MARKETING OF INFORMATION SERVICES &

PRODUCTS

Presented by,Vishnumaya, R.S

MLISc , 3rd SemesterRoll No. : 19

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.

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

• “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

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.

• 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.

• 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.

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.

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.

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).

• 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).

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.

MARKETING TOOLKIT

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

• The key concepts in marketing are:»SWOT analysis»Market research (Market

profiling)»Segmentation»Positioning»Product life cycle»The marketing mix

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.

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

• 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

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.

• Common bases for segmentation are:

»Geographic

»Demographic

»Psychographic

»Behavioural

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.

Product life cycle

• Similar to biological life cycle.• It assumes 4 stages:

–Introduction–Growth –Maturity & Saturation–Decline

Marketing mix

• A typical marketing mix constitutes 4 Ps:

Product – whatever the user needs

Price – price of the product

Place – physical distribution

Promotion - publicity

THE FOUR Ps

Marketing mix - additions

• Valerie Zeithaml and Mary Jo Bimer list 7Ps, add another three dimensions.

1) People – stakeholders2) Physical evidence – environment,

ambience, tidiness, furniture, fittings3) Process – flow of activities, simplicity,

flexibility, decentralization

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.

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.

• 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.