Myth-busting! Customer & Program Analysis

Marlena BoggsMarlena Boggs

June 2010June 2010

Mid-Continent Public Library System

Program Selection

Discovery– Trends

Branch Placement– Instinct– Feeling– Enjoyment of program

Geo-Demographics to Pinpointthe Right Program for the Right Branch

GOAL: Every contact made with a library customer

informing him or her of a program at a particular branch will be done with the assurance that the program will appeal to his or her wants and needs.

Branch Program Placement or Consumer Trend Analysis: WHO are they?

What are our patrons doing?

What are they feeling?

What are they reading, watching, listening to?

What do they do with their families?

How do they use the library; the programs?

Geo-Demographic Data: Segmentation

Middleburg Managers

Age Ranges: 55+

Median Household Income: $47,331

Family types: Singles/couples

Employment levels: Prof./White Collar

Lifestyle Traits:

-Play musical instruments

-Go bird watching

-Read Mature market magazines

-Watch U.S. Senior Open (golf)

-Drive a Toyota Camry/Solara

Up-and-Comers

Age ranges: <35

Median Household income: $47,004

Family Types: Mix

Employment levels: Professional

Lifestyle Traits:

-Job searching (often via Internet)

-Read Shape

-Watch MTV

-Drive a Mitsubishi Eclipse

Total population: 28,541

Benchmarking Work: Groups

AN, SI (Middleburg Managers)

LJ, CP, RS (Greenbelt Sports)

DE, BU, ES, WE (Mayberry-Ville)

OG, KE, GN (Fast Track Families )

NI, NO, PC, SM (New Homesteaders)

LI, LS, GV, PV (Country Squires)

CR, BN, BW (Upward Bound & Kids & Cul-de-Sacs)

BS, CL (White Picket Fences)

BR, GE, RT, RB (Suburban Sprawl)

Outcome

• Disbelief“That’s not who we see in

our branches.”

Even More Tailored: Branch Patron Study

Who is HereGrandview contains one of the most diverse populations in the MCPL system. Hispanic and

African-American populations are both significant and continue to increase. Most cardholders are blue collar families and singles.

Income – The population served by Grandview tends to be lower-middle class. Most families with two adults have at least two full-time workers and sometimes more.

Age – Cardholders span the range of adult ages. There are a significant number of children present with each age segment indexing above the system average. The elderly are a population that is in decline in the Grandview area. This is somewhat surprising given the predominance of seniors at the nearby Red Bridge Branch.

Lifestyles – The blue collar lifestyles of this group are often centered around children and busy work schedules. Fast food and video rentals are popular. Video game systems and team sports are also prevalent. Discount shopping establishments are frequented by this population.

High Readership Rates – Parenting Magazines, Weekend Newspapers, Style Magazines, More Parenting Magazines.

Radio Listenership Rates – Alternative Rock Radio, Soft Contemporary Radio, Rock Radio.

TV Viewership Rates – Children’s Channels, Pay-per-view Sports, VH1 Classic.

Branch Patron Study (continued)

In the Community and Underrepresented as Cardholders

There is an upscale population within the area that does not hold cards at the library. This group is likely located at the edges of the area and using Red Bridge or Lee’s Summit.

Underrepresented in the Community

Seniors are in surprisingly low numbers in this community.

Age 0-4 5-9 10-19 20-34 35-44 45-64 65+ Total

Pop. 3015 3087 5956 7517 6396 8132 3213 37,316

% 8.08% 8.27% 15.96% 20.14% 17.14% 21.79% 8.61% 100.00%

Index 114 114 110 114 114 110 100 101 97 74 74 100

Branch Patron Study

Who is HereIncome – Excelsior Springs cardholders are primarily middle to upper-middle class.

Age – Age within the Excelsior group is distributed very similarly to the system as a whole. The only group that stands out at all is 10-19 year olds. Excelsior indexes highly among middle school to high school students.

Lifestyles – Primarily, Excelsior cardholders live rural lifestyles. They index highly for outdoor recreation and boat ownership. They also tend to be heavy television and video game consumers. Most families have two working parents.

High Readership Rates – Outdoor magazines, country living magazines, sports magazines.

Radio Listener Rates – Country Music Radio, Oldies Radio, Sports

TV Viewership Rates – Outdoor Life Network, Country Music TV, Movie Channels

In the Community and Underrepresented as Cardholders

One group whose cardholder numbers are not indicative of their presence in the community are early retirees. This group makes up 12% of the community but only account for 6% of cardholders. This group tends to be very active and is prone to travel.

Underrepresented in the Community

Excelsior Springs is divided up pretty evenly by age, but almost not at all by race.

Measurement:Track Response, Identify Results and Refine Strategies—Looking for that Best Customer

Track Response: EVALUATIONS! Note whether or not the program was ‘successful’

– Remember two methods of success: One is quantitative and deals with number of attendees Other is qualitative and deals with the satisfaction of those who

attended a program (i.e. majority in Beginning Knitting had never knitted before and left knowing how to knit)

Look for zip codes and verify geo-demographic data to program topic.

Program selection becomes more exact and precise when you pay attention to customer profiles and ‘match’ them with the appropriate program selections.