Customer service as an extension of your brand

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Customer Service:An Extension of

Your Library’s BrandPresented by

Libby Post, Presidentfor Suffolk Cooperative Library System

October 2, 2008

Making the Connection

• Good customer service is about keeping people coming back

• When people keep coming back they build a brand loyalty to the library

• When the time comes for you to ask the public for a bigger budget or a new building, that loyal customer base turns into a loyal voting base

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But, What Is Your Brand?

• Unique position in the market place• Not enough to be the only library in town• Competing with B&N, Borders and the

Internet• Brand is the foundation for all your

marketing and messaging

Brand Examples

• Inspiration• Mind Recreation• Technology • Customer Service

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Case Study: Grinnell LibraryAssociation Library, chartered to serve the Town of Wappinger, service pop. 26, 274

• SWOT analysis– Library has unbelievable customer service

• Strategy– Establish an I/you/us relationship between the

library and the community• Brand essence

– Customer Service

Case Study: Grinnell Library

• Emotional attachment to the present building

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• Customer Service brand + emotional attachment to building =


Posters

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Posters


Postcards

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WeeklyNewspaperAds

How to Bring Your Brand to Customer Service• Instill an organizational culture about the

importance of customer service• Customer interactions form perceptions

that are much more powerful than your marketing messages alone

• Work with staff to “Live the Brand”– Everything they do to serve customers comes

out of understanding library’s brand essence

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Patrons=Customers

• Need to shift they way we see patrons• They are customers• Need to understand that they are actively

engaged in selecting the library’s programs and services

• Selling a library’s programs and services means constantly promoting and improving them

How to View Customer Service

• Every aspect of a library’s operation• Not just a smiling face behind circ desk• How efficiently the library works• How the phones are answered• How easily patrons can access information• Breadth of reference materials• Time and effort it takes patrons to get what

they want

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Staff as Customer Service Reps

• Organizational culture shift where staff understands how important customer service is

• Customer service encompasses the library’s entire operation– How comfortable moms and toddlers are

during story time to how easy it is to download an audio book off the library’s web site

Engaging Staff

• Essential for staff to understand their role in customer service– They are the library’s ambassadors

• But how do we get them to live their roles?

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Engaging Staff

• Create a culture within library that customer service is Job #1.

• Be clear about customer service expectations when hiring

• Train!

Get on the Customer Service Train!• Patrons drive your customer service

– What they need or desire are the highest priorities

• How do we know what the patrons want?– Customer feedback– Information Gathering

• Focus Groups• Surveys

– Asking patrons one on one at check out

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Get on the Customer Service Train!• Is your staff “present” when at the library?• Do they love their jobs?• Is the staff friendly, accurate and efficient?• Does the staff look like they want to be

there?• Can we make their jobs more fun so they

enjoy being there and convey a positive attitude to patrons?

Get on the Customer Service Train!• Library program and service

improvements are part of customer service– Wireless technology and computer upgrades– Better web site with enhanced on-line

services– Expanding collections– Staff that speaks more than just English

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FISH! Philosophy©

• Speaks directly to what libraries are all about: inspiration, creativity and innovation– Be There– Play– Make Their Day– Choose Your Attitude

• Be There– Be present while doing what you’re doing– Listen for content AND emotion – Don’t let tasks get in the way of your real work

which is serving patrons– Antidote to being tired is being full present

FISH! Philosophy©

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• Play– Look for productive play in the library’s

environment• Having a good time doing their job

– What dull or routine tasks can you make more fun?

– Shouldn’t exclude others or offend people

FISH! Philosophy©

• Make Their Day– Make the world a better place to be one

person at a time– Do something unexpected– Don’t exclude the difficult co-workers or

patrons– Make it a challenge to make their day

everyday

FISH! Philosophy©

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• Choose Your Reaction– Stop blaming kids, parents, co-workers,

customers and management– When you look for the worst, you’ll find it– So, look for the best, you’ll find that too!

FISH! Philosophy©

• Choose Your Attitude– Be the person you want to spend time with– It’s not about being happy all the time– If you don’t believe you have a choice, you

don’t (self-fulfilling prophesies)– Be responsible for your attitude, it’s

contagious

FISH! Philosophy©

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• Take Responsibility– Instead of “Why are they making us go

through all this change?” try “How can I adapt to my changing world?”

– Instead of “When are my people going to communicate better?” try “What can I do to understand them?”

More on Fish! www.charthouse.com

FISH! Philosophy©

Give Them The Pickle!• PICKLES are those special or extra things

you do to make people happy.– Walking the patron to the item they're looking

for rather than pointing– Knowing and calling them by name.– Figure out what your customers want and

then making sure they get it.– That's the message behind Give`em the

PICKLE!

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Give Them the Pickle!

• Service: Make serving the patrons your #1 priority– You work in a noble profession, be proud of

what you do• Attitude: Choose it.

– How you think about the patrons is how you’ll treat them

Give Them the Pickle!

• Consistency: Set high standards and stick to them– Patrons return because they like what

happened during their last visit• Teamwork: Look for ways to make each

other look good– In the end, everything ends up in front of the

patronMore Pickles: www.giveemthepickle.com

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Standards of Library Customer Service• Take Responsibility for

– Upholding confidentiality of records and Intellectual Freedom’s Bill of Rights of all customers

– Knowing, understanding and correctly implementing library policies

– Being at your workstation when scheduled– Creating a cooperative work environment


– Exhibiting respect for all customers and co-workers

– Helping create a welcoming environment in the library

– Making each patron’s call or visit to the library a high quality experience

– Meeting the needs of patrons and co-workers – Verifying that those needs have been met

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– Avoiding communicating personal value judgments when interacting with patrons or co-workers

– Providing service to the public above personal activities or interests

– Being knowledgeable, courteous and responsive when communication by phone, e-mail, writing, speaking, etc.

Davenport Public Library, Davenport, Iowa

Fun Customer Service Ideas!• Reward loyal library patrons with a little gift

– I Love Libraries Button for checking out 100 items

• Keep in touch with Breakfast with the Librarian events– Get to know patrons on a personal level– Ask them about concerns and likes– Patrons will feel appreciated that you wanted

to know

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Fun Customer Service Ideas!

• Voice Mail Tips of the Week– Change your message on hold each week to

let them know what’s happening, what new books are coming, easier way to access info, etc.

• Thank You+– Add on “See You Soon,” “See You Later,” or

“See You Tomorrow.”– Tells them they are always welcome back


• Good signage– Let them know you’re always available to

help, especially seniors who aren’t “great”with computers

• Know Your Services and Program inside and out– Create a manual for all staff– In-service trainings to up date staff

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• Make sure policies and procedures are patron friendly

• Allow food and drink in designated areas• Identify staff as staff (badges, t-shirts)• Make ready reference materials readily

available• Wear a button that says “Please interrupt

me!”


• Try arranging lists or other info by important or popularity rather than alphabetically

• Add copies of book jackets or other graphics to stack ends to indicate what kinds of materials can be found in that area

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• Arrange furniture to direct patrons away from circ and toward the collections and catalog workstations

• Recruit and train volunteer greeters (WalMart has greeters and they’re always busy!)

• Trade links back and forth between library and community organizations


• Give organizations that have the library’s link on their site “Internet tips of the week”and other content for their sites that link back to the library’s site

• Provide power strips for lap tops• E-mail notification for pick-ups, returns,

overdues, events, etc.

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• Show off your bandwidth or wireless service with a “LAN Party”—woo hoo!

• Live chat• Give all staff generic business cards with

pertinent library info• Plenty of parking

Conclusion

• As trustees and management, you have to set the tone and create the customer service culture

• Always be enthusiastic in that endeavor– Your approach sets the example

• Live your brand through customer service• Keep them coming back

Customer service as an extension of your brand

Business

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