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Promotional Strategies
Promotional Strategies
By Virginia I. Caintic Director, Learning and Information Center University of Mindanao, Bolton Street, Davao City
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Definitions of Promotion
1. It is a communication used to inform, persuade, and or remind people about an organization or individuals goods, services, image, ideas, community involvement, or impact on society (Zikmund & dAmico, 2001) 2. It is a term used to describe sales communication the messages and vehicles are used to let the customer know what products and services are available. It includes advertising, direct marketing, personal selling, sale promotions, and public relations.
Definitions of Promotion
3. It is anything libraries do to let the community know who they are and what they do! 4. It is to keep the product in the minds of the customer and helps stimulate demand for product. 5. It is the 4th P of the marketing mix.
Purpose of Promotion To increase customer awareness both of the products and knowledge about the products desirable features and benefits.
Benefits of Promotion
1. Increase usage 2. Increase value in the organization 3. 4. Education of users Change perception
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Through promotion it allows the users to know what are the library resources and services that the librarians have to offer.
In the library, a product or service is anything that the library or information service is offering, or could offer, that would be of benefit to the users and potential users.
LIBRARY PRODUCTS
Services Resources Programs Events Facilities Instructions
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LIBRARY SERVICES
8. Provision of access to online local information resources and databases, and guidance in selection of Web resources. 9. Training in use of online and print resources to contribute to information literacy. 10. Promotion of information, social, and cultural literacy. 11. Working with local schools to support curriculum 12. Introducing children to reading 13. Working with literacy programs. 14. Maintenance of archives of local historical resources
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We often take these products for granted or assume that the users place the same value on them that we do. Try looking at library products from the users viewpoint. If youve been working in a library for a long time, refresh your memory!
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Visit a library that youve never used before and consider these questions
1. Hows the signagecan you tell by looking around what services are available? 2. Is it easy to find stuff? 3. Is it clear where you should go for help? 4. Can you find every department without having to ask? 5. Do you understand the arrangement of the collection? 6. Is it easier at the bookstore? 7. Are you comfortable? 8. Do you enjoy being there?
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ELEMENTS OF PROMOTION
Personal selling. Face-to-face interactions with one or more prospective users, for the purpose of generating increased activity. In a library context this will include the so-called academic detailing one-to-one meetings with new or existing staff to brief them about a specific project or service. Advertising. An informative or persuasive message carried by a nonpersonal medium and paid for by an identified sponsor whose organization or product is identified in some way. Public relations and publicity. Programmes designed to promote and/or protect a companys image, or those of its products, including product literature, exhibitions and articles in professional or in-house newsletters.
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ELEMENTS OF PROMOTION
Direct marketing. The use of mail, telephone or other non-personal contact tools to communicate with or solicit a response from specific customers and prospects. Trials and service promotion. Short-term incentives to encourage trial or purchase of a product or service, such as discounted rates for services over a limited time period. Sponsorship. Financial or external support of an event or person by an unrelated organization or donor, such as is common in respect of the arts, sports and charities.
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Promotional Strategies
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OBJECTIVES OF PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY 1. To provide information and educate users 2. To increase demand, usage and value in the organization 3. To differentiate the product 4. To accentuate the value of the product/service 5. To stabilize existing activity levels
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Factors that will help you to determine an appropriate promotional mix include: The availability of budget The marketing message The complexity of the product or service Market size and location Distribution of the product The stage in the product life-cycle Competition
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Promotional campaign is a part of a firms promotional mix, just as a military campaign is a portion of a total war effort.
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2. Product differentiation focused on some dimension of the product that competing brands do not offer or accents some way in which using the product provides the solution to a user problem.
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Promotion Possibilities
Create an outreach program for students, teachers, administrators, and the community. Develop a plan for promoting the collection including new acquisitions, curriculum connections, and older materials Create promotional literature for a particular area such as reading, information inquiry, or science literacy (i.e., newsletters, brochures, bookmarks, website, pathfinders, flyers) Develop plans for displays to highlight events and projects (i.e., bulletin boards, display cases, special center events)
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2.
3.
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4.
Advertise the Promotion. Be sure that everyone is aware of the event or activity. Develop a press release, insert a note in the school newsletter, and create flyers. Share your Success. An important element of promotion is communication. Be sure that people know about the success of your project. Use local newspapers, school newsletters, center website, and bulletin boards to share your success.
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6. Implement the Promotion. As you implement the program be sure to collect data. Count people, conduct a survey, ask for comments, take photographs, and collect sample products. Example: You take photos of students as they do their Poetry Slam
readings during National Book Week in the Library.
7. Evaluate. Consider the effectiveness of the program. Immediately revise materials for the next time you use this promotion. Plan for the future.
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You dont have to be a public relations expert to promote your library. You just have to talk about your library.
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As librarians, we should be actively marketing and promoting our library and services. The basic aim of marketing is to build strong customer relationships with the library users. Sometimes, promotion is not a one time activity, but an ongoing concern for innovating libraries.
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CLOSING WORDS
In closing, may I read the story from the Readers Digest on Promoting Issues and Ideas by M. Booth and Associates, Inc.
if the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying Circus Coming to the Fairground Saturday, thats advertising. If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, thats promotion. If the elephant walks through the mayors flower bed, thats publicity. And if you get the mayor to laugh about it, thats public relations. If the towns citizens go the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun theyll have spending money at the booths, answer their questions and ultimately, they spend a lot at the circus, thats sales.
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REFERENCES
Basic Definitions: Advertising, Marketing, Promotion and Public Relations, and Sales. Retrieved on June 29, 2006 from http://www.managementhelp.org/ad_prmot/defintion.htm The Campaign for Americas Libraries @ your library TM . (2001). Retrieved on June 29, 2006 from http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/campaign/academicresearch/toolkitfinaltext2.pdf Kathuria, P. and Wales, F. (1999). Web site promotion. Retrieved on July 16, 2007, from http://www.limov.com/library/promotion.lml Nicholas, J. (1998). Marketing and Promotion of Library Services. Retrieved on July 16, 2007, from http://www.eso.org/gen-fac/libraries/lisa3/nicholasj.html Nims, J.K. (1999). Marketing library instruction services: changes and trends. References Services Review. ( 27): 249-253. Retrieved on October 10, 2007, from http:// proquest.umi.com Roes, H. (1999). Promotion of electronic journals to users by libraries case study of Tilburg University Library. Retrieved on July 16, 2007, from http://www.hroes.de/articles/london99.htm The School Library Media Specialist: Program Administration. Retrieved on July 16, 2007, http://wwweduscapes.com/sms/advocacy/promotion.html School Library Website Activities/Promotion. Retrieved on July 16, 2007, from http://users.tpg.com.au/welwel/showpony/activities.htm Wenhong, Ju. . Marketing and service promotion practices in the LCAS Library Management. Bradford: 2006. Vol. 27, Iss. 6/7; pg. 336 Retrieved on July 16, 2007, from http:// proquest.umi.com Zikmund, W. G. and dAmico, M. (2001). Marketing: Creating and keeping customers in an e-commerce world. Cincinnati, Ohio : South-Western College Pub.
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