Russ Lawrence, owner of Chapter One Book Store, Hamilton, Mont., and v-p/secretary of the ABA, began
his Winter Institute session by saying that sales can be increased relatively simply:
"Bring more customers into the store. Sell more to customers once they
are in the store. And sell more outside the store." Quickly, he added,
"Thank you for coming. Are there any questions?"
After the laughter subsided, Lawrence launched into a wide-ranging survey of effective ways to increase sales.
Booksellers should work on getting free publicity. "Keep your store newsworthy," he advised. For example, "in Missoula, Mont.," he said, "Russ Lawrence going to the Winter Institute is news. It could be in your town, too." He recommended booksellers regularly write letters to the editor on issues "near and dear to your heart." If the store makes a literacy donation, "issue a press release."
Reporters should be cultivated. "It's amazing how cheaply the media can be bought," he said. [Editors' note: It is amazing!] He suggested sending reporters ARCs of titles by authors who will appear at the store and inviting reporters to have drinks with authors after events. "If you make it easy for reporters," he said, "You will get better coverage."
Concerning publicity and advertising, he recommended that booksellers take advantage of coop money and negotiate with publishers about payments. "You can go to a publisher with a rate card and say, 'This is what your ad in our newsletter will cost.' " He emphasized that booksellers need to monitor ads. "Don't just do an ad and move on."
In ads and elsewhere, a store should project its personality, particularly in the logo and typeface a bookseller chooses.
Booksellers should share lists and do "cooperative signups" with "likeminded businesses" such as art galleries, he continued. Stores should keep data on customers and use them "as creatively and personally as you can. Whoever's closest to the customer wins."
Lawrence recommended sending thank-you notes to customers with a $5 coupon for use in the store.
Stores should have Web sites even if sales aren't high. "People may not buy online but they use independent store Web sites to search for books and look up events," he explained. "They will find out information and bring it into the store to buy there."
Like store advertising and newsletters, a Web site should reflect the store's personality and content should be changed regularly. Lawrence commended Powells.com for "providing wonderful content to bring people to the site again and again."
If stores have computer kiosks, staff should ask customers using them if they are finding what they want "just the way you would ask people in the store if they need help." Lawrence added that stores can lock such computers onto its own Web site.
He called e-mail a "powerful marketing tool." With e-mail, "you can reach out to customers." It's key, he continued, to "make the e-mail relevant to the recipient's life. Say 'Here's an author you will swoon over' or 'This is extremely relevant to our community.' " Booksellers shouldn't "bombard" customers with e-mail newsletters--a rough guideline is 24 a year. Again Lawrence recommended monitoring: in this case, to see what works in e-mail newsletters, click-through rates and what readers are clicking on.
Stores should act as a ticket outlet for community events, which are usually advertised and result in much extra publicity.
Besides author events, stores can put on events such as candidate forums. A Chapter One event celebrates I Love to Read Month (which happens to be February). For this, the bookstore and a nearby furniture store have combined forces. The furniture store puts several comfortable chairs in its front window with an explanatory sign and allows people to sit in the window and read uninterrupted for two hours.
Booksellers should not miss out on offsite sales such as writing conferences and conventions. "Some can be a bust, but some can be really, really productive," Lawrence commented.
In the same way, booksellers should work with librarians. "Meet with them at happy hour and pick up the tab," he said. "Treat public and school librarians well."
Lawrence has found it difficult to make corporate bulk sales, but "showing the flag" has been important. "We're not getting 25-copy sales for business books, but we're getting $150 sales on technical books," he said.
Lawrence offered several suggestions for making bookstores a more attractive experience for customers. "Does the music you play make you want to linger there?" he asked. "Or does it make you want to go next door and buy aspirin?" Besides taped music, Chapter One has unusual live music: Lawrence's wife's music group rehearses at the store several nights a week, playing classical and Celtic music. Such an approach works, he stressed, "if they're polishing performance pieces, not starting them."
Similarly booksellers should consider temperature. "Should it be a little cooler in the winter because customers are coming in with jackets on?" he asked.
The smell of the store is also important, he added, recommending cinnamon and coffee aromas. To help the aroma in Chapter One, Lawrence likes to toast a slice of cinnamon raisin bread every couple hours.
He also recommended something that Steve Bercu of BookPeople, Austin, Tex., does: have new employees, whose eyes are fresh, look at the store with a critical view.
Lawrence suggested booksellers group "unusual books together" and use shelf talkers and displays "as ways to start a conversation with customers." Like the store's Web site, displays should be "timely, topical and refreshed."
Booksellers should adopt sidelines "gently. Go in on a small level." Lawrence recommended that booksellers visit a regional gift show regularly "for the experience of seeing how much crap is out there for sale" as well as because "you will find a treasure at each one." With sidelines, "as sales start to die, mark them down and get rid of them."
After the laughter subsided, Lawrence launched into a wide-ranging survey of effective ways to increase sales.
Booksellers should work on getting free publicity. "Keep your store newsworthy," he advised. For example, "in Missoula, Mont.," he said, "Russ Lawrence going to the Winter Institute is news. It could be in your town, too." He recommended booksellers regularly write letters to the editor on issues "near and dear to your heart." If the store makes a literacy donation, "issue a press release."
Reporters should be cultivated. "It's amazing how cheaply the media can be bought," he said. [Editors' note: It is amazing!] He suggested sending reporters ARCs of titles by authors who will appear at the store and inviting reporters to have drinks with authors after events. "If you make it easy for reporters," he said, "You will get better coverage."
Concerning publicity and advertising, he recommended that booksellers take advantage of coop money and negotiate with publishers about payments. "You can go to a publisher with a rate card and say, 'This is what your ad in our newsletter will cost.' " He emphasized that booksellers need to monitor ads. "Don't just do an ad and move on."
In ads and elsewhere, a store should project its personality, particularly in the logo and typeface a bookseller chooses.
Booksellers should share lists and do "cooperative signups" with "likeminded businesses" such as art galleries, he continued. Stores should keep data on customers and use them "as creatively and personally as you can. Whoever's closest to the customer wins."
Lawrence recommended sending thank-you notes to customers with a $5 coupon for use in the store.
Stores should have Web sites even if sales aren't high. "People may not buy online but they use independent store Web sites to search for books and look up events," he explained. "They will find out information and bring it into the store to buy there."
Like store advertising and newsletters, a Web site should reflect the store's personality and content should be changed regularly. Lawrence commended Powells.com for "providing wonderful content to bring people to the site again and again."
If stores have computer kiosks, staff should ask customers using them if they are finding what they want "just the way you would ask people in the store if they need help." Lawrence added that stores can lock such computers onto its own Web site.
He called e-mail a "powerful marketing tool." With e-mail, "you can reach out to customers." It's key, he continued, to "make the e-mail relevant to the recipient's life. Say 'Here's an author you will swoon over' or 'This is extremely relevant to our community.' " Booksellers shouldn't "bombard" customers with e-mail newsletters--a rough guideline is 24 a year. Again Lawrence recommended monitoring: in this case, to see what works in e-mail newsletters, click-through rates and what readers are clicking on.
Stores should act as a ticket outlet for community events, which are usually advertised and result in much extra publicity.
Besides author events, stores can put on events such as candidate forums. A Chapter One event celebrates I Love to Read Month (which happens to be February). For this, the bookstore and a nearby furniture store have combined forces. The furniture store puts several comfortable chairs in its front window with an explanatory sign and allows people to sit in the window and read uninterrupted for two hours.
Booksellers should not miss out on offsite sales such as writing conferences and conventions. "Some can be a bust, but some can be really, really productive," Lawrence commented.
In the same way, booksellers should work with librarians. "Meet with them at happy hour and pick up the tab," he said. "Treat public and school librarians well."
Lawrence has found it difficult to make corporate bulk sales, but "showing the flag" has been important. "We're not getting 25-copy sales for business books, but we're getting $150 sales on technical books," he said.
Lawrence offered several suggestions for making bookstores a more attractive experience for customers. "Does the music you play make you want to linger there?" he asked. "Or does it make you want to go next door and buy aspirin?" Besides taped music, Chapter One has unusual live music: Lawrence's wife's music group rehearses at the store several nights a week, playing classical and Celtic music. Such an approach works, he stressed, "if they're polishing performance pieces, not starting them."
Similarly booksellers should consider temperature. "Should it be a little cooler in the winter because customers are coming in with jackets on?" he asked.
The smell of the store is also important, he added, recommending cinnamon and coffee aromas. To help the aroma in Chapter One, Lawrence likes to toast a slice of cinnamon raisin bread every couple hours.
He also recommended something that Steve Bercu of BookPeople, Austin, Tex., does: have new employees, whose eyes are fresh, look at the store with a critical view.
Lawrence suggested booksellers group "unusual books together" and use shelf talkers and displays "as ways to start a conversation with customers." Like the store's Web site, displays should be "timely, topical and refreshed."
Booksellers should adopt sidelines "gently. Go in on a small level." Lawrence recommended that booksellers visit a regional gift show regularly "for the experience of seeing how much crap is out there for sale" as well as because "you will find a treasure at each one." With sidelines, "as sales start to die, mark them down and get rid of them."