Overview. One of the first tasks for an organization that wants to become more marketing-oriented is to undertake a market audit. To make this marketing class more meaningful to you, this assignment asks you to select and "audit" an organization of your choice in marketing terms. After describing the organization from a marketing perspective you will be asked in the latter half of the class to act as a consultant to the organization and to suggest a plan of action that will improve its market stance.

Select an Organization. Your first task is to select an organization of interest to you. It can be a library of any kind or another kind of information organization or service. If you are familiar with a different kind of organization and would like to describe it and then try to apply marketing concepts to it, it will be perfectly acceptable. You can select a part of a larger organization (for example, the library within a corporation or a university or even one department of a large library) if you wish. It will be helpful to have had some experience, either as a worker or as a customer, in the organization but it isn't necessary as long as you have (or have had) the opportunity to observe it closely enough to answer most of the following guiding questions.

Guiding Questions for a Market Audit. Name the organization (or provide a pseudonym) and then answer as best you can the following relevant questions. Note these questions are to serve as indicators rather than as a definitive list. For example, the first question asks you to talk about the environment. The particular questions listed are to give some ideas about what to describe about the environment. You will probably not be able to answer all of the questions asked -- remember it's to stimulate your thinking. Do the best you can and be creative about how you might find information (other than, or in addition to, asking a manager directly).

• Environment. What kind of an organization did you select (e.g., profit or non-profit, library (specify type), government agency, corporation, independent business, etc.)? Describe its environment. Is it part of a larger organization? Is it relatively stable or rapidly changing? If the latter, how would you describe the changes? Is it strongly impacted by technology or by shifts in the economy? How politically sensitive is it? Does it have partners or other organizations within whom it is closely aligned?

• Customers. Describe the clients of the organization as best you can (e.g., age, socio-economic status, professional field(s) or occupation(s), geographic location, ethnic culture(s), etc.)? If you think there is a mix of several different kinds (and there usually is), estimate roughly the percentage of each subgroup of the total user population. Can you identify which group(s) is/are primary (more important in some way)?

• Products and Services. What products and services does your organization offer? Services might include such things as online searching, online vendors, circulating collection, bindery service, book jobbers, systems analysis, training classes, systems set up, help desk, web design, etc. Products might include publications, software, web portals (hard to say if this is a service or a product or a channel). Which are the primary products and services and which are more secondary? How does the organization make it known what its offerings are? To what degree are these products and services standardized or tailored to meet specific needs of individuals or groups? Are the products or services "branded" in any way (that is, do they carry a distinctive name or logo or are they packaged in such a way that they are instantly recognizable as coming from the organiation)?

• Place. Place in marketing terms is sometimes called "channel" because it refers to how and where products and services are delivered. Do clients come to one central location for service or are there different outlet locations? Do clients come to the organization (if so, by what method?) or are the services delivered directly to the client? Is there an Internet presence and if so, what level of interactivity is afforded through this channel? Do the products and services pass through an intermediary? Can they be delivered through the mail or telephone or through email or fax services? Often a library will have a mix of delivery systems and policies for different services. Describe the situation as best you can.

• Price and Cost. Are products and servics offered for a monetary price? If so, how flexible are the terms? Are there discounts or allowances? Do all customers pay the same amount? If products and services are not offered for a price, what is the cost to the client to avail him/herself of the organization's offerings? Consider both actual cost in terms of time and energy and also psychological costs.

• Promotion. What kinds of promotion does your organization provide? Promotion is sometimes categorized as direct selling, advertising (usually paid but sometimes as public service), sales promotion (incentives, discounts, special events), and publicity (e.g., public relations). How would you describe the mix of promotional activities that your organization undertakes? Are some products and services promoted more heavily than others? Are some groups of clients more targeted for promotional activities than others?

• People. In service marketing, all the people who surround the delivery of a service have an impact. Describe the employees who interface with the clients -- how are they dressed? What is their customary manner when interacting with customers? Other customers or intermediaries may also have an impact. Comment on the personal appearance and behavior of other customer groups or intermediaries.

• Servicescape. This is a fancy word for the physical evidence surrounding the delivery of products or services. It includes the appearance of the building, its offices and public spaces, as well as brochures, signs, equipment, business cards and the like. Describe your impressions of these manifestations.

• Process. The delivery of services usually involves a number of steps which may provide evidence to customers on how to judge a service. Consider whether the process of service delivery is simple (few steps) or complex (requiring customer to follow a complicated and extensive series of action). How involved is the customer in the delivery of the service and how much training does he/she require to receive services?

• Competition. Consider who (or what) might be considered as a competitor to your organization. Competition can be looked at in a variety of ways -- a similar organization or an organization that offers one or more similar services and/or products (e.g., the children's section of a library and a bookstore), or an organization that offers a different way to accomplish an end (e.g., searching the Internet for information directly vs. asking a reference librarian for assistance).

Format for this paper. Format is not important here. You can use a Q&A format, a series of bulleted points, an outline, or you can write a narrative. I'm looking for approximately 4-6 pages but page length will depend on format. Please include a few points for each of ten topics listed above. My preference for submission would be a link to a class home page or as a Word document. You may submit your paper as a .doc attachment to an email message or send me an email with a URL or hand me a print version. Please indicate if you have strong feelings about not sharing what you have written with the rest of the class. We can learn a lot from one another so I encourage you to use pseudonyms and share your work if at all possible.

Grading Criteria. A complete and analytic description of the various aspects of your organization will earn a high grade. Evidence of effort to obtain and describe good information is also important when not all the questions above are fully answered.

Page revised 8/15/2002.