This document provides an overview of marketing concepts for libraries and information services. It defines marketing, discusses the need for marketing in libraries, and outlines some of the key tools and concepts in marketing including the 4Ps (product, price, place, promotion), segmentation, positioning, SWOT analysis, and product lifecycle. The goal of marketing for libraries is to better understand user needs and satisfy users to maximize the use of information resources.

1. MARKETING OF
INFORMATION SERVICES &
PRODUCTS
Presented by,
Vishnumaya, R.S
MLISc , 3rd Semester
Roll No. : 19

2. INTRODUCTION
• Marketing is an exchange relationship: a process
providing mutual benefit to both parties in the
transaction.
• It is an evolving process, one that is influenced
by definitions, perceptions, environmental &
cultural conditions & trends.
• In the past, the concept of “selling” defined
marketing; this has now changed dramatically.

3. DEFINITION
• Marketing is a ‘social and managerial process by
which individuals and groups obtain what they
need and want through creating, offering and
exchanging products of value with others’.
- Philip Kotler
• “Marketing is planning that focuses on
products, place or mode of delivery, adjustment
of cost / price to the market, and promotion to
specifically targeted segments of the special
librarian’s market”.
- Zachert & Williams

4. • “Marketing is the management process responsible
for identifying, anticipating & satisfying customer
requirements efficiently & profitably”.
- The UK’s Chartered Institute of
Marketing
• “Marketing is a stance & an attitude that focuses
on meeting the needs of users. Marketing is a
means of ensuring that libraries, librarians, &
librarianship are integrated into both today’s &
tomorrow’s emerging global culture. Marketing is
not separate from good practice. It is good
practice”.
- Smith

5. NEED OF MARKETING IN LIBRARIES &
INFORMATION CENTRES
• Marketing can help managers of LICs in
achieving their objectives of improving access
to their clients & reaching financial self-
sufficiency.
• Marketing means a sufficient change in the
traditional attitude of librarians towards
acquisition, organization, processing, storage,
retrieval & reproduction of information.

6. • The exorbitant cost of IT on the one hand &
decreasing library budget on the other hand
forced libraries to charge some price towards
their services.
• The concept of marketing is relatively a new
area to library.
• The basic aim is to create the demand &
interest among readers to use the library
resources & services.

7. • This made a no. of libraries & ICs to establish
marketing divisions to with view to sell their
information products & services on price to
the users in print & electronic media.
• Bushing explains:
Marketing offers both a theory & a
process by which libraries can link
products, results, & roles.
Marketing can assist libraries in
determining their future & in identifying
quality products, services, programs, and
materials.

8. A marketing audit & resulting plan can
contribute to a library’s ability to find a niche
in the present as well as in the future & to fill
that niche by an optimal allocation of
resources.
A marketing orientation can assist libraries in
defining their role & in guaranteeing their
future.

9. Marketing provides a theoretical framework
within which to address the specific library &
information science questions facing public,
school, & academic libraries in both the
public & private sectors.

10. Dr.S.R. RANGANATHAN’S CONCEPT OF
FIVE LAWS OF LIBRARY SCIENCE
• 1st law : ‘Books are for use’ (maximize the
use of books).
• 2nd law : ‘Every reader his book’ (Reader is
the prime factor & his / her need
must be satisfied).
• 3rd law : ‘Every books its reader’ (Find a
reader for every book).

11. • 4th law : ‘Save the time of the reader’ (Organize
information in such a way that the
reader finds the wanted information
promptly).
• 5th law : ‘The library is a growing organism’
(Emphasis is on comprehensive &
evolutionary growth).

12. BENEFITS OF LIBRARY MARKETING
A well developed library marketing programme
will bring the following benefits :
Improved satisfaction of the users.
Extension of services to potential users &
there by enlargement of the customer circle.
Efficient of marketing resources.
Improved resource attraction to the
organization.

13. MARKETING TOOLKIT
Marketing is largely about shifting from a
product and service orientation (the offering)
to a customer and need orientation (the
benefit).

14. • The key concepts in marketing are:
»SWOT analysis
»Market research (Market
profiling)
»Segmentation
»Positioning
»Product life cycle
»The marketing mix

15. SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is essentially a marketing
planning tool, but it is the most widely used
tool in strategic planning.
It involves identifying the organization’s
Strengths and Weaknesses in relation to the
market place and the Opportunities and
Threats presented by anticipated
environmental trends.

16. Market research
• Marketing research is a “systematic,
gathering, recording & analysis of data about
the problems related to the marketing of
goods & services”.
–American Marketing Association

17. • Market profiling is an important activity in
marketing research, which is done to obtain
marketing information.
• It should consider:
– User affordability
– Extent of use
– Relevance of the service to users
– Repeat customers
– User preferences
– Staffing

18. Market segmentation
• Dividing the large heterogeneous market into
smaller submarkets (segments) of
homogeneous nature.
• Involves the identification of the users (target
groups) & their needs assessment.

19. • Common bases for segmentation are:
»Geographic
»Demographic
»Psychographic
»Behavioural

20. Positioning
• Positioning is normally considered at the end
of the segmentation process.
• This involves deciding where to place the
product or service in terms of dimensions
such as grade/level and price and value.

21. Product life cycle
• Similar to biological life cycle.
• It assumes 4 stages:
–Introduction
–Growth
–Maturity & Saturation
–Decline

22. Marketing mix
• A typical marketing mix constitutes 4 Ps:
Product – whatever the user needs
Price – price of the product
Place – physical distribution
Promotion - publicity

23. THE FOUR Ps

24. Marketing mix - additions
• Valerie Zeithaml and Mary Jo Bimer list 7Ps,
add another three dimensions.
1) People – stakeholders
2) Physical evidence – environment,
ambience, tidiness, furniture, fittings
3) Process – flow of activities, simplicity,
flexibility, decentralization

25. CONCLUSION
• More basic reason for studying marketing is
that marketing is vital for economic growth &
development for bright future.
• Marketing stimulates research & innovation
resulting in new products, which if found
attractive by customers, can always lead to
fuller employment, increased income & a
higher standard of living.

26. REFERENCES
• Weingand, Darlene. E. (1999). Marketing/
planning library & information services. (2nd
ed.). Englewood: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.
• Jain, Abhinandan. K. (1999). Marketing
information products & services:
A primer for librarians and information
professionals. New Delhi: Tata Mcgraw- Hill
Publishing Company Ltd.

27. • Kotler, Philip. (2003).Marketing management.
Singapore: Pearson Education Inc.
• Chandraiah, I. (2009). Introduction to
marketing of library & information services.
New Delhi: Manglam Publications.
• Seetharama, S. (1990). Guidelines for
planning of libraries and information centres.
Calcutta: IASLIC.