A New Approach to Marketing Databases
Jacksonville Public Library, Fla.
Innovation Synopsis
Earlier attempts to promote the Transparent Language Online database resulted in acceptable sign-ups at the start of the year but trailed off as the year progressed. The instructional classes were not engaging customers to become long-time users. Our E-Services team created language-specific classes and developed new marketing practices to successfully increase use of the database.
Challenge/Opportunity
Jacksonville is a military town serving the largest city in land mass in the contiguous United States. Interest in international languages is high, so we knew we had the right audience for the Transparent Language Online database. The database is one of the best online language-learning programs and it’s free to library card holders. It’s accessible via an app — a great feature for language help on the go. This incredible service was going unnoticed and underutilized. Previous marketing attempts focused on classes to teach customers how to use the database. Usage improved a bit, but customers were not using the database to its full potential and we wanted more customers to try the service. We knew we needed a fresh approach to marketing this product.
Key Elements of Innovation
The innovation was two-fold: a new format for the classes and a new approach to marketing them. The classes became a full cultural immersion in a series of three interactive sessions. Class discussions focused on conversational use of the language. Popular topics included travel tips, local cuisine and currency conversion. Students received in-person instruction from advanced speakers, and learned how to navigate the database for practice after class ended — a free service only for library card holders. Marketing answered the customers’ need for a fun and interactive language learning experience. The database became a tool, not the driving message.
Achieved Outcomes
The results were amazing with sign-ups far exceeding our expectations and use of the database more than doubling. In September 2014, prior to the new promotional approach, 251 people used the database. In December, use was more than double with 600 people using it. Classes filled quickly; despite adding five more laptops to their classrooms the Librar still had to turn away some interested customers. Due to demand, we are adding classes and expanding the language offers to Spanish, Tagalog and Mandarin, with a future class planned in Hebrew. Based on this success, we plan to use this marketing approach – focusing on how individuals’ needs will be met rather than focusing on the features of a product – for other products and services.