In my last posting, I confessed that I borrowed a very old idea from Coca-Cola that emphasized putting the product where the customers can see it. in non-traditional, locally owned businesses that have a high volume of customers. The book has high visibility and very little or no competition.
An article in the New York Times a couple weeks ago on the future of Barnes & Noble included quotes from two individuals in the publishing business. Both comments confirm that Coca-Cola’s half-century old concept is still valid.
David Shanks, the chief executive of the Penguin Group USA, said, “The more visibility a book has, the more inclined a reader is to make a purchase.”
Madeline McIntosh, president of sales, operations and digital for Random House, said, “That display space they (books) have in the store is really one of the most valuable places that exists in this country for communicating to the consumer that a book is a big deal.”
The article also included this comment. “Surveys indicate that only a third of the people who step into a bookstore and walk out with a book actually arrived with the specific desire to buy one.”
I’m certain that none of the folks who have purchased a copy of THE PROVIDENCE OF DEAH at a local restaurant left home with the intention of also buying the book. But copies were there, prominently displayed beside the cash register, highly visible to folks who were in the mood that a good meal creates.
What more could a book peddler want?
