MICHAEL BRIGGS,
owner of Briggs Creative in Nashville, has been active in the Christian market for nearly 33 years. Briggs is
a former retailer with a family-owned regional chain—Dicksons
of Royal Oak, Mich.—and a former producer, writer and host on Christian
radio. His clients
have included more than 40 CBA and ABA companies, major ministries, trade
associations and authors on corporate strategy, product development, marketing
and sales. What are some
of the biggest changes you have seen in the industry? Addressing change starts with a little history.
We live with the consequences of ideas implemented decades ago as well as those
we embrace today. Retrospectively, a big change happened as our industry’s
suppliers reached out to new markets and sales channels, increasing focus on
our “hit” products. The biggest authors and music artists captured the
attention of general market retailers and for good reason. Concurrently, shifts
in our culture made “time” more important to the American lifestyle. Sales to
the general market weren’t so much the result of “taking the cross over” as it
was reaching the core audience where they shopped. It is about convenience.
Although there’s lost shelf space (Borders), much of this continues today. We can all cite the titles and they’re as
sought after as any before them. The general market
uses its strengths to push our leading titles to the best-seller lists, which
fuels demand. If we’re honest with ourselves, during the growth years we
weren’t as adept at creating such visibility. Increased awareness promotes
wider accessibility to consumers. Ergo, the CBA retail landscape changed and
finds itself competing with entities as large as our entire industry. Because
many CBA stores also relied heavily on “hit product,” they found themselves
contending in an arena that is more costly. Profits weaken, cash flow suffers,
anxiety increases, and to some degree, walls of separation start to build
between supplier and retailer. Can CBA
retail rebound from this? Our industry has
always been message driven. The proclivity for gifting our products has always
championed sales. It’s this uniqueness that provides a future for our stores
and suppliers all. There really isn’t “backlist,” given customer turnover; it’s
new to many consumers. Once we discerned focusing on the “hits” could be
ruinous, we shifted toward core products as a staple for maintaining
distinction and validity. The general market carries some core, but they don’t
specialize in it—and that’s a distinct CBA advantage. Over time we realized the need to talk straight to each other, engaging
the concerns and opportunities for growing the category, rather than appearing
to evade and dissimulate. Dialog today enjoys a more open strategy for
supporting our channel and the future growth of Christ-centered products in the
marketplace. What about
changes that impact the stores? A
change in pricing is unfolding. General market is discounting less, even online.
Some chains are abandoning sale-pricing altogether. Is this a reaction to
difference between an online customer versus a brick-and-mortar customer? This
will be interesting to see unfold. Consumer expectations are changing
dramatically, and meeting those needs has altered nearly everything about how
retailers relate to their customers. From now on, the relationship between
store and customer is going to look very different from the recent past.
Retailers must reach their customers by all means possible: inbox, mailbox,
Facebook, Twitter, newsletters, etc. There are too many stores that don’t mail
a catalog, don’t collect email addresses and don’t interact with their
customers the way the customer wants to be embraced. By providing an
experiential relationship, you build loyalty that transcends your marketing
efforts and builds a sense of community. To quote Gary Vaynerchuk from his compelling book The Thank You Economy [HarperBusiness]:
“People embraced social media because communicating makes people happy; it’s
what we do. It’s why we carved pictures into rocks. It’s why we used smoke
signals. It’s why ink won. Companies of all stripes and sizes have to start
working harder to connect with customers and make them happy, not because
change is coming, but because it’s here.” What are two
things a retailer must change in order to see growth and profitability? One, retailers must—must—find a
handle on their data. Cash flow is more critical today and “investing” in
products requires more science than it does art. Accurate data is key because
that compels action as basic as consistently changing the endcap. Customers
want to see what’s new on each visit. Two, to not have a website today is
akin to never having had a phone book listing in yesteryear. I am most familiar
with the Covenant Group website program. It provides stores the ability to sell
e-books direct, offers a “pick me up” option, there’s iPhone and Droid apps,
e-blasts and more—all designed to drive traffic. There are other providers and
regardless of which a store decides on, the key is to get online—it is
tantamount to growth, if not survival. Any specific
changes that impact published products? Not too long ago an associate and I
did an extensive study for a major publisher on their archives (I love mining
archives). We walked away from that project with the realization that product
perception by consumers has changed. That which was once considered
lay-oriented is now considered academic. That which was academic is viewed as
professional. Look at our best-seller lists today.
No disrespect to the titles there, but you can see a change in consumer demand
over recent years by the types of books that land there. I would characterize
them as accessible rather than intellectual and experiential over didactic. The largest traffic-driving category
is fiction and also the fastest growing digitally. The e-book impact has yet to
be fully realized and some kind of solution is needed. If fiction drives
consumers to the stores, all categories realize greater exposure. Without the
traffic, all suffer. Perhaps the answer is to release physical books first or
an enhanced edition—but then there’s risk in offending the rabid e-book buyer.
It’s a conundrum that needs cooperative dialog. Thankfully all stores now have
a viable opportunity to sell e-books and won’t have to give this over to
competition. What about
change influencing how publishers are conducting business? There’s only so low you can go on
price. There’s only so much you can do to improve product. There’s only so far
you can stretch your marketing budget. While the desire to do it all may be
boundless, the elasticity of reality is stretched. Cost of goods, cost of
representation, diminishing shelf real-estate, decreasing channels, increasing
demand for advances, demand for digital format—the landscape has changed
exponentially. It dictates a focus on being a content provider in many forms,
not solely ink-on-paper or sound-on-plastic. The ramifications are myriad. The
days of “put it out there and see if it sticks” are gone. This intensifies the
burden to provide better books, better music CDs, better products overall. Also there’s the issue of risk. Risk
aversion necessitates a closer look at co-publishing, print-on-demand and even
packaging issues. My right brain battles the left when it comes to cover
treatments. I see more focus on better design, less costly treatments and favor
newer UV coatings. I would rather have a customer say, “I love the feel of this
book in my hands” over “This foil looks nice.” Do you see changes in the way publishers
create awareness? Stewarding primary and secondary
marketing budgets is increasingly challenging because there are more channels
vying for a share of support. There’s significant focus on social media although
I haven’t read any report nor heard of experience where it actually produces
sales. When I hear “what are you doing with social media?” I also hear, “We
have no marketing budget for this.” Nonetheless, social media is an important
avenue for exposure. The sense of community is conducive to building awareness.
While an ad can be placed anywhere,
hoping someone will check out your big new product, a catalog mailed directly
to the home of a proven CBA customer provides the best opportunity to have your
product taken to the checkout. The combined mailing list of chains and
independent marketing groups is multiple millions. It is by far the largest
route directly to qualified consumers. They’ve been around for decades because
they really are a primary means for reaching buyers.
What would you say are the top five
issues the industry is facing right now?
I’m
sure if you ask five people this question answers would differ. In brevity, I
see five important issues: 1) Traffic and cash flow. Retailers
need to see more customers coming in the door. A direct result of slower
traffic and lower sales is reduced cash flow, which subsequently impacts
payment history—a longtime challenge of our industry. 2) Digital products. If you’re
reading this article, chances are your career and family rely on the ability to
sell physical product. Digital is here to stay, but we need to discuss ways to
keep physical a mainstay of our industry. 3) Gatekeepers. There are many
stories of retailers that refuse to carry select categories, authors, music
genres, Bible translations or books that differ with personal theology. If the
customer can’t find the Christ-centered product they want, they will shop where
they can—including the general market. Stores are unwittingly telling those people
to shop elsewhere, and if they find it, they won’t be back. 4) Fairness. More suppliers are
selling direct. Most cite nominal responses. Add digital products and the
adverse impact on retail increases. There is a need here for cooperative dialog
and understanding to avert future tensions. We’ve lost enough stores. 5) Greed. (Did he just say that?)
Yeah, I did. This article simply doesn’t allow the space to expand on this, but
it is one of the issues I pray about most for our industry. No matter the area
you’re employed, you get it.
What trends are you seeing?
One of my favorite questions—I get this a
lot. What many call trends are really just fads. Use Bibles, for example. Color
and style have introduced fashion to the category. The fact that this creative,
engaging packaging meets the consumer’s desire for individuality, uniqueness or
convenience is the trend. The product itself is the fad. Or in the case of
Bibles, the cover is the fad. Some product trends we’re tracking
include the increased demand for DIY healthy living, increased interest in the
supernatural and the experiential books. Consumer trends include the “F factor”
(friends, fans and followers) and what I call “info-gratification.” The use of
smartphones provides consumers with the power to learn everything in advance of
their purchase, including the best deal. I’m also waiting to see which CBA
retailer works with Groupon and Living Social first. I think there are ways to maximize these for exposing our
products. What’s your most radical idea for change
in the industry? Combine
CBA, ECPA, GMA and whatever “A” might exist for the gift companies into one
association called the CPA. The Christian Products Association. Pool the
efforts and budgets and focus on the category. I can hear sabers rattling now.
LOL! Do you have any
closing thoughts? Our
industry needs to think long-term just at a time when long-term thinking has
never been more difficult to achieve. Optimism or pessimism about CBA’s future
cannot simply be a function of our capacity to do great things—or our history
of having done great things. It has to be a function of our will to actually do
those things again. What CBA needs most is collective action on a large scale.
We cannot let our past palliate the need for a cooperative future. Many of us recall the old adage: It
is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It
is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Winston Churchill once said to
his British compatriots: “We have not journeyed across the centuries, across
the oceans, across the mountains, across the prairies, because we are made of
sugar candy.” The same could be said of our industry. We’ve been at the
crossroads of change before, and if we humble ourselves and turn our face
toward God, He will surely show us the way through. |