29/08/06

The Too Hard Box

I was recently asked to write something for The Bookseller’s comment pages (subscription required) although they don’t seem to have put it up yet.. The article is now online, without needing a subscription, and as of today is featured as ‘pick of the site’ under the headline ‘Collingridge on the Web”, on the right hand side.

What follows may be a one-off, or the first of a few articles, based on how interesting the readers and editors find it.

In some ways it’s an introduction to my overall view of how publishers should use the web, and therefore more general than I’d like to be, but hopefully that will change over time.

Written July 7, 2006

An enlightened client once used a memorable and self-explanatory phrase to me, describing a project which had, prior to his involvement, languished in the ‘too hard box’.

Publishing is an industry, where for many, the only ‘customers’ publishers have in mind are the retailers. Despite needing to get closer to readers, to find out more what drives purchases, publishers remain at least one step removed from their ‘end-users’. Any industry in as competitive and difficult a market as the entertainment ’space’ must put their consumers higher in their minds.

The easiest, most obvious way to do this is online. Whether it is via a content-rich website, in combination with a mailing list or – even better – a blog, publishers who just expect some 3 for 2 promotions and a bit of tube advertising to get their books moving are deluded. The barriers between technology and book buying have long since broken down, and online is a component of all of our lives – it should be a no-brainer component of every marketing strategy.

Yet this is not a popular idea among a lot of publishers, or sales directors. Many put their websites – which they undoubtedly spent a lot of time and money on – firmly in the ‘too hard’ box, gathering dust and excuses. They devolve responsibility to IT, and it passes eternally between sales, marketing and editorial. Or they emphasise that the business they know best is publishing, not book selling. Quite.

Another riposte is that offering discounts online to consumers will alienate the trade. Given that independents already go to Tesco to buy stock, while consumers have been trained to now expect heavy discounting, is this really a valid concern?

Given the state of most publishers web sites these days, I’m not surprised that they do seem to want to turn visitors away at the door. From scant information, ludicrous pricing, eye-watering p&p charges and enforced registration – the barriers to purchasing are incredibly high. I’ve seen ‘books of the month’ for sale for twice the price of the same edition at Amazon - an insult to visitors.

Publishers need to make their sites more welcoming, and rewarding, to those tiny percentages of readers who do visit. They need to nurture these audiences and build them up, organically, to become loyal customers. And that means adding value that they’re not getting on the high street or from Amazon – and that comes in the form of content.

Publishers aren’t going to get rich from sales made on their web sites. But the opportunity here is to create a relationship with consumers, and to use that relationship to generate better market information on both sides. Yes this means invoking another taboo concept in publishing – the ‘brand’ – but this doesn’t have to just be about you as a publishing house, it can relate to any of your author or book brands as well.

Communicating with readers is how you will sell more books, and for the moment, the best channels of communication are not in publisher’s control – but they so easily could be. It’s time publishers took their relationships with consumers out of the ‘too hard box’.

Posted by Peter Collingridge in Apt Studio work, Bookseller, Publishing.