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that marketing is everyone's job. If the library aims to communicate with a consistent message, everyone must prioritize it efficiently. Therefore, for the library to speak with one voice, communication cannot be strictly controlled within one department but must be a part of the everyday discourse among all library staff (Kennedy and LaGuardia (2017).
These and other assorted problems attracted severe criticisms of the 4Ps and, therefore, called for a total review or a total overhaul of the theory. There were so many suggestions on what to do with the theory from different marketing scholars and the famous one is Booms and Bitner (1981). Rafiq and Ahmed (1995:5) ascertained to this when they proclaimed that the most significant of the other frameworks is the Booms and Bitner 7Ps mix. However, the 7Ps marketing being the upgraded version of 4Ps would bridge the gap left behind by the 4Ps theory, namely being the product centred, user as passive, no human interaction is allowed and so on. With the 7Ps in place, all these issues will be addressed. That is to say, it is a services- centered theory that is as pertinent as the product itself. The other three additional Ps that include people, process, and physical evidence not only regard people as active clients but also allow interaction between the service provider and the clients. Therefore the presence of these three constructs will tackle the major problems of the 4Ps highlighted. These and other issues did not stop the research from using the 4Ps theory from guiding the study. Hence, the theory was used alongside the later version that is the 7Ps.The subsequent section presented the 7Ps marketing mix model.
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service marketing mix is also refers to the 7Ps of Booms and Bitner. The service marketing mix approach broadens the original marketing mix model from four to seven components. On the other hand, McCarthy explained four specific marketing components, that is, the product, price, place and promotion. The 7Ps are an expansion of 4Ps because of which service marketing mix can also be useful for service organizations and knowledge-intensive settings (Van Vliet 2011). The extra 3Ps service marketing mix components, according to Amofah, Gyamfi and Tutu (2016) also changed the composition of the service marketing mix from 4Ps to 7Ps. The aim of the marketing mix is to create a mixture of actions that can affect a user’s decision. The 7Ps services marketing mix, as highlighted by Busari et al. (2015) is a set of tools and methods used by organizations to accomplish their marketing objectives. These include:
the product, price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence and process. Service marketing scholars staked out another field of management theories and practice independently from the marketing of physical goods.
This, therefore, explains why in 1981 this service marketing mix approach was viewed as exceptionally important that gave a new perception because of which the expansion increased far-reaching recognition in the science of service marketing (Van Vliet 2011). The three (3) more Ps, as explained by Loo and Leung (2018) contained people, physical evidence and process. At the same time, the people refer to the attitudes and the capabilities of employees.
The process concerned with the implementation of services production and delivery. Lastly, physical evidence refers to the appearance of physical things that assist in carrying and playing out the services, such as the library building, equipment, furnishing, landscaping and so on.
The theory was thoroughly examined and found that there are enormous strengths and negligible weaknesses when the 7Ps are used, rather than the 4Ps. The main advantages of the 7Ps include, but are not limited to, the fact that they are all-inclusive and comprehensive. The service products cover a core product that provides for the customer’s basic needs and are linked with service components, including the presentation of information and the handling of exemptions (Loo and Leung 2018).
It was also found to be relevant and suitable for marketing in libraries and conforms to the terms used in other marketing activities. It is purer and more comprehensive than the 4Ps model and provides a broader perspective. It is more advanced; more standardized and includes participants/people, the process and the physical evidence which would allow interaction with the users, unlike the 4Ps marketing mix which does not give room for such interaction (Rafiq
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and Ahmed 1995).Figure 2.3 below shows the scope of the 7Ps marketing mix and the elements that are involved and how they are connected.
Figure 2.3: 7Ps Marketing Mix (Bortlava 2016:18).
The services marketing mix is an expansion of the conventional marketing mix model, from four (4Ps) to seven (7Ps) elements. The theory elements are as follows, regarding its application to libraries:
The Target Market
This entails the process by which a library identifies and defines the group of users to whom library and information services should be directed on every activity (Chandratre and Chandratre 2015). In the context of this study the target user are the medical students and the medical practitioners. According to Anyira (2011) anything targeted at users is central and the efforts of the library will be fruitless if the users’ needs and wants are not taken care of. Users belong to different categories, namely the skilled user/computer literate user, the semi-skilled user/semi-computer literate user, the unskilled/computer-illiterate user, and abusers and those with varying degrees of information literacy. Hence, their nature, aptitude and needs ought to be considered to achieve the desired objectives. Moreover, the target market appears in the
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middle, because it is the most crucial element in the marketing mix. Thus, every component of the marketing mix is aimed at satisfying users (Odine 2011).
The researcher found the 7Ps marketing mix theory appropriate and used in this research because it has been adopted and used in much empirical research on marketing and has been used in library research (example in Bamigbola,2013; Okon and Umoh,2014, Mohammed 2019 and Chandratre and Chandratre, 2015). Therefore, the present research will not be an exception in applying this theory to underpin the study.
Hence, the theory was employed to address the research questions in the current study. The elements mentioned above of the 7Ps marketing mix theory are operationalized below about the current study for marketing, as they apply to library services.
30 Table 2.3: The 7Ps Marketing Mix Theory
7Ps marketing mix
Definition of the Constructs
Product This refers to the information products provided in the library and rendered to users. They include the reference services, the SDI, CAS services, etcetera.
Place This refers to the location where the services are received; for example, the central library, branch libraries and bookmobiles or electronic access. In fact, with information and communication technology, the services can be received anywhere (Samanian and Khosropanah 2016).
Promotion This involves communication between the marketer/ librarians and users to introduce and promote the product (resources and services). In other words, it entails using attractive information regarding general information services and communicating it to potential users in target markets. They include: magazine and newspapers, television, radio and soon (Chandratre and Chandratre 2015).
Price This refers to the value of the information provided to satisfy the user’s needs and the time spent or the struggle to obtain it (Samanian and Khosropanah 2016).
Participant/
people
Participants are the human components in marketing that occupy a particular position in user services, as well as the technical and automation unit. They perform a crucial role in logistics and related activities and the provision of reference and information services.
Physical evidence
This refers to the environment in which the information products are delivered and the things that facilitate the presentation and communication of the services or products, namely the library's social media pages, the library web page, and so on.
Process This refers to the processes, instruments and movement of activities by which the library delivers resources and services to its target users. It includes the logistics, the marketing plan, and so on.
(Busari, et al. 2015 and Mohammad 2015).
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Based on the aforesaid, the researchers found the theory appropriate for the current study, hence its adoption. The following section discussed the 4Cs model.