formulate goals
and measurable objectives that support the IRC’s strategic goals. Identify
your positioning, message, target audience(s), strategies for reaching
them and evaluation measures. Establish a budget, timetable and assign
tasks.
B. Focus on listening to key markets.
C. Develop tools such as a basic fact sheet for the IRC, press kit, talking
points etc.
D. Build a press/contact list—media and opinion leaders—and use it.
E. Develop a media plan with timeline for sending releases, placing stories
and public service messages.

4) Evaluate: Are objectives (measurable) being met?
A. Set up evaluation procedures.
B. Measure performance vs. plan and adjust for the variance.


Definitions
Advocacy: Persuasive communication designed to plead or make the case for a cause or
point of view. Libraries and other nonprofit organizations use advocacy to win support for
funding and other issues that affect their users.
Advertising: The placement and purchase of time or space for announcements and
messages in the media.
Brand: Brand is another word for identity as conveyed in print and other communications. A
logo is one way to convey identity.
Community relations: How an organization/library/IRC interacts in the locality in which it
operates.
Direct marketing: Promotion designed to go directly to a target audience—generally direct
mail.
E-marketing: Reaching out to particular markets of users/potential users using the Internet
as a communications and distribution channel.
Lobbying: A form of advocacy intended to influence the outcome of particular legislation. It
is subject to IRS guidelines. A lobbyist is a professional communicator hired to persuade
lawmakers, as well as shape public opinion.
Market: Potential users or customers.
Marketing mix: A mix of controllable variables that may be used to reach goals and
objectives. Core variables include: Price, product, place and promotion.
Positioning: How you want users and potential users to perceive your product or service—
what separates it from the competition.
Point of purchase: Promotional materials placed at the contact “sales” point to attract user
interest or call attention to a special offer.
Public relations: All the ways that your IRC relates/communicates with the public, including
community outreach, customer service, the media.
Publicity: Communications intended to promote your products or services that do not
involve paid advertising, e.g. news releases, public service announcements, fliers, posters.
Strategic marketing plan: The entire marketing process including research, design,
development and distribution of products/services, communicating the value and evaluating
the success of these efforts.
Target audience/market: A segment of the population selected as the focus of a marketing
effort in order to accomplish the stated objectives.
Tchotchke: Yiddish word for knickknack. Commonly used in the PR biz to refer to small
giveaway items like key rings, pencils and magnets.
Word-of-mouth marketing: Organized, conscious, consistent approach to getting others to
deliver your message for you.
Adapted from the Section on Management and Marketing: Glossary of Marketing Definitions, IFLANet, developed by using
Peter Bennett's Dictionary of Marketing Terms.


Communication Checklist
Use this list to help you answer the following questions:
• Is this IRC welcoming?
• What is our message?
• What is our style?

1. Accessibility—Can people with disabilities easily use the building and website?

2. Brand/Identity—Does the IRC have a clear and consistent image—in print, in
person, online? This includes consistent use of logo, full location info (including
URL).

3. Customer service—Is the IRC's commitment to excellent customer service
reflected in the courtesy and helpfulness shown to customers? Are there ID
tags for staff? Can staff members articulate the IRC message? Are they
encouraged to share their favorite books and other materials with users? Does
front-line staff provide feedback on customer wants, complaints, compliments?

4. Décor, decoration—Is the IRC too light or too dim? Is it clean, clutter free? Is
there effective use of posters, banners, art and other promotional tools such as
screen savers?

5. Display—Are books and other materials displayed face out? Are there "shelf
talkers?"

6. Local ownership—How well does the IRC reflect the country/community,
including its diversity? Is there a bulletin board? Displays of local art? Are there
opportunities for the users to give feedback on service/ interact with other users?
Share their comments on books?

7. Message—Does your IRC have a key message that expresses its mission?
Does everyone on the staff know it? Are IRC policies clearly and widely
communicated?

8. Media—Does your IRC have a presence in relevant media? Is someone
assigned to work with the press? Does your library initiate stories, interviews and
placements of public service announcements/advertising?

9. Outreach—Does the IRC have a life outside the building? Does it have a
presence in the life of the community?

10. Programming—Does the IRC actively offer and promote programs and/or
training sessions? How are programs promoted?

11. Print materials—Are there too many? Too few? What is the message?

How is it communicated on bookmarks and flyers? Letterhead and business
cards? Newsletters?

12. Signage: Internal and External—Is the IRC easy to find? Is it easy to find what
you're looking for? Is the IRC mission visible? Does signage reflect awareness
of diversity?

13. Telephone—Does a person or a machine answer the phone? If it’s a machine,
does your telephone greeting help or harm your image? Is it clear? Easy to
follow?

14. Website—Is the image/message consistent with other communications? Does it
take advantage of the unique qualities of the web? Is the website treated as a
branch IRC?

15. Body Language—What is the unspoken message being delivered by staff?

What other ways are you communicating?????

Marketing is…
• All about people, not stuff.
• Listening, not just telling.
• Organized, focused, consistent.


Marketing as a Team Sport
The Challenge: Focus on the country/community- get their attention.
Listen.
See the BIG PICTURE.
Get beyond the library.

Responsibilities:

• Appoint a Marketing Team (director must be a Team member)
• Develop marketing plan and budget
• Identify goals, objectives, benchmarks, new services, communication
strategies
• Plan and develop ongoing research, including schedule
• Develop and keep materials up-to-date, consistent in look
• Monitor trends in IRCs and libraries, community, nation, world
• Keep in regular contact with key markets (via attendance at key groups,
etc.)
• Sponsor in-house training on marketing related topics/IRC goals
• Develop expertise via training, reading and doing excellent work in marketing
and communication
• Spread the word. Be pro-active.

Sample: PR/Communication Policy from a library
The Somewhere Library seeks to promote awareness of what it offers to users,
potential users, business and community leaders and others who may benefit from
what it offers. We do this the old fashioned way—by listening to and talking with
people at every opportunity, by staying in regular communication with our funders
and supporters, and nurturing relationships with community groups. We seek to tell
our story though the media, publications, our website, participation in community
events and other opportunities that present themselves.

Sample Customer Service Policy from a library
People come first at the Somewhere Library. Our goal is to offer “big city” service
with small town friendliness. All library staff members are responsible for greeting
visitors, offering assistance and creating a clean, orderly and attractive environment.
Our motto: “If we don’t have it, we can get it for you.”


Building a Marketing Communication Plan
Getting Started
Follow the outline provided in developing a marketing communication plan for your
IRC. Your plan may be an overall plan for the IRC or focus on a particular project
(e.g., introducing a new service). To turn it into an action plan, add specific activities,
person responsible, timetable and budget.
1. Think first. Why are you doing this? Your introduction should explain the
purpose and nature of the proposed plan. What are your IRC’s Strengths,
Weaknesses, Obstacles and Threats (SWOT)? Keep it brief with a few good
supporting facts/examples.
2. Build your team. Involving others—IRC staff, volunteers—makes for more and
better ideas and a stronger sense of ownership.
3. Stay focused. All elements of the plan should build on and support the others.
Objectives should support the goals. Your message should reflect your
positioning. Strategies should relate to your target audiences.
4. Be ambitious but realistic. Remember, “If it’s not doable, it won’t get done.”
5. Turn the dream into reality. Make your objectives concrete and measurable
steps toward achieving your goal. Use them as part of your evaluation measures.
6. Listen and learn. Build in strategies for listening, as well as telling.
7. Think like the folks out there. Your positioning statement is also a vision of
how you want your IRC to be seen by others. What kind of image/brand do you
want to communicate? What is your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?
8. Start at home. All IRC (and Embassy?) staff must know and understand the
message if they are to be players.
9. Target your audiences. If you try to reach everyone, you reach no one. This
does not rule out other more general communications. Your internal audiences,
funders and other influentials are a given. But you also need to set priorities.
10. Manage your message. Your key message should be easy to say and
remember—no more than 10 words. Use it consistently.
11. Remember the rule of 7. What seven strategies can you use to reach your
target audience?
12. Keep everlastingly at it. That’s what John Cotton Dana, our first and perhaps
best library promoter, would say. Take time to evaluate. Learn from your failures.
Celebrate your successes.

8-Step Marketing Communication Plan Outline
Use this outline as a map for developing your plan.

1. Introduction (Briefly explain why you are proposing this plan. Identify
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). Include relevant
research, observations.)

2. Communication goals (The dream. Big picture. No more than 3.)

3. Objectives (3–5 doable, measurable outcomes.)

4. Positioning statement

Example: “The library is the best first stop for expert help in connecting children
and youth to learning and discovery.” (State Library of North Carolina campaign)


5. Key message What is the most important thing you want people to know/do? In
10 words or less.

Example: Your library is the very best place to start.

6. Key audiences (External and Internal. Be specific. No more than 5.)

7. Strategies/tactics/tools (How will you deliver the message? Core strategies
include: Media publicity, displays, programming, special events, website/email,
partnerships, direct mail, community outreach (parades, presentations, etc.),
word of mouth. Develop an action plan with timetable and budget.)

8. Evaluation measures (How will you know what worked and what didn’t? Refer
back to your objectives.)


Sample Marketing Communication
Plan:
From a library-- The Somewhere Public Library
Introduction
The Somewhere Public Library has come a long way in a short time. Since moving to its
current site two years ago, library visitors have increased almost 300 percent and the
number of cardholders has grown by 700 percent from 245 to 2,178—still only about 10
percent of the community’s residents. Some residents still remember the library as a
volunteer “card table” operation in the school basement. Some still drive to libraries that are
bigger but farther away. We need to get the word that our small library delivers in a big way.

Goals
• The Somewhere Public Library will enjoy a high profile in the community. It will be an
important and popular destination for learning and enjoyment by people of all ages and
interests. Community leaders will understand and support its work.

Objectives
• The number of cardholders will increase 600 percent for a total of 60 percent
registration.
• The library will develop partnerships with three or more new community groups.

Positioning: We’re bigger than we look! The Somewhere Public Library provides big city
service close to home in a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere. In addition to books, we
offer audio books, CDs, videos and other multimedia resources. If it’s not on our shelves,
chances are we can get it for you. You can use us online 24/7. Our friendly staff and
professional librarians are glad to assist you. The library is a center for learning and
enjoyment for people of all ages. It’s a great value and deserves the community’s support.

Key Message
You’ll find big city service close to home at your Somewhere Public Library.

Key audiences
Internal: Staff, Board, Friends, Volunteers

External: County officials and community leaders
Community groups with influential members
Families with children from preschool–high school

New:
Business and professional community


Year 1—

Objectives
• The library will have a clear, strong identity.
• The number of cardholders will increase by 200 percent.
• Circulation will increase 25 percent.
• Program attendance will increase 50 percent.
• Twenty influential individuals and community groups will endorse the building project.
• City officials/other key leaders will endorse an expansion plan for the library.

• The library “family” will understand and actively support the library’s new communication
focus.
• Local papers will carry at least three feature stories.

Key Audiences
Internal: Library staff, board members, Friends and Volunteers

External: City officials and community leaders
Community groups with influential members
Families/parents with children from preschool–high school

Strategies
1. Begin a consistent, planned program of 2-way communication with staff and the
public.
• Encourage and prepare staff, board members, Friends and volunteers to deliver the
library’s message to library users, their families, friends, neighbors, key officials.
Involve them in planning activities. Provide training in word-of-mouth marketing.
• Invest in a new logo and stylebook, also professional graphic design for templates for
newsletters, bookmarks, programming flyers in order to promote a consistent identity.

• Publish a dynamic “sales” brochure with the emphasis on benefits, not just a listing of
services. Distribute it outside the library—at meetings of community groups and other
community locations.
• Conduct a customer satisfaction survey.
• Collect and use testimonials in promotional materials.
• Provide evaluation forms at all programs asking how the audience members heard
about the program, its quality and suggestions for other programs.


• Email staff on a quarterly basis asking their suggestions for collection and facility
needs, also what tools and training they need.
• Invite customer comments in the library and on the library’s home page. Respond to
all comments in writing and with action, when appropriate.
2. Seek a higher profile in the media.
• Make a media plan with dates for seeking news and feature stories in connection
with special events, e.g., National Library Week, new services and programming.
• Place at least three feature stories about how the library serves the community, e.g.
services for business people (how databases work), kids, seniors.
• Invite local newspapers to send a photographer for special kids’ events or take and
submit photos.
• Offer reporters a demonstration of how the library’s databases work.
3. Reach out to elected officials, community leaders and groups with
influential members.
• Communicate at least once a month with key officials in person and print. Provide
regular updates. Offer to demonstrate the library’s databases at their desk.
• Present a state-of-the-library report to the county board and key organizations.
• Recruit three partner organizations, including at least one new partner, to
cosponsor/underwrite activities for National Library Week, Library Card Sign-up
Month, etc.
• Host meetings/present programs for at least 10 influential groups, e.g., county
officials, the Chamber of Commerce, PTA and other key groups.

4. Focus on families as a key user group.
• Sponsor a library card sign-up drive during national Library Card Sign-up Month in
September. Offer rewards for library users who recruit new card registrants.
• Visit all day care centers, kindergarten and first grade classrooms. Provide library
card registration, booklists and other promo materials for teachers and for kids to
take home to parents.
• Display photos of families holding their library cards in the library and post them on
the website. Give prizes to families where all members have cards.
• Sponsor a contest “Why My Family Uses the Library” and award prizes underwritten
by partners.

Evaluation
• A strong, consistent look and message in library publications
• Feedback (formal and informal) from users and target audiences, customer satisfaction
surveys, word of mouth
• See objectives.


Sample Message Sheet- from a library
Key message
The Somewhere Public Library provides big city service close to home.

Talking points
• Why drive when you can get what you need close to home?!
o We have something for all ages and interests.
o If you don’t see what you want, we’ll get it for you.
o Use us online 24/7.
o Our expert staff is glad to help.
• The Somewhere Public Library is a great value.
• Get a library card. Use it!

Statistics
• Since we moved to our new building three years go, the number of
cardholders has grown 700 percent. The number of visitors is up 300
percent.

• More children participated in the library’s summer reading program than in
Little League baseball.

• Last year our library users checked out an average of ?? with an estimated
value of ??.

Stories/Examples
• More and more people are discovering our library. Just the other day I
helped a man look up some information he needed for his job. His wife had
told him he should come. He said he was amazed at what he found and
couldn’t believe he didn’t have to drive 40 miles to the Big City Library. We
hear this almost every day.

• One mother told me that the library is about the only place her whole family
goes together. She said, “We love family nights. And we can always find
something to read. It’s the one place we can afford and we all enjoy. I don’t
know what we would do without it.”

• You should have been here last night. We were so crowded that some
teenagers were doing their homework on the floor.


Sample Slogans/Taglines for Libraries
Your key message is not a slogan, but it may be digested into a one, and used
consistently on all print materials, website, email signatures etc.
Touching Lives . . . Meeting Needs (Kingsport Public Library, TN)
Libraries for Life: Building Communities, Enriching Lives (Carnegie Library of
Pittsburgh, PA)
A place to dream, think, discover (West Palm Beach Public Library, FL)
Knowledge at your Fingertips (Fontana Regional Library, NC)
It’s My Library! (Scottsdale Public Library, AZ)
The Imagination Destination (Oshkosh Public Library, WI)
Answers for Living. Knowledge for Life. (York County Libraries, PA)
It’s about possibilities… (Tacoma Public Library, Tacoma, WA)
Expanding minds. Building Dreams. (Bullard Community Library, TX)
We encourage underage thinking. (Forsyth County Public Library, NC)
Read. Learn. Discover. (Chicago Public Library, IL)
Where you find it! (Baltimore County Public Library, MD)
Information. Imagination. Inspiration (Orange County Library System, FL)
Start Here- Go Anywhere (Jacksonville Public Library, FL)

Really Good Ideas- Please add to this list!
BARK IF YOU LOVE LIBRARIES—Ellie (short for Library Enthusiast) makes
a delightful mascot for the Polk County (N.C.) Library. A real, live book hound
“from her knows to her tale,” Ellie makes frequent appearances at community
events.

MMMMM-GOOD—Some 65 people turned out to learn about databases and enjoy
dessert (donated by local businesses) at a program titled Data & Dessert sponsored
by Corvallis (OR) School District and the Corvallis-Benton County Library System.
The free program was offered at both a middle school and library. A local paper
carried a feature with comments from enthusiastic participants.
THE A+ PARTNERSHIP—The Howard County Library, Columbia, MD, launched the
A+ Partnership with the local school district. Every school and every library has a
liaison. Activities include a library card sign-up campaign and a spelling bee
sponsored with the local newspaper.
A BEST VALUE—The Winter Park (FL) Public Library figured the return on its
community investment and came up with a whopping 620% return on each taxpayer
dollar received.” The figure was the subject of much boasting in local media, the
library’s newsletter and a brochure.
A WINNING RECIPE—Once a year Suzanne Schwichtenberg, at the Lewis and
Clark Library, Helena, MT, buys chocolates and arranges for chair massages for her
staff. Along with the chocolates, she provides questionnaires inviting input on how to
improve. After the venting and the rubdown, she encourages her staff to work for
solutions and make their suggestions reality.


Building Partnerships
Is your IRC mainstream or marginal? When the embassy staff and community leaders make
plans and solve problems are you at the table and in the discussion? Or is the IRC that place
that sits outside the “action” and exists on passive respect?
Passive won’t do. And advocacy that doesn’t include listening and building
relationships won’t do either.
One of the best ways to build your base of support is by working in collaboration with
other organizations or departments. The IRC has a lot to offer potential partners as a
visible, respected and place with high traffic.
Don’t wait for it to happen.

Tips
• Make a list of both existing and potential partners.
• Be strategic. Make decisions about reaching out based on your goals. Which
ones are most influential? Which have goals compatible with yours? Which
represent the audiences you want to reach? Who is the best person to contact?
• Make the connection. Pick up the phone. Ask your contact to lunch and invite
their views on what you are trying to accomplish. The best partnership projects
are hatched together.

• Be ready to work. It is healthy to serve on Boards, work on committees and get
outside the IRC. This is how you make contacts and win respect. It is easier to
build partnerships with someone you know—and knows you.
• Be open to business partnerships but be very clear about what you are asking
and what you can offer in return. Put it in writing.
• Give as well as get. Think about what you can offer. Make a list. For example,
display space or materials and programs you could make available to other
organizations. An IRC newsletter and Web site also offer opportunities for
visibility.
• Make sure your partners get regular updates and have opportunities to give input.
• Thank everyone involved. Whether it’s a personal letter, or a party or plaque,
thank you is powerful.


Introducing Word-of-Mouth Marketing
The very best way to get the word out is to tell people. Really. If every staff, friends
and customer told 10 people about this incredible resource, and those 10 people told
10 more people, and those 10 people told . . .

“Must Have’s”
• A good product/great customer relations
• A plan
• A clear, memorable and consistent message
• A prepared and committed "sales force"
• People who are willing to testify

Sample message: Did you know you can use the IRC in your pajamas? Our
website is open 24/7.

Tips
1. Don't just pass out bookmarks. Encourage frontline staff to deliver the
message when engaged with customers.
2. Feed the grapevine. If someone indicates they are pleased with the service
they received, ask them to “Please tell your friends.”
3. Send a message with your message. Add a signature line to your e-mail
correspondence with the library message.
4. Collect testimonials. If you hear a compliment or "success story," share it with
the sales team so they can share it with others. Invite testimonials from the
people you serve.
5. Enlist “the IRC family” as part of your marketing and sales team. Even if it's a
very small staff, make sure everyone knows the message, understands why it is
important and the key role they play.
6. Seek out experts. Reach out to embassy staff and other referral sources to
help deliver your message.
7. Wear the message. T-shirts, buttons and other “props” are conversation
starters and can help make your point.
8. Keep current. Make a point of sharing library updates so the whole team can
be a knowledgeable spokespeople.
9. Be alert for new and creative ways of delivering the message. Make thoughtful
and strategic use of social media--Facebook, Twitter, etc.
10. Have fun! Be enthusiastic. Encourage your "sales force" to be. Remember, it's
not just what you say but how you say


Pyramid

Champions

Clients

Customers

Prospects

Suspects

SUSPECT: individuals who don’t think about the IRC; the IRC is not part of their life.
PROSPECTS: individuals who might become IRC users if someone encourages them
to.
CUSTOMERS: individuals who use the IRC.
CLIENTS: individuals who use the IRC and often have a relationship with IRC staff.
CHAMPIONS: individuals who use the IRC, have a relationship with IRC staff, and
advocate for the IRC to others.

SOURCE: Word-of-Mouth Marketing by
Jerry R. Wilson, John Wiley & Sons, 1991


Really Good Resources
Books
The Accidental Library Marketer. Kathy Dempsey, Information Today, 2009. -A
lively, easy to read and practical introduction to marketing for
libraries.

Building a Buzz: Libraries and Word-of- Mouth Marketing, Peggy Barber and
Linda Wallace, American Library Association, 2009. -Our new book is now available.
It's a practical guide to using WOMM that will help you turn your IRC/library patrons
into a major marketing force..

Libraries, Mission & Marketing: Writing Mission Statements That Work. Linda
K. Wallace, American Library Association. 2004. How many of your staff can say your
library’s mission statement? That’s what we thought. This book is dedicated to the
proposition that your mission statement is your ultimate message. You should say
what you do and do what you say.
Mission-Based Marketing: Positioning Your Not-for-Profit in an Increasingly
Competitive World, 2nd Ed., Peter C. Brinckerhoff, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.
Brinckerhoff provides a clear, step-by-step guide for identifying and understanding
your markets, considering the competition, needs vs. wants and lots more. Practical
and interesting.
The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing. George Silverman, American
Management Association, 2001. Silverman says traditional advertising doesn’t have
the impact it once did and makes a great case for an organized, strategic approach
to word of mouth. This is good news and a practical strategy for libraries, since we
couldn’t afford traditional advertising.

Discussion lists & Newsletters
Marketing Library Services: www.infotoday.com/mls/default.shtml
A bi-monthly newsletter with excellent ideas and advice for information professionals
in all types of libraries. You'll find practical suggestions for strategic planning,
increasing business and proving your value. Sign up here.

PR Talk
A lively idea exchange for library staff interested in marketing/PR related topics. To
subscribe, send message to alaproc@ala.org. Leave the subject
blank. In the body of the message, type: subscribe PR Talk [your first and last
name].

The Campaign for America’s Libraries: www.ala.org/@your library/
A wealth of messages, ideas and strategies to help all types of libraries promote their
value.


Evaluation Form
IRC Marketing: The Power of a Plan
June 9-11, 2010

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Thank you!

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