We were please to speak at this week’s Gothenburg Book Fair and our speech followed a similar approach to that we adopted a couple of months ago in our speech in Korea. We shared the stand with; Michael Tucker CEO of US Books Inc and also President of the American Booksellers association, Susanne Meinel of the German Börsenverein, Margie Scott Tucker who is Michael’s wife and runs Marketing and HR at Books Inc and finally Johan Stenebo author and retailer with over 20 years at IKEA internationally.
Our presentation first reviewed the five common drivers that have prevailed over the last 4 years and featured heavily in the 1600 articles we have written our blog and the lessons learnt. We then once again stepped boldly forward with2020 vision into the future. Finally we offered booksellers ten tips as to what they should be considering doing in today’s Digital World.
Our 10 tips for booksellers to think about:They may not all be right for everyone today, some may have already been started but they should all be considered and revised regularly.
1. Own the customer relationship
2. Create communities
3. Sell Books in all formats and do what is says on the tin - be independent
4. Think Mail Order on the Internet
5. Be Promiscuous
6. Stop competing with your allies
7. Forget POD and adopt DOD (Digital on Demand)
8. Price Right
9. Don’t Sell ereaders its not your business
10. Keep abreast of the digital market
All the presentations conveyed the same messages and it was interested to hear the practical steps Books Inc had taken in what many believe is the most hostile book market of Silicon Valley. Michael and Margie both conveyed that Books Inc was an ‘experience You Can’t Download.’ Their community and program involved some 1000 events a year and involved Author Events, Book Clubs, Shopping Nights , Children’s Storytimes and complimented by a full communications program.
The panel discussion and questions raised were searching and we hope to be able to offer you links to the video of the presentations shortly.Our thanks to Lasse Winkler, Editor of Svensk Bokhandel (Swedish Bookseller) and Mats Ahlstrom, Djursholms Bokhandel (Stockholm Bookseller), for organising such a well attended and successful conference
1 comment:
Great tips... would love to see the presentation if it is published somewhere. I would add one more to the list - "Start selling early." Somehow, the Booksellers have not been doing what others do so well (e.g. the Film industry)... Start selling before it is out! Was Daniel Craig talked about more before 007 hit the screens, or after? The best part is, that it's not at all difficult for Publishers and Booksellers to compile the meta info, chuck in a few pages, add a brief advert or review and pump into www and communities. Pre-arrival build-up and promotions have immense impact on buyer behaviour - and it is markably underestimated by the Publishing industry in my opinion - perhaps because of the sheer number of 'new arrivals' they manage per year, compared to other products. Some of them are doing it, but not effective enough - certainly not utilizing the full potential of digital marketing.
Post a Comment