Marketing concept of modern libraries (sources of marketing activity in libraries)

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Baku State University

Marketing Concept of Modern Libraries (Sources of Marketing Activity in Libraries)

Aghamirzayev Alish

Ph.D., Assoc. Prof., vice rector

Seyidli Nigar Aliagha Gizi

Ph.D.

Baku, Azerbaijan

Abstract

The concept of "marketing" was formed in America at the beginning of the last century. When the degree of social responsibility of the economy, which created many problems for society (depletion of natural resources, environmental pollution, long-term unemployment, revaluation of values, etc.) finally became clear, a drastic change in the attitude towards marketing took place.

Due to the undeniable success of commercial marketing in profit-making industries, the idea of transferring the marketing concept to non-profit organizations was born. F. Kotler wrote a lot about it in his works. It was clear to him that non-profit organizations should organize information exchange processes, similar to commercial organizations. This type of organization of marketing was associated with the idea that marketing in the non-profit sector can help achieve its goals. The goals of non-profit organizations are not only related to economic parameters, but those interests always exist in one form or another. In this case, nonprofit marketing is considered a method that anyone can use.

There is no uniform external expression (symbol, logo, visual image) of non-commercial marketing, its manifestations depend on the organization applying to it. The scope of these organizations is wide. It includes administrative bodies and service institutions (railway, post office, hospitals), as well as political, cultural, public organizations (parties, museums, religious organizations, etc.).

The concept of manufacturing excellence is one of the oldest approaches, based on the premise that consumers will buy widely available and inexpensive products. Therefore, management should focus its efforts on improving the system of production and distribution. This concept is followed and followed by most of the large institutions, which is one of the reasons for the deplorable state of many of them. Indeed, it is impossible to achieve a more or less stable position by relying only on the factors of production (for example, increasing labor productivity) with indifference to the consumer. Obviously, such a marketing concept can be applied in rare cases, for example, in the production of standardized goods and raw materials.

Keywords: marketing, non-profit, communication, library concept

Анотація

Маркетингова концепція сучасних бібліотек (джерела маркетингової діяльності бібліотек)

Агамірзаев Аліш, Сеідлі Нігяр

Бакинський державний університет (Баку, Азербайджан)

Поняття «маркетинг» сформувалося в Америці на початку минулого століття. Коли нарешті став зрозумілим ступінь соціальної відповідальності економіки, яка створила багато проблем для суспільства (виснаження природних ресурсів, забруднення навколишнього середовища, довготривале безробіття, переоцінка цінностей тощо), кардинально змінилося ставлення до маркетингу.

Через незаперечний успіх комерційного маркетингу в прибуткових галузях народилася ідея передачі маркетингової концепції некомерційним організаціям. Про це багато писав у своїх працях Ф. Котлер. Йому було зрозуміло, що некомерційні організації повинні організовувати процеси обміну інформацією, подібно до комерційних організацій. Такий тип організації маркетингу був пов'язаний з ідеєю, що маркетинг в некомерційному секторі може допомогти досягти його цілей. Цілі некомерційних організацій пов'язані не лише з економічними параметрами, ці інтереси завжди існують у тій чи іншій формі. У цьому випадку некомерційний маркетинг вважається методом, яким може скористатися кожен.

Єдиного зовнішнього вираження (символу, логотипу, візуального зображення) некомерційного маркетингу не існує, його прояви залежать від організації, яка до нього звертається. Сфера діяльності цих організацій широка. До нього входять органи управління та заклади обслуговування (залізниця, пошта, лікарні), а також політичні, культурні, громадські організації (партії, музеї, релігійні організації тощо).

Концепція досконалості у виробництві є одним із найстаріших підходів, який базується на передумові, що споживачі будуть купувати широкодоступні та недорогі продукти. Тому керівництво зосереджує свої зусилля на вдосконаленні системи виробництва та розподілу. Цієї концепції дотримується більшість великих установ, що є однією з причин плачевного стану багатьох із них. Дійсно, неможливо досягти більш-менш стабільного становища, спираючись лише на фактори виробництва (наприклад, підвищення продуктивності праці) з байдужістю до споживача. Очевидно, що така маркетингова концепція може бути застосована в окремих випадках, наприклад, при виробництві стандартизованих товарів і сировини.

Ключові слова: маркетинг, неприбутковість, комунікація, бібліотечна концепція

Introduction

An equally old approach lies in another fundamental concept of marketing - the concept of product improvement. Its essence is that consumers will buy products of the highest quality, with the best characteristics, so the organization must focus its efforts on the continuous improvement of products and services. It was believed that high-quality products will definitely find their consumers. Let us give examples from a sphere close to us. With a vision of product excellence, the publisher will produce "elegantly" printed, thick-bound and therefore partly expensive detective or horticultural books. These books are really popular but may not be attractive to a potential consumer because of the high price. The concept of product improvement often results in a "marketing monopoly" as it satisfies customer needs. marketing information commercial production

The problem of expanding the application of marketing was discussed as early as the 1960s in the United States, and a little later in the 1970s in Germany and Switzerland. Now, most of the specialists are in favor of the marketing concept in the non-commercial sphere. Currently, experts identify two main trends in the development of marketing theory: the deepening of marketing in the field of business activity and the spread of marketing concepts to non-profit organizations. If in the 1970s and 1980s. if the initial concepts were the object of intensive research, now the trend of complex development of marketing in breadth is actively studied.

Therefore, the library can by no means be a full- fledged subject of market relations. Some librarians refer to the manifestations of a market economy in the library sector, as a rule, only certain forms of financial activity that bring a certain income, and not profit. Indeed, paid services, widely proclaimed in their time as a new direction of library services, bring at best 3-4% of budget funds.

From this point of view, it is useless to approach library marketing as a concept for the effective operation of the library in the information market. Such a concept seriously harms the progressive development of the library: first, because it points to the wrong direction; secondly, it destroys the foundations of library services (universal access, free, adaptability); thirdly, it distorts the true meaning of marketing activities, which makes it impossible to use the powerful potential of marketing.

The apparent failure of the "market" concept of library marketing has led to the emergence of a whole trend in librarianship, based on the complete rejection of the use of marketing in library activities. Its supporters reduce marketing to paid services, so they do not see innovative moments in them. Others see marketing as purely commercial and therefore strongly object to "discrimination against the poor" (insolvency).

It seems that library marketing underlies both the concept of the market and its discrediting, paradoxically, for the same reason. In this area, the solution to any problem mainly focuses on the material and financial aspects and assigns them the role of library development.

For several decades, the dominant economic paradigm at various levels of management systems has led to a direct connection with information institutions: the library's survival strategy is the information market and marketing activities. In fact, these relationships are more complex and multifaceted.

Methodology

The methodology mainly consists of developed concepts that are currently in operation. A very large share of these concepts is displayed in the works of F. Kotler (1992) and P. F. Kazimi (2014; 2021) which were used for comparative analysis.

Non-profit organizations can apply the same marketing philosophy and tools as commercial organizations. They also need to find and define their markets, study customer needs, offer relevant services and products, create distribution channels, engage in advertising and public relations. However, there are two very important differences.

First, for public organizations, making a profit is not in the first place in the system of goals. Thus, the use of strategies such as price and communication is weakening. Secondly, these organizations have competitors in front of commercial organizations.

This definition once again confirms that marketing is not only a method, but also a fundamental position, the "philosophy" of the organization. This affects its structure, proposals, methods of work. Typical marketing thinking: it is not the worker who determines in advance what the library will bring to the market, but the needs, desires and interests of the people it is supposed to serve will play a decisive role in the market decision. At the same time, it should be taken into account that the proposal should “work” for the tasks and goals of the library (institution). This means that it is necessary to define exactly what these tasks entail in order to have some kind of framework within which certain proposals can be made.

Problem Analysis

Kotler's definition refers to "special markets". This means that marketing is not about offering everything to everyone (although libraries generally cannot do this). It is about how to effectively serve different parts (segments) of the market. The public library market is heterogeneous (heterogeneous), consists of many market segments with different needs, desires, attitudes, and interests of their representatives. These segments based on age, income, education, profession, nationality, mobility, reading habits, etc. can be divided. Target segmentation should not result in the library reaching fewer readers (users) but may mean that more users will be served according to their needs. The library has very limited resources (financial, human) and should use them as rationally as possible.

If, for example, universities have an almost complete monopoly in issuing documents on higher education, then in the entertainment and leisure market, libraries are in direct competition with other organizations that can also provide leisure opportunities for citizens.

After entering the non-profit sphere, the concept of marketing was refined and refined in relation to different types of non-profit organizations. There are five main concepts of marketing activities that emerged in different periods of the development of the world economy in response to social, economic, and political changes that took place in the twentieth century.

The concept of product improvement often results in a "marketing monopoly" as it satisfies customer needs.

The concept of intensifying commercial efforts is that significant efforts must be made to stimulate sales, otherwise consumers will not buy enough of the product. This concept is aggressively applied to consumer products. Various methods have been improved to identify potential buyers and "hard" sales of goods to them. This concept is for immediate results. This indicates that longterm interactions with the Consumer are at risk.

The modern concept of marketing, which was formed in the 1960s and 1970s, focuses on a long-term positive perspective of relations with consumers. According to this concept, the goal of achieving the goals of any organization is to identify the needs and demands of the population and provide the desired satisfaction more efficiently and productively than competitors.

Thus, the concept of marketing focuses on the needs and demands of customers, supported by an integrated marketing effort aimed at creating customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is the key to achieving the organization's goals. The concept of marketing reflects the commitment to the theory of consumer sovereignty.

Since the 1980s, it has been considered the period of formation of the concept of social and ethical marketing. The purpose of this concept is that the task of any organization is to identify needs, requirements and provide the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than competitors. This ensures the protection and strengthening of the welfare of the consumer and society as a whole. The concept of social and ethical marketing stems from doubts about the relevance of the principles of "clean" marketing to address environmental problems and scarcity of natural resources.

Thus, one can see how marketing is improved, concepts aimed at creating consumer satisfaction and improving people's well-being are formed. This factor has traditionally become a prerequisite for the use of marketing in the non-commercial sphere, with its original essence aimed at satisfying various needs.

The problems of non-commercial marketing began to attract the attention of various scientists. In 2000 E. V. Pesotskaya "Marketing of services" (2000) then S. N. Andreeva and L. N. Melnichenko's (2000) book "Fundamentals of Non-Commercial Marketing" answers many of the most pressing issues of the library sector.

Now let's try to define library and information marketing. It covers all five marketing concepts.

The concepts of product improvement and product improvement involve the use of marketing methods to expand the range of fee-based services and improve the quality of library services. The goals are clear, but they do not solve the fundamental problems of the modern library. The concept of intensifying commercial efforts, while compatible with survival strategies, is fundamentally at odds with the library's mission and thus effectively destroys the "philosophy" of the library service system.

The last two concepts are constructive: it is a modern and socio-ethical marketing activity, in which the needs, desires and demands of the population come to the fore. This can be considered the main factor determining the prerequisites for the use of marketing in the library and information sphere.

The most common marketing mistake is the simplistic idea that marketing is “monetized” (Kazimi, & Guliyeva, 2022) in some way. "Marketing began to emerge at a time when those in power felt they could not fund culture, claiming they were moving away from the 'residual principle' and promising growth." It was then that changes in marketing were announced as "transition to new business conditions."

In the early 1990s, the concept of marketing was formed, its logical algorithm was established as follows: The library is an information institution. By comprehensively studying information needs and creating the preconditions for their transformation into real consumer demand and subsequent payment, using marketing tools, the library occupies a large place in the information market. The viability of a modern library depends on how much it will accept the marketing mechanisms of the market and how confident it will feel in the information market.

It should be noted that this logic operated in accordance with the traditional economic paradigm that dominated local and foreign systems of government for several decades. Attention is mainly focused on the material and financial side of the problem, which plays a leading role in the development of the library. Thus, the idea was strengthened that economic growth and economic development are the key to meeting the growing human needs.

The initial period of the formation of marketing is characterized by the transparency of the border between commercial and non-commercial factors. Although all publications emphasized the non-commercial nature of the main library activities, they had a single goal behind it: to substantiate the possibilities of paid library services, a complex of additional paid library and bibliographic, information and other services.

The idea seemed attractive, fully consistent with the spirit of the “market” of that time, to bring the library to the information market and allow the library to exist at the required level in the difficult socio-economic conditions of that time.

However, the popular and today theoretically substantiated position contains in its essence the fundamental impossibility of practical implementation due to the fact that the peculiarities of library activities are not taken into account. Since the library does not carry out commercial activities aimed at generating income, does not participate in competitive relations, it is not a market entity, since it cannot claim its place in the information market sector. In the library, information is not a commodity, but a resource, therefore, large expenses are required to turn information into a commodity, as a result, the library's entry into the information market becomes unprofitable.

It is clear that library services cannot be viewed from the point of view of the market, since there are a number of economic, social and moral and ethical restrictions arising from the very nature of the library as a sociocultural institution (Krupenin, & Suslova, 2001).

In this regard, it should be noted that in world economic history there are many examples that characterize efforts to ensure the development of education, culture, and health care exclusively within the framework of active market relations. The result of such measures was not an increase in the level of service, as was believed, but a situation called in international practice «unfinished market problems» when a significant part of the population was left out of the sphere of consumption.

Conclusion

According toAmerican experts, the commercialization of libraries is a serious departure from the principle that "information should be free in the public interest." (Oqlu, & Qurbanov, 2021). With the commercialization of libraries, the problems of limiting access to information inevitably arise.

In recent years, prerequisites have been created for the formation of the foundations of the concept of library marketing as a philosophy of modern library management. In this sense, library marketing combines the achievements of the general theory of marketing and practical experience in solving many problems. This is, first of all, the use in the management of library activities of the principles of social orientation, complexity and

References

sustainability, on which general marketing is based. Also, it is the use of modern methods and techniques developed in marketing that makes it possible to ensure adequate satisfaction of the demand for library services in demand, target groups of the population and society as a whole, ensures the rational use of resources. Thus, marketing forms the methodological basis for the implementation of both traditional and innovative functions of library activities at the present stage. The concept of marketing offers fundamentally new tools that allow the library to work effectively in the face of uncertainty in the external environment. These are methods for assessing and predicting the impact of the external environment, developing long-term strategic goals, and adapting to environmental factors.

At the same time, library marketing has a number of characteristics that allow it to be considered as a specific type of activity. Each of the elements of the traditional marketing mix (product / service, distribution, personnel, price, marketing communication) develops in the library in its own way.

Features of library services marketing are associated with such characteristics as the inviolability and perishability of services, inseparability from the source, variability of quality. Since library users themselves are direct participants in the “production” of library services (Matveev, 2007), library marketing is a more complex concept, which, as in the production sector, involves not only the formation of a high level of interaction between producer and consumer, but also in the production sector, as well as in the process of organizing all library work.

At the same time, the benefits of incorporating marketing into library management can be very effective. Thanks to its high image and developed system of public relations, the library receives broad public support from the local administration, "philanthropists" and sponsors, using opportunities to attract financial resources.

Thus, although library marketing is based on the classical theory and methodology of marketing, it has serious specifics that require revision and adaptation of some concepts not only of marketing, but also of library science.

Literatura

1. Andreev, S. N., & Melnichenko, L. N. (2000). Fundamentals of non-commercial marketing. Progress-Tradition.

2. Kazimi, P. (2014). Information Engineering: What's This? International Journal of Academic Research, 6(3).

3. Kazimi, P. F. (2021). Conflict of Relevance and Reliability of Information and the Global Network. Trends in Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. 1 No. 1.

4. Kazimi, P. F. O., & Guliyeva, N. A. G. (2022). The concept of reliable information on the global network in times of crisis.

5. Technium Soc. Sci. J., 30, 742.

6. Kotler, F. (1992). Fundamentals of Marketing. Progress.

7. Krupenin, O. A., & Suslova, I. M. (2001). Dilemmas of library marketing.

8. Matveev, M. Yu. (2007). Marketing concept and image of libraries: "Shadow" aspects of commercialization. Librarianship, 4, 35-36.

9. Oqlu, K. P. F., & Qurbanov, A. (2021). Factors influencing reader satisfaction and quality of service in modern libraries. South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics, 11(3), 15-20.

10. Pesotskaya, E. V (2000). Marketing services. Peter.

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