Barcoding our Clients

1. Barcoding our Clients Rebecca Jones Dysart & Jones Associates rebecca@dysartjones.com PLC, Information Studies, University of Toronto rebecca.jones@utoronto.ca

2. Insight • Sight in to behaviours and applications • Focus on ideas, learning from others and clients

3. Ideas R Us “Everything you need for your better future and success has already been written. And guess what? It's all available. All you have to do is go to the library.” Jim Rohn, The Treasure of Quotes

4. My name’s Rebecca and I’m a reader From Harvard Business School Press: What’s the Big Idea • Tom Davenport & Larry Prusak, 2003 The Attention Economy • Tom Davenport & John Beck, 2001 Dare to Lead: Uncommon Sense and Unconventional Wisdom From 50 Top CEO’s • Mike Merrill, Career, 2004

5. Look beyond ourselves for irritants….to become pearls Emergent ideas that are changing the way business is done Harvard Business Review, February “Breakthrough Ideas for 2004, 2005” People with open minds, access to new or different thinking, and a willingness to consider that thinking can make a difference, “to the competitiveness of their organizations and the well-being of the world.”

6. Why do people use libraries? • Solve a problem • Make a decision • Gain knowledge • Be entertained In his or her context

7. Patron’s Context Levels of Intimacy http://www.interbiznet.com/custint/intlevels.html

8. Value: perception & paradox • Value of a product & service is inseparable from the buyer’s perception of its worth • Intrinsic worth isn’t • This means that value is driven by need, at the moment of need • To manage the value of our services, we must manage the time our service is demanded, & how users are involved in that time ‘the specific point at which the user interacts with the service’ drives their value perception’

9. Determining client value • Segment emerging, merging and diverging target markets based on their behaviours & preferences • Track, explore & truly grasp how they apply what it is we supply to ensure they’ll continue to buy

10. Attention • We can’t control anyone’s attention • We can compel them to give us their attention for a period of time by making it meaningful for them • What humans really appreciate is attention from other humans

11. Getting to know them, getting to know all about them • Group interviews • Focus groups • Personal interviews • Transactions, web reports, statistics • Observations • Personas

12. Ideas St. Louis Public Library • Understand youth market • CATE project • Funosophy Inc. • Award winning in working with Disney and toy sector • Shared language and experiences

13. Ideas… Mayo Clinic • Understand positioning “Understand the story you want to tell, & then make sure your people & your facilities provide evidence of that story to customers, day in & day out.” Harvard Business Review, February 2003, p. 101

14. Shamelessly copy good ideas! Ideas Bookstop • Understand market niche • Aging population + young families in burb’s + superstore phenomenon • Decrease in reading and literacy • Ideas from Toys R Us (inventory), Supermarket (‘raceway’ layout), Radio Shack (loyalty cards)

15. Ideas Quicken, Intuit • Understand market gap • Identified 1 thing that 26 other personal finance packages weren’t doing • How? • Put designers and customers together • Observed people using the packages • Managers listened to all customer service calls – or took them

16. Do we know… • What are doing for themselves that they don’t want to do? • What they are experiencing that they’d rather not? • What they’d like to experience? • What they dream about doing, knowing or experiencing? • What brought them to our service? • What “channels” delivered them to us? • What inhibited them? Adapted from J.H. Gilmore The Experience Economy

17. How do other organizations gain that intimacy? Leading organizations keep clients in front of every staff every day • Capture and publish testimonials of how they are impacting their clients lives • Display photos of customers in their halls to remind employees of who they are working for • Bring clients in to regular employee meetings to talk about their experiences • Conversations start ideas

18. How do other organizations gain that intimacy? • Client complaints • Managers regularly staff these • Most knowledgeable, senior staff • Management put their e-mail & phone numbers on

19. How are we making their lives easier? • We must find customers sweet spots or hot buttons • Work with them • Watch them • Ensure management talks with them • Beyond focus groups to social events

20. Ideas start conversations With clients • From Cluetrain Manifesto: • Organizations (libraries) need to talk to people with whom they want to create relationships. • Clients’ message to organizations (libraries): • If you want to talk to us, tell us something. • Make it interesting for a change. With each other Best ideas…clerks, shippers, forklift drivers, admin

21. Ideas: capturing & capitalizing We must also have people in the crow’s nest • R&D? • Competitive intelligence? • Regular scanning? • Market research?

22. Ideas… • Xerox • Software that models human thinking in classifying electronic documents • Aesthetics Finding • “Beauty boosts functionality” • Libraries & Casinos • Ensuring clients hit the jackpot • Airstream • Libraries in your living room • Biometrics • “Good morning...ready to work on that term paper?”

23. Ideas… COMING SOON!!!! Sticky Note PCs Notebook PCs Tablet PCs Adapted from Harvard Business Review October 2003

24. Pursuing ideas means change • Champions & implementers are middle managers and/or employees • Senior management may introduce the concept, but the building must be completed by staff • The people who are most impacted, both staff & patrons – their desires and behaviours – are the focal point • Expectations are carefully managed • Current practices aren’t automatically retired

25. What we’ve discussed are just ideas “Consider them, debate them, let the inspire your own thinking. Then go and make an impact.” Harvard Business Review, February 2004, p. 13