Turnarounds, Pivots, and Repositioning
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Turnarounds, Pivots, and Repositioning A panel on managing change under challenging conditions The Charleston Conference November 4, 2016
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Transcript of Turnarounds, Pivots, and Repositioning
Turnarounds, Pivots, and Repositioning
A panel on managing change under challenging conditionsThe Charleston Conference
November 4, 2016
Sometimes an organization finds itself in a challenging position. It may have found that the marketplace has shifted or perhaps it has taken longer than expected to bring out a new product. Cash may be tight, owners may have become impatient. It’s now time for a turnaround or a change in direction. What are some tips for managing an organization in this situation?
Participants
• Mark Cummings, Editor and Publisher, Choice• Dennis Lloyd, Director, University of Wisconsin Press• Pinar Erzin, Founder and CEO, Accucoms International
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(Just Like) Starting OverA CHOICE CASE STUDY
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“Oooh, look out, you rock ‘n’ rollersPretty soon now you’re gonna get older”
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About Choice
Publisher of Choice magazine and Choice Reviews (online) 7,000 reviews of new scholarly monographs/websites published annually
Originally designed as a collection-development tool Database of 200,000 reviews dating from 1988 to the present Established, well-respected brand
Published continuously since 1964 50% market penetration among US colleges and universities
Twenty full-time staff members; annual revenue < $5MM Operationally independent of parent organization
“Constraints” Not for profit, part of member-services organization (ACRL/ALA)
Growth consistent with ALA mission Brand synonymous with flagship product
Source of friction in brand expansion Small size
Limited ability to scale
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Facts on the Ground
Declining print circulation
Poorly designed digital product; no corresponding growth in digital circulation
Declining ad revenues in line with circulation losses
Declining royalty income following on industry consolidation among aggregators and wholesalers
Rising infrastructure costs
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Causes
Lack of Demand Diminished use of reviews in the collection-development process owing to changing collection-
development methodologies Approval Plans “Big Deals” Materials budgets
Decentralized information discovery and consumption, with increasing role for end users Demand-driven acquisition The open web
Diminished gatekeeper and curatorial roles for the librarian
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Contributing Factors
Historical No clear mission independent of that of parent organization
Structural Members are not “owners”; interests vested in the larger organization, not Choice
Environmental Library materials budgets flat or falling: Choice a declining product in a shrinking market
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The Pivot
What do our members and customers believe is the future of the library and librarianship?
How does their vision of the future role of the library align with our core strengths and values?
How can we leverage these values to support that vision?
Mission
Brand
Strategy
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Mission
What we did Focus groups Professional market research
What we found Concern regarding decentering of the curatorial role of the librarian Burden of discovery and selection shifting to end users Enhanced need for discovery and selection skills and tools
Our goal Choice will support the information evaluation and selection process
among a broad spectrum of user types and use-case scenarios, both traditional and new
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Brand
What we did Retained publishing consultant to advise on repositioning Choice Retained advertising/design agency for market research, brand makeover
What we found High regard for brand attributes: trusted, authoritative, objective, high
quality, old friend Conflation of publishing unit and its flagship product Mismatch between brand perception and actual product acceptance/use
Our goals Protect the brand: leverage brand equity to rebuild its value and visibility
in our traditional markets Extend brand associations and awareness to new users and markets
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Rebuilding Choice is about nothing less than changing the way people think about us, rebuilding a brand
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Brand Strategy
Expand customer perception: “Not just a magazine”
Develop differential messaging for principal market segments: “Start with Better Options” VALIDATING THE ROLE OF THE LIBRARIAN:
“You remain the critical link in the discovery and selection chain. Choice makes you more effective by conducting the crucial ‘first cut’ of resources, giving you the information you need to quickly make authoritative selections and/or recommendations.”
SUPPORTING FACULTY AND STUDENTS: “In an information-rich world, the sheer number of resources to be considered is overwhelming. Choice saves you time by directing you to only the best and most important resources for all major areas of study."
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Brand Strategy
Create multiple touchpoints in a Choice digital environment; expose selected Choice content outside paywall to increase customer engagement and drive sales/subscriptions Website: www.choice360.org Choice Reviews: www.choicereviews.org Choice Media Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4AQ1G-u32Y9OX5hRzxdXrQ/ Choice LibGuides: http://ala-choice.libguides.com/c.php?g=382336 Social media: https://www.facebook.com/choice.reviews
Leverage our brand in a suite of new products
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Product Development Strategy
Choice as Information Provider
Choice as a Discovery Tool
Choice as a Library Toolset
1. Strengthen our current products to maximize their value to librarians in a changing collection-development environment
2. Extend the audience for Choice content to end users to
serve the needs of students and scholars
3. Provide professional development and analytical tools for librarians and others to extend the Choice brand beyond reviews
COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
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Product Development
Launched completely rebuilt Choice Reviews (summer 2016) Reestablish brand credibility among core users Bring Choice content “in front of the desk” Target audiences: librarians, teaching faculty, students
Developing CC Advisor (spring 2017) Review service for academic databases Collaboration with The Charleston Company Target audiences: librarians, teaching faculty, students
Developing Choice/ACRL Trends Reports (spring 2017) Actionable intelligence to support strategic organizational and business decisions Target audience: library directors, provosts, foundation heads, publishing executives, library service
providers
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Product Development
Planning Open Choice (summer 2018) Review service for evaluation of open educational resources Target audiences: teaching faculty, instructional designers, librarians
Expanding Choice/ACRL sponsored webinar program (ongoing) Professional-development webcasts 34,000 registrations, 14,000 attendees LTD Target audience: librarians
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Culture Change
Rebranding begins at home
Build capacity through new hires Revise and expand job descriptions, requirements
Rationalize workflows and job assignments Look for and encourage “self-selectors”
Encourage collaboration, cross-functional teams
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Mark CummingsEditor and [email protected]+1 860.347.6933 x119
Thank you
Managing through a TransitionDennis LloydDirector
April 13, 1936: University of Wisconsin faculty senate enacts legislation to “publish particularly meritorious manuscripts as books using the imprint ‘The University of Wisconsin Press.’”
“Publication is as much a function of the university as teaching or research [and] an obligation that every great university owes to itself and to society.”—The University of Wisconsin Committee on University Publications
Financial PerformanceBooks Division:
End FY12: $ 63,318End FY13: -$210,442End FY14: -$199,823End FY15: -$295,086
Cumulative total: -$642,033
Financial PerformanceJournals Division:
Historical balance at end of FY11: $1,679,067End FY12: $ 316End FY13: $ 86,877End FY14: -$ 514,235End FY15: $ 20,091
Cumulative total: $1,272,116
Triage
Listen
Trust but verify
Low-hanging fruit
Build on strengths
Be visible/transparent
Be patient
FY16 Financial Performance:
Journals Division: -$107,250
Books Division: $129,483
Combined total: $ 22,233
THE GLOBAL STORY
Through The Eyes Of A Mini-Multinational
Pinar ErzinFounder & President
Charleston 2016
History
1999SWETS
2001 EXTENZA
2004 ACCUCOMS Launch
SSP in SF
2011 ACCUCOMS
sold to SWETS
2013ACCUCOMS grew by
400%
History
1999Swets
2001 EXTENZA
2004 ACCUCOMS
Launch SSP in SF
2011 ACCUCOMS
sold to SWETS
2013ACCUCOMS
growth 35%-400 %
Sept 2014SWETS
bankruptcy
Nov 2014ACCUCOMS acquisition
Dec 2015Growth from 38 to 65 staff
Jun 2016Launch New
Era for Scholarly
Publishers
