AN INTRODUCTION TO THE iMAP™ MARKETING PROGRAMME FOR LIBRARIES
The Libraries Agency is a consultancy and creative network dedicated to successful change and transformation in the libraries sector. Its aim is to offer services and support, strategic and hands-on, for all aspects of library service improvement and development. WHY MARKETING MATTERS We have a passion for marketing. Marketing puts the user first. The marketingled library service thinks about itself from the user’s point of view. It measures its success by the benefits it delivers to its community of users. We believe that marketing matters because it • • • • is focused on the end user widens the service offer for existing users extends the service offer to new users is driven by user satisfaction
WHY MARKETING PLANNING MATTERS The marketing plan pulls together all your key service objectives and looks at how they will be delivered to users – who to target, how to reach them and how to engage them. The iMAP™ process will help you create an integrated marketing action plan that • sets achievable goals • prioritises service aims • mobilises resources for a common purpose We help you find the true strengths and competitive advantages of your service, and show you how to communicate them effectively to your target audiences. The iMAP™ programme is a flexible process that takes you – and your team – through six one-day facilitated modules, to create an integrated marketing action plan, mapped to your strategic aims, that will make a real difference to the effectiveness of your services and to your customers’ perceptions.
It starts with VISION If you can see it, you can do it! We ask the question, what will success look like? In module one you will create the vision • • • • • for products and services for people and their behaviour for the service environment for communication and engagement and you will create the platform of objectives that will help you get there.
And then, in module two, we look at where you are now, what’s working for you and what’s not, and ask the reasons why. DATA We need to understand trends, ask whether some downward trends matter, and use objective data to identify opportunities for service development. We ask questions about what we know and don’t know and use that information to understand • • • • trends in services and products opportunities to fulfil a market need how to make informed choices the costs of services in relation to their value to the user
What differentiates any organisation is its values. In the next module we work together to identify what drives the service – and, importantly, how you communicate your service values to the outside world. We ask the question, what is the library service brand?
BRAND In module three we explore the meaning of brands in the commercial and service industries, and ask the questions, why do brands matter to organisations, and how do you create a compelling library brand for your service? We look at • • • • • the brand behind the logo library service values sharing and communicating values within the organisation the brand alignment model for living brands and we use this opportunity to involve a wide range of staff to get ownership and buy-in to a user-focused service.
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Understanding what is unique about your services and the range of products you offer is the first step towards creating a powerful communications strategy. In module four we help you get into the nitty-gritty of what you actually do, what’s different about what you do, what your value is to your users and partners, and what gives you competitive advantage. You will learn to • • • • identify the value of core service offers differentiate your service propositions align your services with your brand values create innovative and compelling offers to the market
SPACES In module five we address the use of physical and virtual library spaces to maximise your impact on your target audiences. We ask questions about how to • • • • • put brand values into action remove barriers to use enhance service visibility make flexible use of fixed spaces and we look at the challenges presented by online service delivery
And then, in module six, we tackle marketing communications – getting your message across to your audience, and getting your message out to non-users. MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS Marketing isn’t simply about promoting services more effectively. It’s actually about more effective services. Which is why marketing communications is the last module and not the first. The iMAP™ builds marketing knowledge and confidence as you go along, so that by module six you are ready to commit to a promotional programme that’s sure to work for you. In this final module we • • • • • challenge stereotyping and identify your true audiences align the audience and the message align the message and the communication channel find the essential partners we will work with and cover the importance of internal and peer group audiences
THE iMAP™ PROCESS What you get: • • • • and • all supporting documentation and notes from the programme • continuous personal support throughout the plan implementation period and you get the following iMAP™ outcomes: • • • • • • consistency of service vision clarity of objectives an achievable project plan involved and motivated teams the confidence to challenge yourself and others the confidence to succeed eight days of consultancy over a period of up to three months day one: briefing and information gathering days two to seven: six days of programme delivery day eight: consultative planning to help you produce the final plan document
“The iMAP programme gave us the opportunity to understand, reflect on and re-engage with our core service values. It brought out the best in our own people, and refocused our priorities on essentials. It also gave us a practical way forward to make things happen.” Aileen Cahill Head of Service, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames For an informal discussion about how the iMAP™ process can help you achieve your vision for the library service, contact David Lindley at info@librariesagency.com or call 01788 822975.
The Libraries Agency, 5 Lauds Road, Crick, Northamptonshire NN6 7TJ