Data in Action: Building Sustainable Cardholder Relationships
Meet San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) was established in 1979, and since then, it has gradually expanded its presence over a seven-by-seven square mile area. As a result, it currently has the second most libraries per square mile in the United States. SFPL consists of 27 local branches, the Main Library located in Civic Center, four bookmobiles, and two new book-browsing kiosks located in Treasure Island and Hunters Point. The library's mission is dedicated to providing free and equal access to information, knowledge, independent learning, and reading enjoyment to a diverse community.
Jaime Wong, the Deputy Director of Communication, joined SFPL's team in 2019 and executed some monthly email communications to customers and branches in the beginning. However, during the pandemic, the SFPL team had to pivot to email marketing in a more robust way. They started launching virtual programs in June 2020 and did not reopen their doors until Spring 2021. During that time, their only option was to actively message cardholders through email. As a result, they received a lot of feedback, both anecdotally and through data, that email is the primary way that customers find out about SFPL's resources, services, and programs. With this information, Jaime encouraged everyone on her team to dig deep and think about their efforts. She needed to find a solution to expand affordably and effectively.
Targeted marketing to the rescue!
In 2022, OrangeBoy, Inc. connected with Jaime to discuss targeted marketing and capacity, which was a recurring theme in their conversations. Serving a diverse and large community like San Francisco presents the challenge of communicating specific information to specific audiences. OrangeBoy’s Savannah®, data and analytics platform, provides SFPL with the necessary tools to overcome this challenge through targeted marketing. By identifying the specific services that different groups of users are interested in, the library can provide them with relevant information and overcome any barriers that may prevent them from accessing these services. Some of the barriers that users face include time constraints, busy schedules, and forgetfulness. While some people may find the idea of targeted marketing frightening, or uncomfortable, it is simply a way of acknowledging the diversity of users and their unique needs. Rather than bombarding users with information that may not be relevant to them, targeted marketing allows the library to share specific information that they are more likely to respond to. This is an effective way of utilizing limited marketing resources and ensuring that users receive the information that is most relevant to them. By reshaping their messaging and providing customers with relevant information, OrangeBoy helps libraries communicate effectively with their communities, highlighting the wide range of services that they offer and ensuring that users can access these services easily.
Zeroing in on New Users
Next, OrangeBoy and SFPL connected about launching a new campaign for cardholders. At the time, the library team was already sending out a simple welcome email that highlighted their library card. However, the library realized that new cardholders may use the library services once and never return. Together, SFPL and OrangeBoy explored various strategies that other libraries in the Savannah Community have used to engage new users and keep them coming back.
Targeting is key when promoting library products and services to new users, as their interests may differ from those of long-time users. For instance, new users may need basic information on how to use resources and what library services are available. At the same time, there is a golden opportunity to promote resources that may not be well known. The aim is to gradually build users' knowledge of all the library's resources over time. In contrast, long-time users may not require as much in-depth information since they are already familiar with the library.
To create the new cardholder campaign, the OrangeBoy team posed several questions and analyzed the Savannah data to identify key trends. This analysis made it possible to predict the most effective model for retaining new cardholders. By examining the user's interests, which library resources they are using, and which resources they should know more about, new users can be engaged more effectively. Savannah data also reveals the most popular resources, which can be used as a hook to attract new users. Furthermore, informational barriers that may prevent users from accessing certain services can be identified. User behavior can also be analyzed, such as when cardholders stop using their library cards, and the frequency of opening messages from the library. By prioritizing retention, we ensure that new users continue to use library services beyond the initial sign-up.
Retention is an area of major focus in Savannah because it directly impacts the growth of the library's cardholder base. The New Cardholder Retention Rate is a metric that is defined as the percentage of new users who remain active for more than a year after signing up. Even if a library has a high number of signups, if most of those users become inactive within a year, the library's cardholder base will not grow in the long run. The best way to overcome this challenge is to address the underlying barriers that prevent new cardholders from using the library. On average, most libraries retain only 50% of the people who sign up for a library card. OrangeBoy’s goal is to help you capture new cardholders and keep them active in the long term.
SFPL’s New Cardholder Campaign Launch
According to SFPL’s Savannah data, their recent cardholder campaign has led to an increase in retention rate. The library's retention rate was 55% six months before the campaign began, and though it slightly decreased in September due to student cards, the average retention rate for six months before the campaign was 57%. However, after the campaign started in December 2022, the retention rate increased to an average of 66%. Jaime praised the campaign, saying that while it requires some effort to set up, it becomes easier once it's launched.
Wong also suggested that her team should consider the cardholders' perspective and focus on what they need to know. For instance, if a new customer is unfamiliar with the library's services or has just obtained a library card and needs guidance on how to use it, the library should communicate that it offers more than
Working with over 250 libraries, OrangeBoy was able to provide comparison data, which had some interesting insights. For instance, numbers from Savannah Community members who are sending New Cardholder campaigns showed that such campaigns can have a significant long-term impact. Most Savannah libraries send four messages to new cardholders within the first three months, which amounts to about one message every three weeks. This allows cardholders to hear from the library consistently without feeling spammed since there is still some time between each message.
OrangeBoy uncovered that libraries implementing a welcome campaign have a new cardholder retention rate that is eight percent higher than those that don't - A high return for an automated effort. Additionally, libraries sending a welcome campaign exhibit a significant increase of five percent in market penetration compared to those that are not.
Psychology Today reports that it takes a person on average 66 days to form a habit. In the first 60 days after a customer has signed up for a library card, it is critical to engage them. The goal is to introduce them to the library's services and offerings without overwhelming them and help them build a habit of thinking about the library every couple of weeks and the value it can bring to their life.
Brainstorming and Strategy
Jaime collaborated with the OrangeBoy team to create drip campaigns, a series of automated messages that provide information gradually. The goal was to send out smaller messages based on themes, as the SFPL team had a lot of information to share. The advantage of using a drip campaign was to give new users resources over time to keep from overwhelming them, and help build a habit of thinking about the library regularly. Three email campaigns were curated based on various topics and sent out over six weeks.
The first email is intended to be a "library 101" guide and is sent within the first seven days a customer signs up for a library card. It included basics such as how to sign into your library account, how to find the library catalog, hours, and locations, and how to get the SFPL app. The second email is sent within the first 21 days, and the goal is to drive physical traffic to the library. The content included exhibitions, special collections, free WiFi, computers, printing, faxing, and other resources.
The third email is still being curated but will launch soon to increase digital traffic. The strategy is to provide little pieces of information at a time that customers can easily digest. With this approach, SFPL can tell a story about its offerings and all the incredible things that San Franciscans can do with a library card.
OrangeBoy and Jaime studied library cardholders in Savannah to identify gaps in resource usage. Since the pandemic, digital usage has increased, with more people using digital resources than visiting the library in person. They also noticed a decline in DVD usage and identified many circulation users for print materials who had not returned to the library yet.
Together, Jaime and OrangeBoy analyzed SFPL’s data in Savannah. They generated a report that listed people who had received emails from the library in the past year and when they opened them. Using this data, they identified the most common days and times people opened their emails. It turned out that Monday was the most popular day to open SFPL emails, with many people opening them in the morning and evening, and fewer in the middle of the day.
Measuring the Efforts
As of now, SFPL’s new cardholder campaign has a unique open rate of 57%. Out of the 60,000 messages sent over the past 40 weeks, just under 35,000 have been opened. It is worth noting that more than 4,000 users have used the library within just seven days after opening the message. These are recent signups who have received the message and then went back to the library to access its website, resources, and other materials they learned about from the emails. Currently, digital usage is still surpassing circulation, but the gap is closing, and circulation is starting to increase gradually.
A Final Thought
Jaime shared that SFPL is always growing and striving to learn more. Since 2020, they have had to reassess their email marketing schedule due to the pandemic. Previously, cardholders may have received only a few emails from the library each month, including a monthly all-customer e-newsletter and a library branch e-newsletter. However, SFPL’s email marketing has become much more comprehensive now. Jaime and her team not only continue to send out those monthly e-newsletters, but they also send out a weekly automated email that highlights their top twenty programs across the system. Additionally, they send out spotlight emails showcasing different topics like popular events around San Francisco for example. Jaime's goal is to grow the library’s email marketing in a feasible manner. She recommends monitoring the data to determine what works and what doesn't, and then responding accordingly.
To learn more about SFPL’s success with new cardholder campaigns, check out the full Data in Action: Building Sustainable Cardholder Relationships webinar.
Interested in launching a new cardholder campaign with OrangeBoy, and seeing impressive results like San Francisco Public Library did? Contact us today!