Marketing and management (Сафонов)

Marketing is a management discipline, and equally it is part of organizational and management philosophy, reflected in attitudes and approaches across die whole organization. Marketing provides the focus for successful organizations. The starting point lies in recognizing that 'marketing deals with identifying and meeting human and social needs'. Librarians and information professionals, well used to providing for both, should be heading for success.

Knowledge, resources, planning, all have their place in strategic marketing development and will be put to most effective use where marketing strategies are underpinned by a whole organization approach. Effective strategy development will encompass cultural, political and cognitive facets as well as financial considerations.

Marketing needs to be practised effectively within the organization as well as without and library and information managers need to recognize that within includes within their own service and also the interaction of their personnel with the wider organization.

The culture of an organization, be that organization a pan-global company, a library or an information service, will derive from the shared assumptions, beliefs and vision of the members of the organization. These beliefs include a perception of the organization in which they are working, for example whether it is dynamic, always at the forefront, or whether it is old-fashioned, slow to change; it might be environmentally conscious or politically immured. Members accept the organization's operational styles and, essentially, its rituals - rituals that often cloak a powerful structure of influence. The understanding of the political nature of the organization and its power bases at the cognitive level will enhance the information professional's ability to manage strategic change and develop a marketing ethos that can be collectively owned.

Marketing, the librarian and the information professional Management

Managers have traditionally devoted most of their time to the management of money, materials, machines and men, information coming a very poor last, if at all, as Kotler said in 1984 - Information in the 21st century is now recognized as a commodity to be valued in all spheres. Are we then looking at a world in which the librarian and information professional can at last truly play an influential part? What is the role of the librarian in a free society? How powerful and influential could the person be who has control of society's knowledge? In all spheres, information professionals and librarians can be key players. But it will be their ability to market themselves that will make the difference.

Librarians and information professionals will need to recognize that developing effective marketing strategies is more difficult today, not because of the digital revolution, but because of a society in which customers are becoming more sophisticated and knowledgeable, maybe even cynical, about marketing activities. In the new macro-marketing environment, where the world is literally at the marketer's fingertips, the library or information service must 'create the market by combining a good grasp of customer needs with creativity and technological know-how'. Marketing intelligence, the information flows, digests and analyses of the library or information service markets, will only convert to competitive intelligence when the organization listens to its users and also analyses what they are not saying. To compete effectively for the time, energy and support of users, readers and clients, all library and information services must identify what their competition is and why it is succeeding in the same market.

Much has changed in the marketing of libraries and of information services in the time since Cronin introduced his selection of classic papers on marketing. 'The value of intelligent marketing cannot be overestimated, particularly in relation to non-monopolistic service organizations such as libraries,' he said (1981). The papers still repay study today; classics such as Levitt's 'Marketing myopia' (1960) and Kotler's 'Strategies for introducing marketing into nonprofit organizations' (1979) are referred to in every major marketing text.

In 1991, a major study of how marketing was implemented in the public libraries of the USA found no clear pattern emerging as to how marketing was managed; marketing planning was still in a process of development. The survey revealed a general lack of awareness and understanding of the full implications of marketing strategy and much confusion over terminology at most levels in local authorities.

In the 21st century, a much greater awareness of the value of marketing is abroad, there has been an expansion in the professional literature, and libraries are beginning to employ designated marketing officers who are dually qualified as information professionals and marketing professionals. But while branch libraries are closing, big companies are outsourcing their information needs, and school libraries are giving way to computing departments in the fight for resources, there is still a very long way to go.