1. How do you like your eggs in the morning?
A simple 7 step toolkit for creating marketing plans
that really work
UCR Conference Newcastle University June 2012
Kay Grieves & Jan Dodshon - University Library Services,
University of Sunderland

2. Today … Toolkit Taster Session
After today’s session you will:
• Have a better understanding of the
benefits of strategic marketing
• Have an overview of our 7 step
approach
• Have explored some of the key
techniques
• Be prepared to apply the toolkit for
your own purposes
• Know how we can help you further

3. The 7 Step Toolkit
Since its inception :
• Central strategic planning tool at University of
Sunderland, Student and Learning Support eg.
Quality Model Campaign
2008: How our toolkit came to be?
• Shared with staff from over 80 libraries and
information services throughout UK
• New Quality Model
• Wanted to build relationships with our
customers Applied for various purposes :
• Wanted to nurture conversations
- re-defining services and service offers
• Strategic marketing held the key - strategic marketing/communication plans
• Apply strategic marketing to our service
culture - planning customer conversations
- Specific purposes eg. Customer Service
• Exploration led to the creation of the toolkit Excellence Award
– How Do You Like Your Eggs In The
Morning?
• Toolkit consists of our workbook and a tried
and tested workshop
‘This is more than a toolkit – it’s a way of
thinking, planning and delivering high
quality, relevant services.’
(CILIP UCR Marketing Group)

4. The 7 Step Toolkit ..
Step 1. Establish where you want to go –
your strategic direction and priorities
Step 2. Identify your overall service offers
Step 3. Identify, segment and describe your customers
Step 4. Define a targeted service offer for each customer
segment (to meet their identified needs)
Step 5. Transform your service offer into benefits for each
customer segment
Step 6. Translate these benefits into targeted messages or
conversations for each segment
Step 7. Communicate your key messages through
customer conversations

5. What is marketing?
It is not: It is:
• An ‘add-on’ to the end of the service • A strategic management process
planning process • The starting point of all service
• Just about promotion planning
• Describing features of a • Entirely customer led
service/product • Benefit driven
• Inward looking • Outward and forward looking
• ‘One size fits all’ • Personalised and targeted
‘A dialogue over time with a specific group
of customers whose needs you
understand in depth, and for whom
you develop a specific offer with an
advantage over the offers of your
competitors’
McDonald
See page 4

6. What can a marketing plan do for us?
• Ensure we know who our customers are and what they need
• Plan services that fulfil our customers’ needs
• Effectively communicate the benefits of our services
• Ensure customers are motivated to use our services
• Ensure customers make most of our services
• Demonstrate the difference we make and the impact we have

7. Step 1. Establish where you want to go –
your strategic direction & priorities
Internal
• Mission statement
• Values/Culture
• Vision/strategy
External
Vision/outlook of:
• Wider organisation
SWOT & PEST
• Sector
analysis
useful here • Nationally
See Step 1 page 7

8. Step 2. Identify your service offers
List your offers today
and those you may be
planning for the future
SWOT
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats
See Step 2 page 9

9. Step 3. Identify, segment and profile your
customers
Why?
• Need to know who your customers are and
what they need before you can begin to
provide it
• You need to know them so that you know
how best to have conversations and build a
relationship with them
Why segment?
• Everyone is different
• One-size does not fit all
• Bespoke is often not possible
• It makes it manageable
How?
• Use what you already know
• Have conversations with them ‘The identification of
• Group those with similar needs, wants, individuals with similar
motivations and characteristics
• Profile them so that you know all about characteristics and wants ’
them Jobber
• Make sure everyone involved knows who
they are
See Step 3 page 12

10. US National Park- customer
segmentation
• Urban Beach Boys 3.8%
• Inactives 22%
• Young New England Wind Surfers 0.9%
• Nature Lovers 27.2%
• Musclers 6.2%
• Thrill Seekers 8.3 %
• Hunt-n-Fish Mens Motor Club 6.3%
• The Take it Easies 25.3%

11. Tourism Queensland-customer segments
Active Explorers
• Holidays...where they can be challenged and feel alive
Stylish Travellers
• Holidays...where they can stand out from the crowd, and appreciate and enjoy the finer things in life
Self Discoverers
• Holidays...where they can enrich their mind and nourish their body
Unwinders
• Holidays...where they can reflect and recharge at their own pace
Connectors
• Holidays...where they can bond with family and friends
Social Fun-seekers
• Holidays...where they can share good times with friends, new and old

12. Visit Britain – segments of UK customers
who holiday in own country

13. Visit Britain–segment profiles
•
High Street - the largest segment with 22% of the population, they are aged between 26 - 35 and
their average income is £22,150. They care what others think and are trend followers, rather than
setters, although they like new experiences (new to them, as opposed to cutting edge). They'll
pay for quality but only if it's tried and tested. More likely to take long holidays abroad but are
attracted to bargain short breaks in the UK and are unlikely to go off the beaten track. A third
have children. They are moderately interested in art and culture.
•
Cosmopolitans - the second largest segment at 15% of the population, they are relatively young
(although a third of them are post holiday) and their average income is about £26K. They are
independent and willing to try new things to get new experiences and challenges, both mental
and physical. They like to be active but also appreciate peace and relaxation, and art and culture.
On average they take over 4 short breaks a year and they enjoy a wide variety of things,
especially activity/themed holidays.
•
Discoverers - they represent 13% of the population, are most likely to be between 26 and 35,
have children at home and be high internet users. They are independent and not influenced by
style of brand but they are keen on value for money and rate good service highly. They are much
more likely to take a bargain break/late deal than a planned, packaged holiday and are also more
likely to weekend in England than abroad.
•
Style Hounds - representing 12% of the population Style Hounds are young (most are 15 - 25)
and heavily influenced by brands, fashion and trends. Their average income is £23,000. Half
have no children (so have a high disposable income) and 45% have a young family. They are
motivated by fun and excitement and are not very interested in cerebral or cultural pursuits.

14. Who are your segments?
Who are they?
• What is their situation?
Part Time? Full Time? Off Campus?
• Where are they in their journey?
New? Returning? Progressing?
• What subject do they study/research?
What are they about?
• What difference are they looking to
you to to make for them?
• What barriers do they face?
• What are their priorities?
• What do they want to achieve?
• What might motivate/interest them?
• What do they want to know about? Talk
about?

15. Activity 1. Profiling a customer segment
10 mins
Take your example segment. Have a go at profiling them. Think
particularly about what ‘difference’ they look to you to make.
It may help to think about things like:
• Their mode of study; Subject area; Point in learning journey.
• What barriers, difficulties, challenges they may face?
• What might motivate, inspire & interest them and what will not?
• What do they need most from you?
See Step 3 page12

16. Step 4. Define a targeted service offer for
each customer segment (The 4 Ps)
Define a targeted service offer
based on your segment’s needs and
preferences. Thinking about:
• Product? Which services can you
offer to meet their needs?
• Place? Where and when can the
customer use those services to best
meet their needs?
• Price? What does the customer have
to give up in order to use your
services?
• Promotion? See Steps 6 & 7
•
‘ To implement the marketing concept
Competition? Who else provides
what they need? successfully and satisfy customer
needs, different product offerings must
be made to diverse customer groups.’
See Step 4 page 18
Jobber

17. Matching products and services to your
customer segments

18. Step 5. Transform your service offers
into customer benefits
For each service offer to each
segment identify the specific benefit
of that service offer to them.
Define:
• The difference the service will make
to them
• Why the price is worth it
• Why your service is better than the
competition Benefit: ‘An offer of some
entity in which they get
• The overall benefit of your service more than they give up as
offer perceived by them and in
relation to alternatives
including doing nothing.’
Perla
See Step 5 page 21

19. Activity 2. Defining your service offers
and articulating their benefits for your
segment
10 mins
Using your customer profile:
• Agree 1 service offer for your segment
(Table 1)
• Articulate the benefit of your service offer (or the
difference it will make) to your segment
(Table 2)

20. Step 6. Translate your benefits into
targeted messages – AIDA principle
• Attention
Make me actually notice
• Interest
Spark enough interest to make me
read/listen further and see what this
could do for me
• Desire
Provide an incentive or something
that makes me want the benefits you
are offering
• Action
Motivate me enough to take the
time/effort to actually take up the
service
See Step 6 page 25

21. Step 7. Communicate your key messages
by nurturing customer conversations
Plan effective, benefit-led
conversations or campaigns to
deliver your messages to your
customer segments:
• Build a meaningful brand – cultural,
verbal, visual, physical, personal
• Identify vehicles to convey your
messages eg. Facebook, blogs,
Twitter etc
• Consider the most effective timing
• Ensure staff buy-in to the culture of
nurturing relationships with their
own customer segments
• Capture the difference you are
making and impact you are having
See Step 7 page 29

22. Planning your conversations
Timing
University Library
Services Sunderland:
Quality Model Campaign
Tools
pinterest.com/UniOfSunLib
Sharing & engagement

23. Targeting your offers to your
customer segments
• By who they are: • By what you offer:
University of Sunderland Library Services
i-escape
Accor Hotels

24. Matching your brand to your customer
segments

25. Building brands to meet the needs of
specific segments
Estée Lauder has a total of 27 brands which include:
American Beauty La Mer
Aramis Mac Cosmetics
Aveda Michael Kors
Bobbi Brown Missoni
Bumble and Bumble Ojon
Clinique Originals
Donna Karan Prescriptives
Estee Lauder Stila
Jo Malone Tommy Hilfiger
Kiton Tom Ford Beauty
Lab Series

30. Thomson Holidays January 2011 campaign
Thomson Holiday Campaign 2011 a ….
Are you
Toe dipper?
Night owl?
Early bird?
‘Whoever you are we’ve
got your holiday …’

31. Encouraging customer conversations

32. Activity 3. Plan a conversational
campaign with your customer segment
10 mins
Draft ideas for an example campaign to convey the benefits
of your service offer to your customer segment?
Maybe think about:
• How?
• When?
• Tools?
• How could you capture impact?

33. Activity 4. Feedback
5 mins
Your segment
Your service offer and benefits
Your conversational campaign and
impact capture ideas

34. The 7 steps
Step 1. Establish where you want to go –
your strategic direction and priorities
Step 2. Identify your service offers
Step 3. Identify, segment and describe your customers
Step 4. Define a targeted service offer for each customer
segment (to meet their identified needs)
Step 5. Transform your service offer into benefits for each
customer segment
Step 6. Translate these benefits into targeted messages for
each segment
Step 7. Communicate your key messages and sell your
services

35. Interested to know more …
If you would like to: We’d love to hear from
you .
• learn more
• adapt the toolkit to your own
needs
• discuss the possibility of us
running a full workshop for
your library
........ just get in touch.
kay.grieves@sunderland.ac.uk
jan.dodshon@sunderland.ac.uk