Ten Tips for Marketing Your Library Product/Service Offerings

1. Let your strategic plan be your guide. In it you have documented: your analysis of the community demographics and community needs; your definition of product/service offerings and your assessment of the organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT).
   
   
2. Select a target market for your marketing promotional campaign.
   
   
3. Set specific, measurable goals for the marketing promotional campaign.
   
   
4. Designate a specific person or team to manage the campaign and determine the need for outside consultants.
   
   
5. Set a budget for marketing and select strategies that fit your budget.
   
   
6. Remember the “offer” is the single most important element in the marketing mix. Even the most creative and dramatic advertising cannot “sell” a fundamentally weak offering.
   
   
7. Be sure that the features and benefits of the product/service “offering” match the needs and wants of the target market. Ask your team to review the features and benefits of the offering. Can they be easily articulated to the target market? How and where is the offering provided? Is it convenient? Does the staff have the resources and training needed to provide for excellent customer service?
   
   
8. Use Public Relations tools to create favorable opinions about your library. Use of press releases and the appearance by staff, Trustees and other advocates on radio/T.V. talk shows on a regular basis will establish name recognition and creditability. Hold Special Events that highlight the positive attributes of your library. These activities “position” the library in the minds of all the markets served by the library. Hence, marketing promotional campaigns for specific “offers” aimed at specific target markets can transcend the noise of the marketplace and resonate with the intended audience.
   
   
9. Depending on budget, selected advertising for the campaign can be successful.
   
   
10. Never forget your regular users. A newsletter and website can be a good reminder of the product/services your library provides.