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Separate marketing plans should be developed for each product/service to be promoted or for each product/service family to be promoted. The marketing plan can be a few pages, with each section containing a couple of paragraphs, or each section can have a few pages.
TABLE OF CONTENTS This section is recommended to ensure ease of review.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This section presents a summary of the proposed plan for quick skimming by management.
SECTION I
Introduction (See chapter 4.) Describe the existing or envisioned service in detail and explain how it fits into the market:
- What are the benefits of the service? a. What is the core benefit being offered? (What is the customer really seeking? What need is the service really satisfying?) ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ b. What benefits accrue to the community/campus when members of the target market use this service? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________
- How are the characteristics of the service managed? a. What tangible item(s) does the customer see, feel, hear, touch, or receive as a result of receiving this service?
b. What library personnel does the customer come in contact with to obtain this service? What technology does the staff person use to provide this service? How does the ser- vice function?
Marketing Plan Template
c. What steps are being taken to decrease the variability and ensure consistent quality when this service is delivered to the customer?
d. What measures are being taken to balance supply and demand for the service?
e. What do customers have to do or know to have the best “experience” in seeking the benefits of the service?
- What resources are needed to deliver the service? a. What existing or additional hardware, software, electronic databases, print sources, etc., will be used or must be purchased to deliver the service? What staff reallocations or hir- ing is required? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ b. What partnerships with other organizations should be forged to supplement or complement capabilities?(Identify areas to be complemented or supplemented here. Identify potential partners to target and strategies in Sections VI and VII, below.) ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________
- Where does the service fall in the service family hierarchy?
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- What stage of the life cycle is the service in?
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Marketing Plan Template (cont.)
- How do members of this target market use the library (behavioral data)? (Categories can overlap. Estimates could exceed 100% of total market size.) How many (or what percentage): Have library cards? ______________________________________________________ Regularly use the library to borrow materials? ____________________________ Occasionally use the library to borrow materials? __________________________ Formerly used the library to borrow materials? ____________________________ Would be first-time library users? __________________________________________ Use materials in the library? ______________________________________________ Use reference services? In-library: _______________ Telephone: _______________ Online: _______________ Attend library programs?__________________________________________________ May have never used the library?__________________________________________
- On what occasions (days of weeks, specific months, holidays) would members of this target market most likely use the service?
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- What are the significant library usage trends?
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- What are the five most prominent lifestyles within your target market (psychographics)? (Look up by ZIP code in “You Are Where You Live”—http://www.yawyl.claritas.com.) Lifestyle 1: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Narrative description:
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Lifestyle 2: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Narrative description:
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Lifestyle 3: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Narrative description:
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Marketing Plan Template (cont.)
Lifestyle 4: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Narrative description:
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Lifestyle 5: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Narrative description:
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- What are the significant lifestyle trends?
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- What benefits of this service are valued most by members of this target market? What needs and wants are satisfied by the benefits of this service?
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- Why is there a demand for this service in the target market? How much demand is anticipated?
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- What are the media habits of the target market? What type (or specific outlet) of medium is viewed (e.g., conservative radio talk show; CNN on cable TV)? Medium Hours/Week Type (category) Television _____________ ___________________ Radio _____________ ___________________ Magazines _____________ ___________________ Newspapers _____________ ___________________
SECTION III
Current Market Situation (See chapter 6.)
- Describe the competition. What alternatives can members of the target market obtain to satisfy their needs or wants? Or, what alternatives do members of the target have for spending their time? Desire Alternative Assessment of competing alternative
Generic Alternative Assessment of competing alternative
Marketing Plan Template (cont.)
d. Are there barriers to use associated with your service?
e. Describe the atmospherics of the physical or virtual outlet (look, feel of exterior and interior).
f. How many librarians, support staff, and volunteers are available to deliver the service?
g. What level of customer service do you provide?
h. What special training has been given to staff to deliver the service?
i. What customer service training has been given to staff?
j. Will you need to forge partnerships to make this service available?
- What nonmonetary or monetary price does the customer have to pay to obtain your service? What is burdensome about obtaining your service? a. Time (waiting time, frustration) b. Convenience c. Transportation costs: public transportation, automobile costs, gas, parking d. Fees e. Other
Marketing Plan Template (cont.)
SECTION IV
Opportunity and Issue Analysis (See chapter 6.)
- What are the main opportunities for the service? Why is it an opportunity? Opportunity Why?
Marketing Plan Template (cont.)
- What promotional techniques are being used for this product/service? How effective have the efforts been?(See chapter 8 for a list of techniques.)
Technique Effective
Not effective
Not sure
Consider for promotional campaign Comments
- Other: _________________________________ Goal: __________________________________________________________________________________________ Objective(s): ____________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________
- Other: _________________________________ Goal: __________________________________________________________________________________________ Objective(s): ____________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________
SECTION VI
Marketing Strategies (See chapter 7.)
- Core Marketing Strategy:
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- Positioning Strategy: a. What position, in the minds of your target market, will your library claim versus providers of competitive alternatives?
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b. Is there a dimension on which you can claim to be the best?
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c. Write your service’s positioning statement.
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- Marketing Mix Strategies: How will the goals and objectives be accomplished? a. Service (Product) Strategies:
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b. Price:
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c. Place (can include partnerships):
________________________________________________________________________________________
d. Partnerships:
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e. Promotion:
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Marketing Plan Template (cont.)
SECTION VII
Marketing Tactics / Action Plan (see chapter 9) This section states what will be done, who will do it, when it will be done, and how much it will cost. The chart can also be used to monitor the implementation (status) of these tac- tics (actions): R(for red) indicates not on schedule, could put other tasks in jeopardy; Y(yel- low) indicates a possibility that the schedule will not be met; G(green) indicates that the action is on schedule; completed actions are indicated with C.
Marketing Plan Template (cont.)
When Status Start End R/Y/G Product
Price
Place
Promotion
How will budgets be established? Which strategy will you use? Explain.
- Affordable method _______________________________________________________________________________
- Percentage of overall budget method ______________________________________________________________
- Competitive-parity method _______________________________________________________________________
- Objective-and-task method ________________________________________________________________________________
What Who (^) How much
