Libraries around the world have either changed rapidly over recent years or in many consumers minds have stagnated. What is the role of the library in today’s consumers mind and how does the library meet the needs and wants of today’s consumer?
It definitely is a time to think outside the boxes and to come up with fresh ideas to grow the library consumer base. I recently gave a talk in London to a library group and the chairperson summed up the aims of any library, he started his introduction by saying we do not want customers to come to libraries more often, that is not the issue, we need to get more new consumers into the library. Those who are coming already are generally pleased with the offer they are provided with, what we need to do is to extend the offer to those who are not coming to the library.
I’m a firm believer that the main competition to libraries in the market place are retailers such as Borders Bookshops and Starbucks coffee shops. The consumer has always tried to search out a third place in their lives.
The first place in people’s lives is their home; this is followed by their second place, the work, where they may spend up to a third of their lives. People then tend to search out a third place where they feel they belong within the community; historically it was the church and still is for some people, for others it was the marketplace or the local tavern. For many people times moved on and the third place became the shopping center or the gym.
In today’s society the local coffee shop or a bookshop has taken than role on, for the doubters consider the fact that the average American who looks on Starbuck’s as their third place goes 18 times a month and on average and spends $60 a month in the store on average and for many it is nothing to do with the coffee, it is their a third place experience where they feel comfortable.
Where Does the Library Fit into the Scenario?
In many conferences I go to within the library industry I often hear librarians say the problem is that they do not have enough money to invest in the collection and if they did then more people would come to the library. I do not buy this argument; I suspect that the majority of consumers who do not come to the library do not care how large the collection is in the first place.
Let me give you an example. I recently worked with a supplier of fertilizers to the garden industry. I was asked to work with them on their marketing strategy. One of the technicians joined the team and asked how I would market their new fertilizers for roses which were to be released onto the market shortly. I asked how many products were already on the shelf that did the same job, his response was 35! As consumers do we need a 36th to choose from, I think we need a simpler choice not a greater choice? I know many will argue books, CD’s and DVD’s are different, but I would argue that the choice of sourcing product is now that great that the consumer is aware of the fact that they can source the product from a number of sources .Plus as I write this article, in the UK, the person who is at the top of the music charts has not yet released a CD. It has been a download, just one of the other challenges we have to face.
The library should be a third place and be a competitor in the mind of the consumer along with the other venues I have mentioned, how it achieves that, by concentrating on the brand rather than the product.
Consumers need to relate to the library brand and relate it in their minds as a third place alternative. The challenge is how that is achieved as everyone’s view is different.
You cannot please everyone and in starting to relook at the brand you must keep this in mind. I worked with a library recently that attracted 18% of its target market. In my mind this was appalling and I want to get 75% of the target market using the service. When we started brainstorming the ideas, one librarian resisted the ideas and said what happens if we upset somebody, we are bound to upset somebody, but at such a low usage I suspect a lot of people are already looking on the library as a non third place.
The challenge is the library has to become a third place for a community within one building that is the real challenge. A library that does not create zones or rooms with in rooms will by nature only satisfy one segment of the community. A library needs to create zones for all segments of the community.
Generational Marketing
Like other business serving the community the library has to look at the generational target mix and then address those needs .The community in marketing terms is split up into
Children: to 15 year olds that are often labeled as Pester Power
Generation Y: the 15 to 25 year olds
Generation X: 25 to 35 year olds
Jones generation: 35 to 50 year olds
Baby Boomers: 50 to 65 year olds
Greying Tigers: the 65 year old plus
The challenge of a library is that it has to have a zone that each generation feels comfortable in. Placing the Pester Power section next to Generation Y may be prudent from a management point of view, but it will not work form a social point of view and generally generation Y will tend not to use the library when this scenario exists.
Each zone needs to be decorated and furnished to relate as a third place to that market sector which is why clear zoning is so critical
The library has a greater challenge as it also has to relate to males and females as well as the ethnic and cultural mix of its society. The prayer room in a library has to be seriously considered if the building is to become a true third place in some communities
Brand Sense
Once the target market has been defined then you can start looking at the brand and how the brand relates to each of the target market. Branding should enhance the Third place in the consumers mind. The aim of the brand is to build the relationship. The brand is made up of what the consumers sees with their eyes. What they smell, what they touch what they hear and what they taste. All are, in my mind are equally important and need to be analyzed.
Let us use the example of a coffee shop branding exercise. We would consider the décor and what the team members were wearing. We would make a decision on what type of music we would have in the coffee shop, what the quality of the coffee cups would be, for example if we were serving a quality coffee I suspect we would purchase coffee cups that felt right finally we would consider the taste of the coffee. Once we had put the package together I suspect we would aim to manage a consistent standard and have a mystery shop organization check our standards on a regular basis.
I do not see a library as a third place being any different
We would consider the décor and change the décor depending on the desires of each target group .We would have library staff who visually the consumer can relate to. We would consider the aroma in the library, I’m not suggesting we inject artificial smells, but at the same time we would not want a musty smell of old books as that can also detract from the experience, and we would consider what type of refreshments best suit the environment, especially as we now live in the coffee society. Plus we would consider what quality of furniture is used to enhance the touch and so on. Once we had completed our third place we would then set a minimum customer service standard and employ a mystery shop organization to check we were performing to the right level as a team.
The library has an exciting future, but the collection is only one part of the puzzle. Now is the time to relook at the jigsaw pieces of a library and to put them together in a different way. A recent piece of research carried out by the shopping centers in Dubai, indicated that the consumer wants business to reinvent themselves every four years otherwise the consumer gets bored. Whether it is a library or a coffee shop the challenge is the same.
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More About John Stanley: John Stanley is a conference speaker and retail consultant with over 20 years experience in 15 countries. John works with retailers around the world assisting them with their merchandising, staff and management training, customer flow, customer service and image. www.johnstanley.cc |
