Marketing information services in Botswana: an exploratory study of selected information providing institutions in Gaborone
| Published date | 01 September 2002 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120210432273 |
| Date | 01 September 2002 |
| Pages | 302-313 |
| Author | Nndoniah Adonis Nkanga |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Marketinginformation
servicesinBotswana:
anexploratorystudyof
selectedinformation
providinginstitutions
inGaborone
NndoniahAdonisNkanga
Introduction
Theexploratorystudyreportedheresoughtto
investigatetheextenttowhichspecial
librariansandinformationofficersin
Gaborone(Botswana)markettheirservices
andwhetherformalmarketingstrategies
similartotheKotler-Andreasen-Keiser
approachareusedto``sell''services.The
Kotler-Andreasen-Keiserapproachisa
systematicprocesstomarketingwhich
involvesdeterminingwhatthetargetaudience
oughttobe(segmentation),howthe
organisationshouldpositionitselfvis-aÁ-vis
competitors,andwhatthedetailedelements
ofthemarketingmixoughttobe,inorderto
reachthetargetmarketswiththechosen
positionstrategy.
Thissystematicapproachmustguidethe
organisationforanumberofyears.Henceit
mustbeforwardlookingandbasednotonly
ontoday'scompetitivesituation,butalsoona
carefulstudyofthecompetitivesituationthe
organisationislikelytofaceinthefuture.And
sinceitwillbethe``spine''uponwhichthe
year-to-yeardetailofspecificmarketing
actionswillhang,itshouldbewellarticulated,
thorough,andvalidforrelativelylong
stretchesoftime,typicallythreetofiveyears.
Thisapproachconsistsofasetofstepstobe
takentodecidewhattodoinanymarketing
situation.
KotlerandAndreasen's(1991)strategic
marketingprocessisbasedontheassumption
thatmarketingisafunctionthatoperates
withintwoenvironments.First,itoperates
withinanorganisation.Therefore,what
marketersdointhefuturemustnecessarilyfit
withwhattheorganisationasawholewishes
todo.However,thisdoesnotmeanthatthe
marketersmusttaketheorganisation'sgoals
andplansasgivenandslavishlyadaptthem.
Onthecontrary,assumingthatthe
organisationisrunopenlyandthemarketing
functionisproperlylocatedattheveryhighest
leveloforganisationhierarchy,thereshould
beacontinuinginteractionbetween
marketingplanningandorganisational
planning.Marketersmusttellorganisational
plannerswhatcan,andcannot,be
accomplishedinthewayofdevelopingor
changingconsumermarkets.Atthesame
time,organisationalplannersmusttell
marketerswhere,howandwhattheymustdo
tomeettheorganisation'soverallneeds
andplans.
Theauthor
NndoniahAdonisNkangaisLibrarianattheUniversity
ofBotswana,Gaborone,Botswana.
Keywords
Botswana,Marketing,Informationservices,
Marketingstrategy,Speciallibraries
Abstract
Astudyofselectedinformationprovidinginstitutions,in
particularspeciallibraries,inGaborone,Botswana,
revealsthatamajorityareinfavourofmarketingtheir
servicestotheirusers.Inpractice,veryfewlibraries
undertakeformalmarketingplanningandprepare
marketingplans.Marketingwasthereforeunplanned.
Promotionisthemostcommonlyused elementofthe
marketingmix.However,librarymarketingcannolonger
beconfined tothisoneelement.Thewholerangeof
marketingactivitiesisneededfortheeffective
managementofspeciallibraries.Itisonlythrough
planning,asadvocatedbytheKotler-Andreasen-Keiser
approach,thatmarketingwillceasetobeequated with
promotionand takeonitsfullpotentialasavital
managementtool.
Electronicaccess
Theresearchregisterforthisjournalisavailableat
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Thecurrentissueand fulltextarchiveofthisjournalis
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
302
Library Management
Volume 23 .Number 6/7 .2002 .pp. 302±313
#MCB UP Limited .ISSN 0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435120210432273
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