library branding, marketing and customer service part i

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Branding and Marketing.So What’s Customer Service

Have To Do With It?Part I

Presented byLibby Post, President

for Upper Hudson Library SystemJanuary 18, 2008

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What is Branding and Marketing?

• A necessary evil for libraries?• A comprehensive approach to conveying your

library’s message to your target audiences

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What is Customer Service?

• A waste of time since patrons come to us anyway?• A way to increase patron use and enhance your

library’s position in the community?

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Working Together

• If you coordinate your library’s branding, marketing and customer service, you’re more likely to win more friends and build a loyal patron base

Success!

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What is Branding?• Integral part of marketing• Sets libraries apart from

other public institutions• Sum total of all attitudes,

perceptions and beliefs about your library

• Emotional branding: – Love– Hate– Hope– Fear

• Libraries give people hope, a sense of community, a long life of learning

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What is Marketing?

• All activities geared to raising the identity and use of the library

• Libraries need to market– Reinforces position as an essential service for the

community– Reinforces that libraries are very relevant and haven’t

been replaced by the internet– Positions library to garner community support for 414s,

referendums or other voter initiatives

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What is Customer Service?

• The way your patrons are treated– How their questions are answered– How valued they are when interacting with staff– How they feel when they leave– Whether patrons’ expectations are met or exceeded

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What Today’s About

• Make the connection between your branding/marketing and your customer service

• Enable you to boost your branding, marketing and customer service

• Strategies to live your brand through your customer service

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• Define mission and programs • Define audiences: children, adults, seniors, families,

potential donors, opinion leaders, elected officials, etc.• Examine strengths and weaknesses• Define messages and supporting points• Establish graphic identification—logo—and graphic

standards• Develop initiatives/campaigns to brand the library in the

community as an essential service

Marketing 101

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Examine your strengths & weaknesses: SWOT session

• INTERNAL– Strengths– Weaknesses

• EXPLORE– People

• Staff• Board• Patrons

– Programs and Services

• EXTERNAL– Opportunities– Threats

• EXPLORE– Position of the library in the

community– What values the library stands

for in the community– What’s important to the

community

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Establish logo and graphic standards

• One logo for library• Vertical and Horizontal format, if necessary• Consistent color palette• Consistent typefaces• Graphic standards: how it is used

– Published guidelines

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Organizational identification

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• Identity Brochure• Newsletter• Direct Mail• Advertising:

– Newspaper– TV– Radio

• Web Site• Annual Reports• Displays• PowerPoint presentation• Speaking engagements• Flyers, Posters• Campaigns

Use each opportunity to reinforce your message and the importance of the library—tell your story and build relationships.

Marketing Tools

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Campaign Planning Questions• What are the issues facing the

library?• What are your goals? What do

you want to have happen?• How will you accomplish

goals? What are the objectives?

• How do you want the library to be perceived? What is your positioning statement?

• Who are your audiences? Who needs to hear your message?

• What are your messages? What proof do you have to back them up?

• What strategy/tools will you use to get your message to your audiences?

• How well did you do?

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• Needed to raise the identity of the Library before asking public to vote on a $6.5 million referendum

• SWOT analysis– Library was important but not as important as town

recreation activities• Strategy

– Triangulate recreation, make it integral to the library

Case Study: Saugerties Public Library

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• Rebranded Library– New slogan– New look– New logo

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• Need to raise $2 million to offset cost of taxpayer share of $19.8 building referendum– Raise expectations– Reinforce role of library in the community– Make the case for a new library

Case Study: Goshen Public Library

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PR as a Part of Marketing• Pro-Active

– Get your message out in an “objective” medium– Educate the public– Establish yourself as an expert– Place positive stories about issues– Respond to negative stories

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Defining the MediaPrint Media

DailiesWeekliesMonthliesNews MagazinesTopical MagazinesWire services

ElectronicTVRadioWeb SitesBlogs

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Accessing the Media• They come to you

– Want your comment as expert

– Negative story about you• You go to them

– Press Advisories– Press Releases– Press Events

− Letters to the Editor− OpEd Pieces/Commentary− Editorial Board Meetings

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Types of Press Releases• Informational

– Bulleted and concise• Media Advisories

– Issued a few days before an event• Media Alerts

– Issued right before event as a reminder• Photo Ops• Stories

– For smaller, local outlets

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• Hard news• News feature• Series• Human Interest feature• Business• Sports• Editorial

Types of News Stories

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• Develop a press list– Address– Telephone– Fax– E-mail

• Find out who covers library/local news– Print: various editors/reporters & beats – TV & Radio: Assignment Editors

The First Steps

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The First Steps• Know How the Media Wants to Get Info

– Smaller local papers (weeklies) often prefer press releases that are written as news articles that can be directly placed in their papers or minimally edited

– Larger news outlets (dailies) prefer press releases with bulleted info that can be scanned for topics of interest

– TV stations want shorter, topical stories with good visuals

– Radio wants shorter, topical stories with good sound bites

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The First Steps• Decide who your spokesperson is

– Press are busy– Make it easy for them– Make sure they have your name and number(s)

• Professional look to communications• Printed letterhead• Graphics file

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• Develop system of distribution based on media outlet preference– E-mail

• Release in body of e-mail• Also as an attachment

– Broadcast fax – Mail

The First Steps

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• Revolving Media Door– Type of media market drives personnel turn-over– Keep your lists up to date

• Understand how journalists see themselves– Their job is to uncover and report– They are busy– Do their work for them

The First Steps

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Defining Your Message in the Media• Who is the audience• What do you want the public to hear• Develop talking points

– Reinforce your perspective– Sound bites– Answer how you want to

• Integrate message into all media relations

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Defining Your Message

• Talking Point Tactics: distinguish and add credibility to your message– Facts: statements that describe the way things are– Statistics: effective when easily understood– Analogy or Comparison: make statements more

engaging– Authorities or Experts: adds credibility– Personal Experience: illustrate points

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• Libraries are essential to the communities they serve

• Talking Points– Children come here to learn– Families come here to have fun– Seniors come here to remain active and vital

Defining Your Message

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Press Release 101• Who, what, where, when & why• Inverted pyramid

– Most important information upfront– Edit from the bottom up

• Contact information and date for release at the top• Headline before beginning of text• Proofread

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50 Colvin Ave., Albany, NY 12206 518/438-2826

Company President Gives Workshop For Upper Hudson Library System

Libby Post, President of Communication Services, will present a workshop entitled Branding and Marketing: So What’s Customer Service Have to do With It? at the Hudson Valley Library System office, 28 Essex Street, Albany on Friday, January 18 from 9:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The workshop will cover the connection between branding/marketing and customer service and how building relationships with audiences enhances a library’s ability to reinforce it’s message that libraries are for everyone and bring value to the community.

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For more information For ReleaseLibby Post Immediate438-2826 January 7, 2008

Quick IdentifierContact InfoHeadlineInverted pyramid style releaseEnding marker

SamplePress Release

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It’s All About Relationships• Branding/Marketing is about developing

relationships with your audiences• Customer Service is about developing relationship

with your patrons• Media relations is about developing a relationship

with the media

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Tips on Developing GreatRelationships with Your Media Outlets• Be accessible: be sure the media knows when and

how to reach you• Be honest: credibility takes a long time to build and

can be destroyed quickly • Be polite: even if a reporter asks a question you

prefer not to answer• Provide simple, direct responses to all questions

and plan key messages to discuss

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Tips on Developing GreatRelationships with Your Media Outlets• Don’t say “no comment”: Screams “I have

something to hide.” Say “I don’t have an answer to that” or “I can’t comment on that.”

• Respect deadlines: get back to them on time, even if it is to tell them you don’t have the info they want

• Avoid speaking off the record or on background

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Reporters have the right to

• Evaluate and report the story as s/he sees it• Reasonable access to news sources• Receive timely response• Have deadlines and other needs respected• Receive concise and direct answers• Redirect the interview if it strays

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Reporters have the right to

• Conduct follow-up inquiries, as needed, for clarification

• Receive available collateral material to help build the story

• Receive corrected information if incorrect info is inadvertently given

• The same kind of courtesy and respect you expect

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You have the right to

• A measure of control over the interview• Have advance knowledge of interview topic(s)• Know the reporter’s identity and affiliation• State Your Key Messages and restate when

appropriate• Finish responses without interruption (your answer

should be concise and relevant)

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You have the right to

• Discuss relevant topics and messages not specifically asked for in the interview

• Correct misinformation and misstatements during the interview

• Know how the interview material will be used and whether others are being interviewed

• Respond to allegations

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• Be prepared• Have your talking points ready• Answer the questions the way you want to answer

them• If you’re called to respond to a story, you can call

them back after preparing• Don’t lie

How to Speak with the Press

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• Print: clear, concise, a bit more depth• Radio & TV: 30 second (or less) sound bites

– Be prepared– Radio: most interviews done on phone unless there’s a

press event of some sort– TV: come to you, look at reporter not camera, don’t wear

a lot of jewelry

How to Speak with the Press

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• Editorials:– Meet with Editorial Board, present your case– Send Editorial Page editor/writer information asking for supportive

editorial• Letters to the Editor

– Won’t print without name• Op Ed pieces

– Opportunity to reach opinion leaders in the community– Can present your message thoughtfully, in-depth– 1000 words

Power of the Editorial Page

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Telling Your Library’s Story

• Define your message• Define your audience• Define your tactics• Make it happen

library branding, marketing and customer service part i

Education