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3 PLL Persp. 1 (1991-1992)

handle is hein.lbr/aaplper0003 and id is 1 raw text is: AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES / PRIVATE LAW LIBRARIES SIS Volume 3 Issue I September I October 1991 Marketing the Law Firm Library by Nora Skrukrud, Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May, Oakland, CA Marketing, the act of defining and satisfy- ing customers' needs. Initially, it may appear that the concept has little relevance in the field of law librarianship. However, in the past few years, as the role of marketing or business development evolved from luxury to necessity in the competitive environment of the law firm, intrepid librarians realized that many of the same techniques could be applied to their own product: library services. During the 1980s and 90s, as librarians know all too well, there has been no reduction in the develop- ment of or dependence upon both legal and non-legal online resources. The advantage of this information explosion lies in the almost unheard of volume of data which lies literally at our fingertips. The disadvantage lies in the corresponding responsibility we have to ad- vertise our ability to access the information, as well as other library services and activities, to our customer, the law library patron. Why market the library's services? In these times of increased competition and economic uncertainty, es- tablishing a foothold in the marketplace, even if the marketplace is one's firm, is crucial. Marketing pro- vides increased visibility, greater awareness of the con- tinued need for, and expansion of, the library collection and services, and justification for the costs of running the library. Marketing can assist the library in achieving the firm's goals. If your firm has a mission statement, the statement undoubtedly includes the promise to provide clients with a cost-effective and professional work prod- uct. The library can play a key role in fulfilling such a goal. Effective marketing establishes a professional im- age. Preparing and disseminating a polished, timely and accurate product will improve the patron's opinion of the library, and can only reflect positively on the library and the staff. Marketing can provide the library with a mirror for self-assessment. By using the tools of marketing, the librarian can, on a regular and consistent basis, determine whether and how patron's needs are best met. Many aspects of running the library can be directly affected by this assessment. Decisions affect- ing reference services, titles selected, titles routed and online systems purchased should not be made in a vacuum, but instead with the patrons' needs in mind. By adapting some of the basic tenets of market- ing, one can design a marketing scheme which will effectively address and represent the unique offerings of the law library. Let's look first at some of the general concepts of marketing. Marketing can be defined as: an exchange of goods and services; the creation of a need where one did not previously exist; and any activities directed towards identifying and satisfying customer needs and wants. Components necessary for developing an effec- tive marketing plan include: a needs assessment; long range goal and strategy planning, and a method of acquiring constructive feedback and evaluation of the techniques employed. Developing strategies as part of the plan include employing the components of the so-called marketing mix, or, the 4 Ps of marketing: price - how much to charge, (but make certain to charge what it's worth); product - the goods provided; placement - where and how to provide access to the staff, collection and ser- vices; and promotion - advertising the commodity. Now let's see how some of these concepts can be practically applied. First, identify and target your audience. Requiring some initial leg work, you can streamline your marketing efforts and furnish better continued on page 6 SABRINA 1. PACIFICI Editor/ Pub1z sher Petepe ewot(oweooe P_

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