I just couldn't resist a Wizard of Oz headline, since our bookstore Web
siteseeing bus will be parked for a couple of columns at
RainyDayBooks.com, the online version of the Fairway, Kan., bookshop
run by Vivien Jennings and Roger Doeren.
Next week, we'll explore the genesis and evolution of
RainyDayBooks.com, but I want to begin this tour by highlighting an
option that first attracted my attention to the site. A link on the
home page--Staff Contact Information--takes you to a list of
booksellers. Click on a name (Suan Wilson or Steve Shapiro, for
example), and you can access that individual's e-mail address.
Bookseller/patron interactivity--what a concept.
Although we know that great handselling begins with conversation, the
potential for such interaction is lacking (or at least not apparent) at
many bookstore Web sites. Staff Picks are often highlighted, but if
customers hope to engage in online book discussions with booksellers of
likeminded reading tastes, they have to take their chances with the
generic info@, orders@ or books@ alternatives more commonly available.
Maybe somebody will answer.
The RainyDayBooks.com approach blends technological sophistication with
human interaction. Roger describes this as a way "to empower our
customers with information, knowledge and the wisdom to make informed
choices and decisions about books and their community. Our Web strategy
utilizes Internet technology as a bridge to connect our customers to
our e-marketing and e-commerce."
He describes himself as "webmaster, technology geek, information nerd,
etc. My middle initial is D for Donald, but it might as well be D for
'Data'; that's what Vivien lovingly calls me when I am working in what
she calls 'computerland.' " Roger adds that the bookshop's site is
"freshened up" nearly every day: "I even update our Web site sometimes
when needed from my Web-enabled cell phone."
Beneath the RainyDayBooks.com technology, however, beats a bookseller's heart. Consider those staff e-mail addresses.
According to Roger, "Our staff and our loyal customers are the best.
They look out for each other. They treat each other with appreciation
and with respect. Many loyal customers visit RainyDayBooks.com and call
us up or e-mail us while they are making their selections. We welcome
live interaction with customers. Providing direct contact information
is appreciated and utilized. It can turn a shopping experience into a
book buying experience."
If that's the case, why do so few bookstores offer this level of
interaction? "I can only speak for myself. For us, handselling and
building lifetime relationships is what we do best, whether it is in
our bookstore or through our Web site. Providing our loyal customers
with direct access to our knowledgeable staff through our Web site
makes perfect sense."
Vulnerability is a challenge. "RainyDayBooks.com and our
@RainyDayBooks.com e-mail addresses have been out there on the Internet
since 1994," Roger says. "That's a long time for spammers to put us on
the hit lists, and we are on plenty of them."
Two key strategies help counteract the threat. A first line of defense
is the use of, for example, "roger at RainyDayBooks.com" instead of the
more vulnerable roger@rainydaybooks.com hyperlink.
The second is Spam Arrest, a tool which, according to Roger, "filters
out about 99% spam from each of our e-mail account inboxes; that is
thousands of spam e-mails per day, per e-mail account. Hundreds of
these spam phishing e-mails are fraudulently representing companies. We
are lucky that so far RainyDayBooks.com is in the clear."
He believes that booksellers "need to make ourselves available to do
competitive business on the Internet, but with calculated risks and
safeguards. Over the years, I have expressed serious concern for safety
and security on the Internet. Exploitation with phishing and pharming
are rampant and people are being harmed in lost valuable time,
productivity, privacy and money. I am vigilant in taking steps to
protect our customers and our company. I constantly and thoroughly
research technologies that will improve our business contact,
communications and operations. Spam Arrest is a solution to an
increasing problem with the Internet, and it works."
These safeguards also allow Rainy Day Books to offer direct, online conversations between staff and patrons.
I've wandered through more bookstore Web sites than any rational human
being probably should to find a shop that provides online access to its
frontline handsellers. I've heard plenty of reasons for not offering
such contact, but at RainyDayBooks.com, unfeasibility has been trumped
by the potential for at once virtual and real conversation.
Next time, we'll examine the genesis of the Rainy Day Books Web site
and its ongoing evolution.--Robert Gray (column archives available at
Fresh Eyes Now)
