Review: Application of Marketing in library and Information Services

This post X-rays the relevance and application of marketing in library and information service in the information age. The information age is seen as involving the changes brought about by technological advances and globalisation. A period in which the wealth of actions is determined by the extent of access to  and ability to use information. The essence of marketing on library and information service (LIS) is to provide the right information to the right users at the right time and place. The paper also examines the relevance of marketing library and Information service, how the marketing mixes can be applied to library and information products and services marketing and some of the marketing strategies that can be applied in Library and Information Services for competitive advantage and continued survival in the information age.

Introduction

The interest in marketing has tremendously increased over the past few decades in libraries and information centres like other services centres like health, education, transportation, insurance, banking, etc. This phenomenon, according to Mwegbu (2005), grew from librarians’ efforts to establish improved relations between librarians and the readers. Some librarians are concerned about a general lack of awareness of facilities and services available resulting in either non-utilization or under-utilisation of resources  and services. For a long time librarians and Information providers had enjoyed a suppliers’ market and so lost interest in working for their customers (Information users)and yet they want customers to continue to patronise their libraries. Modern librarians and information providers should always keep in mind that only satisfied customers will come back to patronise them and that there are greater chances that a dissatisfied customer will find some other suppliers of information that meet his query needs. The very essence of marketing in Library and Information Science is to provide the right information to the right users at the right time and place. This axiom is more important now that we are in the “Information age”. The “information age” in the works of Dike (2007) surged the changes brought about by technological advances and globalisation. The information age portrays a new world order where the position of nations, their powers and influence increasingly depends on their access to and ability to use information.  Ikphindi 92009), Agbonlahor (2007), Fidon and Ififon (2007) and Chodoro (2001) attributed the information age to the electronic age or digital age and crucial commodities to be bought and sold in the global economy. Ahiazu 92008) also sees the age as involving an array of information intensive products and services (information explosion) which must be bought and sold by the global economy.

The Concept of Marketing in the Context of Library and Information Service (LIS).

There is still considerable understanding in most of the library and information sectors as to what constitutes effective marketing. 90 some, it is satisfaction (Gupter, 2003). Many libraries are still reluctant to make the change necessary to focus on the market place or even when the need for more active marketing is generally agreed. As such, developing marketing initiatives of libraries and understanding of the total marketing concept among library and information professionals need to be put into the right perspective.

Edoga (2009), Kotler and Keller (2007) see marketing as dealing with identifying and meeting human and social needs. the American Marketing Association sees marketing as an organisational function and a set of processes for creating communicating and delivery value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organisation and its stakeholders. Nicholas(1998), Keiser and Galvin (1995) see marketing of Library and Information services as those strategies  and processes aimed at knowing and understanding our users and their needs in other that the library is able to satisfy those needs in an effective way to retain the users, attract new ones and promote library public image. 

From the above  definitions, Innocent Eze (2011) crystalizes an operational definition of marketing in Library and Information Science as a set processes for creating, communicating and delivery value to the information users and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the library and information centre and its stakeholders.some of the products to be marketed include, Current Awareness Services (CAS), Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI), Inter Library Loan Services, Bibliographic Services, Indexing and abstracting services etc.

in the Library and Information Science, the marketing should be customer-centred. The job is no longer to find the right user for our services and information products but the right services and products for our customers. The marketing concept holds the key to effective library and information service delivery. The library must be seen to be more effective and efficient than other information providers in creating, delivery and communicating superior customer value to its chosen target markets.

Libraries and information centres therefore must move from reactive to proactive marketing orientation by providing for the latest needs of the users of the library instead of only identifying and providing for only the expressed needs of the customers. According to Ochogwu (2009), Libraries and information centres that practise both reactive and proactive service orientation will likely be the successful information providers in the information age.

Relevance of marketing to Modern Library and information services (LIS)

Marketing is becoming more relevant in library and Information services than ever. This is because of the increasing number of users and potential users coupled with their increasing complexity. some of the reasons advanced for marketing library services include:

Understanding the Users or Customers: Kumar and Kumar (2008) opined that understanding the customers is the key to survival of library and information centres when we talk about customers, we have some very fundamental questions to ask, questions that affecting and everything we do in the library which of course borders on user analysis such questions include: 

• Who are the customers?
• Who are we trying to serve?
• What is the interest area?
• What can we provide to serve these interest?
• What are the conditions for offering information services and products?

How well do we communicate with our users and how do we get feedback from them? there is a common understanding that who know better about the library knows better about its resources, facilities, services and products Gandy (2000), corroborated this  when  he said that with access to more information and more choice than ever before today’s customer is discerning, demanding and in control, they clamour for convenience, coupled with one to one service from libraries that understand their unique needs and can provide products and service that suits them. They also expect the products and services to be available wherever and whenever they want them. The most important role of marketing in library and information centre is to find information or products for the customers and not customers for the information or product. “we must always remember that no library owns its users to the extent that it determines their likes and dislikes, (Kumar and Kumar, 2008). We must pay attention to users’ requirements and preferences.

1. Total Commitment to Customer Satisfaction: In the library, prioritizing customer needs is of primary concern in the marketing process. All library and information personnel are owed the responsibility of satisfying the customer’s needs and preferences. The increased customer satisfaction will result in the increase willingness to use and pay for the services offered. Hence customer satisfaction has a direct link with the support we get for the library and information services. Librarians and Information providers must be constantly involved in user satisfaction monitoring (USM) as a way of ensuring service quality.
2. Improving our Image: In today’s business environment, librarians who take marketing seriously will earn “street cred” in their organisations, (Kumar and Kumar, 2008). This will herald a library and Information profession that is customer – centred and business like. A good reputation may involve cordial relationship with the community, good facilities, high service standard, good discipline, a well qualified staff and good results. Thus, marketing efforts can creat maintain and protect the library) reputation, enhance its prestige and present a favourable image through the provision of qualitative services targeted to (Users)” needs and preferences, (Edoga and Izute, 2008).
3. Quality Services: Finally, good marketing orientation will help the library and information professionals in providing quality services to the users. The users of the services are the ultimate judge of the quality. They  weigh the value they receive from a service organisation against the time spent or the effort put in. Users seldom budget, physical facilities, staff and mere number of services provided.

The management concept aimed at achieving service excellence is termed Total Quality Management. It is a customers’ need inspired management process. It therefore hinges on identifying customer’s own words and then linking customer’s perceived quality into internal processes and measuring the impact of quality service delivery on the market place.

Eze (2005) noted that “in all libraries, the needs and expectations of library users are constantly  changing”. Moreover, the customers (users) also demand convenience and value and would not want to spend a lot of time looking for information (Kotler, Sanders and Wong, 1999). Consequently, only those libraries that are able to do what the users want in  terms of services delivery will prosper. The total quality management is dedicated to ensuring that libraries operate with commitment to continue to improve and meet the needs of users completely. Librarians must be very serious with ensuring quality service delivery, because as noted by Edoga (2009) every time a customer is dissatisfied with the way the service is provided the organisation will incur 3 significant costs first dealing with dissatisfied customers is difficult and time consuming, secondly. They will likely tell others and thirdly they will not come back.

The 4ps of marketing and its implication to modern library and information service.

The functional strategies decisions in marketing  are called the marketing mix the marketing mix has traditionally been referred to as the 4ps of marketing which includes: Product, price, place, and promotion, (Mccarthy, 1996). The marketing mix variables are stated below

Libraries and Information centres can adopt these marketing mix valuables in designing, packaging, pricing, promoting and distributing or disseminating their services and products with the sole aim of meeting the needs and preferences of the information users in a way that will be beneficial to the organisation. For instance, quality products should be designed so as to ensure patronage both now and in future. Again, even though most of the services of some types of libraries  are not priced, the inherent cost price may have been paid by the parent institution or donor agencies and so the services or products are not all that “free” or “priceless” in the real sense of it. Again, the time and effort put in by users in seeking for information products or services are also a kind of cost.

Moreover, the “place” aspect of the 4ps also implies how convenient the service or product is to the users, and also library density within a geographical space. Finally, promotion is necessary and should show service and products offers and the benefits to the users.promotion of library and Information service should show census that quality and efficient, courteous services and it should also attempt to create favourable image for the entire organisation and its activities.

The marketing mix variables for services have been expanded to include three more elements. People, physical evidence and process (Edoga, 2009). People are a highly visible aspect of the service delivery. The library personnel. Occupy a key position in influencing information service or product quality. Thus, the level of training and overall performance of the service provider is very important in marketing of library and information service. The process element of the service marketing mix is concerned with the way in which the service is delivered to the users of the information. It describes the procedures, mechanisms, and flow of activities by which a service is delivered to customers. The physical evidence describes the environment in which the service is delivered . the library environment, the librarian’s office environment and how generally the library and information centre is conducive for using the information products and services are factors to be considered.

Libraries and Information providers should adopt and manipulate the marketing mix variables in designing information products and services with the sole aim of the information users in a way that will be beneficial to the organisation.

In a marketing oriented library the users of the library are the kings and all emphasis would be on how to design and package information services and resources that meet the exact needs of the users. for the library to remain competitive or even more, fundamentally, to remain relevant, it has to shed the image of a highly fortified storehouse of knowledge guarded by staff and security gadgets, a treasure house where the borrower is a nuisance or a potential thief. The information age ought to be a true service organisation, a group of  professionals who quickly identify in the vast ocean of knowledge the kind of information that different customers would need and assist them to access them with the least time and effort.

Strategies for Marketing of library and information Service in the Information Age

library and Information centres that have marketing orientation should design and strategies to market their services and information products. Some of these strategies include the following.

1.  Effective customer relations Management: All lIbraries and Information centres should have dedicated staff at the public services area who should be engaged in customer relations management. Candy (2000) explained that the reason for customer relations management (CRM) is to acquire new customers and satisfy their desire for a service based experience through effective relationship management and to quickly capture enough information on that customers to retain them in the long term.
2. Total commitment to customer (User) satisfaction. This relates to the extent to which a library fulfil a user’s needs, desires and expectations. all personnel of the library should gear effort to library users. all actions must be taken with the intent to satisfy the customers of the information products and services. This is the global satisfaction level that must be monitored for possible improvement.
3. Effective Public Relations Management:Public relations involve a strategic, systematic, and ongoing approach to building and nurturing a positive relationship between an organization and its stakeholders, fostering a reciprocal understanding that benefits both parties. All library staff starting from the library porter to the Chief librarian should have a good public relations attitude. The library as an organisation needs public relations to build goodwill, reputation and better public image which are necessary for its continued existence. The goals of public relations are to create, maintain and protect the organisation’s reputation, enhance its prestige and present a favourable image. Effective public relations management in the libraries and information centres will help to create goodwill for the organisation as well as overcome misconceptions and prejudice.
4. Constant user analysis: The librarians and information providers should constantly be involved in user studies. This will help them to know the users, their likes and dislikes, their information needs, how and where they want the information and in what format. This involves a lot of research and evaluation and it will be necessary in designing information products, services and programmes that are related to their needs and wants.
5. Application of marketing concept: marketing concept is an idea that an organisation should aim all its efforts at satisfying its customers in a way that will be beneficial to the organisation, (Perenault and Mc Carthy, 2005). The marketing concept is simple and a very important idea which should be adapted by libraries and librarians. Any library institution that has marketing orientation tries to adopt a marketing concept instead of just trying to get what they need and desire. In practising marketing concepts, all efforts are guided by what the users want instead  of what each department would want to do. In marketing oriented organisation, departments or units do not build fences around themselves; rather every unit work together with total commitment to satisfying needs and desires of the customers completely.
6. Finally commitment to Total Quality Management (TQM): Quality is generally recognised today as the key to the achievement of competitive advantage. TQM describes a systematic approach to achieving total quality. In the library, TQM guarantees that activities within the library system happens the way they have been planned in order to meet the defined needs and requirements of library users with the aim of achieving corporate objectives of the library. TQM is a new management concept applied by all marketing oriented organisation to achieve competitive advantage. This must also be adopted by libraries and information centres for continued survival in an information age.

Conclusion

The modern library is generally called an information market and the library user is a consumer of information. Information is a vital resource for research and national development.. marketing is essential in making the paper planning, designing and use of such services and products for the better and optimal use of information. The library should give priority to providing excellent customer services for competitive advantage in the information age. The library should be user-oriented in order to satisfy their information needs effectively. The ultimate aim of marketing in a library and information service is to provide the right information to the right user at the right time.

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