Work together to maximize book sales

Former chain book buyer encourages retailers and publishers to join forces

TIM WAY recently retired from Family Christian Stores, where he was the chain’s divisional merchant manager.

How has the mix of books changed in Christian publishing?

I don’t know that the mix has changed for the better. In many ways, people’s reading habits have become more trite. What you carry in your store is determined by what your customer tells you they want to buy, so you tailor your inventory to that customer base. But I have been concerned that many of the books that are popular now are lacking in depth. Some of the older authors, the classics, are starting to lose popularity, which is a concern. There are some authors coming up now who are strong and who have some depth, but I don’t see those authors getting the wide consumer approval that authors did in past years.

Max Lucado is a great popular writer. But even his last couple of books has not gotten the attention that his older releases did. The same is true for John MacArthur and other similar authors. These standard bearers have lost some steam along the way, and that is sad because they have something to say.

I see new authors struggling to get traction, particularly if they have write on a deeper level. It is more difficult for new authors to break out and get traction now, and that is a concern.

What did you look for in deciding which books to carry?

The bottom line is you have to buy the books that are going to keep you in business, not necessarily just the books that you would love to sell. But there have been some pleasant surprises in the last few years. The Bonhoeffer biography [by Eric Metaxas] is a good example. This was a book we were proud to have on our shelf.

But then there are some titles on the best-seller list that make you wonder what customers are thinking. Do they simply want something that is going to tickle their fancy, but not provide any depth? It appears that the market wants something lighter and frothier.

When considering a new book for your assortment, it helps if there is a history that you can reference. If an author has a history of success, then his newest release will more likely sell well as opposed to a similar book from a new author. Now, more than ever before, it is so hard to get traction as a new author. People are simply more careful how they are spending their money.

One important thing to look at is the timeliness of the topic. Is the subject matter something that people are likely to be talking about? One book that I think the industry may have underestimated is the Mormonizing of America and other similar books on the Mormon religion, primarily because of the upcoming election.

Look at what is coming up, what is going to fit those trends, what is going to fill a felt need and what has been hot in the past. Trends shift and sway on a whim. Sometimes a trend is fueled by a best-seller in a category, and people then want more books in that category. Two years ago, biography was a hot category fueled by the books about Bush and Bonhoeffer. As I was leaving my position last March, we saw biographies begin to slow down.

Also national movements like the old Promise Keepers, which created an interest in men’s books—even if it wasn’t men who actually bought them—help sell books. I called the Promise Keeper books “bedside table books” because the wives bought them and put them on the husband’s bedside table, hoping that they would read them.

On the other hand, some categories are always solid. Books written for and/or by women are always going to sell well. Approximately 80% of the average CBA store’s customer base is women shoppers; so if it appeals to women, has some depth and is by a good author, then you likely have a winner.

Publishers need to look for those categories that have holes. If you see an older book that worked well, and there is nothing like that out in the market right now, then go after it.

What do you believe most impacts customers to buy a new book?

What influences people most is word of mouth. One Thousand Gifts is a perfect example of a book that is a word-of-mouth, buzz title. Women read it and loved it and told other women. The author also had a blog that caught fire, plus she was getting cross-promotion from other women’s blog groups. The very best-selling books have been word-of-mouth titles. Heaven Is for Real is one of those. People would come in and buy 50 copies and give them out to everyone they knew.

What role do covers play?

While I think that people do buy books by the cover, that is not always true. The cover on the Bonhoeffer book, for example, was far too academic in appearance to typically gain traction in our market, yet it did. People bought it in spite of the cover. Good press and good word-of-mouth can overcome an average cover.

Again, One Thousand Gifts is one of those examples of the cover helping to sell the book. But what in the end made it a best-seller was the content.

With more people choosing to buy on their digital devices, what can publishers and retailers do to encourage the purchase of print books?

That is a difficult question. You can run sales, do great displays, build a great website and do all the right things, but at the end of the day, there are only just so many levers available for a retailer to pull.

I think it is going to simply come down to the fact that some people like to read printed books and others like to read on their devices. My experience in a recent study was that my classmates were evenly split. Some only read on devices, and some purists, like me, preferred a [print] book. I like a “real” book.

I think the move to digital is an unstoppable trend, yet I don’t see books going the way of music. There is still a need and a desire for printed books. But, to be profitable in this time of change, booksellers need to find other avenues to make money. I talked to someone from California who loved their local bookstore because of the great depth and breadth of books they carried. This person then commented that their store had also added a very extensive gift annex. I told him that the profitability of the gift annex was likely what was allowing their book section to have the depth and breadth that it had.

How can publishers better equip retailers to be successful with new authors?

I know it is frustrating for publishers to get retailers to pay attention to new authors. It takes so much energy to build a new author that sometimes you ask if it is going to be worth it when so many of them don’t make it. I think publishers need to be willing to pay an up-front price to launch a new author.

The one thing I would suggest is that publishers need to be aggressive in pricing a new author. In the CBA marketplace, a publisher can’t launch a new author and expect the customer to pay $25 for a hardcover. Take some shorter margins to launch that author. It is a risk, but this way the publisher and the bookseller are sharing the risk. If this author has the potential to grow, then the payoff will more than offset the lower margins on the front end.

How can publishers best help retailers be successful with their new releases?

Publishers and retailers need to work together to get the buzz going. Publishers who do Facebook and Twitter, especially if they work closely with the retailer’s website, can be very effective. If retailer has a solid list of customers who read a particular genre, then [publishers should] consider creating buzz by working with that retailer to send out galleys to those customers. I know I said there are only so many levers that you can pull, but if the publisher and the retailer work to pull those levers together, then they are both more likely to be successful.

At the store level, the levers are price and real estate, and you have to leverage both. Both the publisher and the retailer have to use discounting and special placement to get the buyer’s attention.

What is the most efficient way for retailers to be aware of the broad range of new products that are available?

That’s simple: Pay attention during product demonstrations. Frankly, I don’t understand how independents do it, particularly since many publishers no longer send sales reps to visit the independent stores. But I would suggest that you read through trade magazines and look at what is being advertised. Also talk to publishers and pay attention to what is being promoted. I always asked publishers straight out what was going to be the hot titles. I wanted to know what they thought were their best releases for the next season.

The publisher has to be wise and realize the retailer has limited resources in open-to-buy and retail space. Therefore, not every title will be treated the same. Everyone has to pay attention to what will turn those dollars for both the publisher and the retailer.

Different stores in different regions have customers seeking a different mix of products. How can retailers tailor their stores to meet the needs of their market?

If you are an independent bookseller, this is a no brainer. You pay attention to your market and make sure your inventory selection reflects your customers’ needs and desires. If you are part of a chain, it is different. Most chains have the benefit of having outstanding I.T. systems, but their individual stores must be communicating to make sure they have what they need for their customer. The buyer at the headquarters has to rely on their stores helping them out. Stores have to be able to say, “Why are you sending me this?”

And then it is vital to effectively use the systems that are in place. It is common sense that if one store sells 10 of something and another sells none, don’t send the store that can’t move it any more of that title, but keep that store where it is hot well-stocked. This applies to both older titles and new.

How do retailers successfully create a product mix that will grow their reach in the community?

I think you need to take a look at what is out there and then take some risks. Some of the things are really basic to all stores, but there are some categories that may be more market specific. For example, we knew from surveys that we had a strong Catholic customer base, so we made sure to buy gifts and books that appealed to that base. At first there was some guesswork being done with the help of the Catholic suppliers, but we started by selling Catholic Bibles and gifts. Then, since that was working, we expanded into books and other product lines. That is not going to work for everyone, but the stores that make up their mind that they are going to appeal to the ecumenical marketplace will do well.

We found that our Catholic customers were already buying general books and gifts in our stores, but had to go online to get their Catholic products. We were missing sales and not meeting the needs of our existing customers. This change let us take advantage of a customer base that was already shopping in our stores, and reach new customers too.

What one thing do you wish retailers would do differently in order to be more successful?

Retailers would be wise to use pricing as a promotional tool both through in-store promotions and coupons. I think a combination of the two is best.

Your competition is not the bookseller down the street. It is the online retailer, and they are aggressive price-wise, plus they have a much broader inventory, including used books. If you are a one-trick pony and you are up against a competitor who is using multiple levers, you are going to lose that battle.

How can retailers make the most of every customer that they already have?

One of the most successful things a retailer can do to maximize every customer contact is to have point-of-purchase promotions at the cash register area. The independent CBA retailer needs to get better at this tool. There is a fine line between irritating people and wisely suggesting add-on purchases. You must pay attention to your customer. Maybe you select three different things that are appealing to your customer at the register area to suggest as an add-on sale, and aggressively price these products. Or you could sell them a service. If a customer walks up with a Bible, always suggest imprinting it. That is a pure profit add-on and is providing good customer service. If only 10% or 20% of your customer base says yes to your add-on suggestions, you have increased your sales per customer and your profitability. I think that is one thing that independents can learn from the chains.

The number-one advantage that the independent bookseller has over their chain-store competition is that they know their market intimately and can tailor their approach to their specific market better than the chain. Then the independent bookseller can get excited about and hand-sell a book better than their chain-store competitor. There is nothing more powerful than having a bookseller who is passionate about a good Christian book and telling the story to their customers—and there is nothing more powerful than outstanding customer service.

Read more of Tim Way’s Q&A at www.christianretailing.com/timway.