The Evolving Experience Expectation of Customers
Note: The following is a portion of a presentation given at the recent Wiley EMEA Sales Conference by Christine Dunn, Director of Marketing. She was kind enough to allow me to share it here.
I’m not going to spend time going through loads of statistics confirming that nearly every man, woman, and child at every age in every country and continent is online, buying stuff, finding jobs, partners, and hopefully our books. What I would like to put in front of you briefly is the idea of our customer’s EVOLVING EXPERIENCE EXPECTATION.
Some would argue that, and I include myself in this camp, that the Experience is the product. When someone buys a book or a new perfume or cologne, they will judge that product on the experience that it create. Did the book empower me, did the perfume or cologne get me a date? Did it make me feel better about myself?
The experience of music and the evolution of the music business is always held up as the harbinger for the book business. And I think this analogy has reached a fevered pitch with the release of Amazon’s Kindle seven months ago.
Some of you probably saw this picture of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, in the Economist a few weeks ago with the heading “YOU’RE ALL DOOMED”. Many have recognized that Amazon seems to be following a similar “digitize, divide and conquer” strategy masterminded by the maestro himself, Steve Jobs.
I don’t think many of us would question that Jobs and the iPod have revolutionized the music business, BUT is it right then to assume that Bezos and his new toy will have the similar impact on the book business? Last week , analysts in the US predicted that by 2012 global ebook sales at amazon will reach $2.5 billion. An astounding number considering amazon’s overall revenue in 2007 was $10.7 billion. How did they get there, with the music comparison of course.
If we look at some key points in history for both the music and book business in the context of the customer’s EVOLVING EXPERIENCE EXPECTATION, which I mentioned before. I think it starts to become clear that this comparison doesn’t really hold water.
A long time ago, when you wanted to experience music, you had limited options. You had to be in the presence of those creating the music, so your mobility was limited. Unless you were royalty, or whoever was paying the orchestra, your choice of music was limited. So, improving the mobility of music and the choices that were made available were huge factors in music’s widespread adoption.
Along came the phonograph and suddenly music could be mass produced and distributed, widening its market.
Now, personally, I think the real breakthrough moment in music, that paved the way for Apple, was the dawn of the boom box.
Clearly, this is when music became an accessory for fashion (have you ever seen a better matched bandana and boombox?) The point is, when music went mobile, it fit more readily into people’s experiences.
Then the race was on to make it more portable, stylish, all changing experience expectation. Now, when we think of a comparable breakthrough moment for the reading experience, many wonder if it happened 7 months ago with the release of the Kindle, but I would argue it really happened just under 700 years ago with our friend, Mr. Movable Type, Gutenberg, himself.
Think about it. Since then, the experience of reading has changed very little. They come in all shapes and sizes. Mobility isn’t much of a problem. And as those traditionalists always say, I like books because you can curl up with them in bed, or read them in the bath.
So, I guess the point I’m trying to make is, unlike the music business the relationship customers have with the printed book is still quite strong and have been meeting the experience expectation for hundreds of years. And I don’t say this because I’m overly sentimental traditionalist. But I do think it’s an important time to remind ourselves that the printed book still provides an excellent user experience. And this is a real strength that only enhances our position in a digital age.
So, having read Christine thoughts, what do you think? Are books still the ultimate experience when it comes to reading, or can what we think of as a book be so much more? How will the book customer’s experience expectation evolve in the coming years? Are we indeed doomed?
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Promoting Your Book - The Power of Just One Recommendation
We always hope for positive reviews of our books, but there is a rare and magical event that only occurs every once in a while. It is the ability of a single review or recommendation to propel a book to bestseller status. Case in point: Charles Petzold’s most recent book, The Annontated Turing which as of the writing of this post sits on Amazon.com Computing Bestseller List at #11.
How, did this happen? In this particular case it is clearly the recommendation of Coding Horror’s Jeff Atwood. His single post about the book sent it flying off Amazon.com’s virtual shelves, and started a conversation that included over 100 comments on Jeff’s blog and created a viral effect as several other blogs picked up on the story.
The lesson here for authors is not only do you need positive reviews of your books, but certain reviews can be more effective than others. You need a targeted approach to get your book not just in front of many people, but also the right people.
Think about who might have the biggest impact on your book. The answer is not Oprah Winfrey - let’s keep it realistic. Who is a trusted adviser, or connector within the community of your readership? We use tools like the Author Questionnaire to help us answer these questions. If your publisher is not using a similar tool, create your own and work with the marketing an PR departments on a targeted approach to get your work in front of the right people.
UPDATE: Looks like Charles Petzold is discussing this on his blog as well.
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More Great Book Video from Wiley UK - Wiley EMEA Sales Conference Day 3
Wiley UK is moving quickly to integrate digital content into it’s marketing and promotional activities. There have been several video examples shown this week, including this one for Computing for Seniors For Dummies.
Do you think this approach is more effective than “traditional” marketing methods?
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Capstone Publishing - Wiley EMEA Sales Conference Day 2
I have had the incredible opportunity to meet and hear from colleagues from all over the globe while here in Malta, and it has really refocused, and re-energised me. During this morning’s plenary session, I was impressed by the presentation given by Capstone’s Jason Dunne.
Admittedly, I was not very familiar with Capstone prior to this morning, but they are really out there on the cutting edge and producing some really amazing products. To get a feeling for what I mean, take a look at this promotional video for one of Capstone’s business titles.
Awesome. Not typical of Wiley’s other imprints, and I suppose that’s why I like it so much. It’s edgy, risky and funny.
What do you think? Effective?
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Go Ahead, Ask Anything: Wiley EMEA Sales Conference Day 1
Learning New Things
This week, I am in Malta attending the Wiley EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Sales Conference. What a way to start a new job! The location is obviously fantastic and exotic, but I had so many great meetings with new colleagues today. I have been exposed to more of our business today than I thought would be possible on the first day, and it is simply through the face to face interactions with account reps, other publishers, and editors from around the globe. The global perspective really changes my view of our business, and I am really looking forward to the opportunity to learn and grow.
Your Chance to Learn with Me
I thought I would offer the opportunity for you to learn with me this week. Leave a comment with your questions, and I will be sure to get them in front of the right people here this week for an answer. Try to keep things focused on a global perspective, or specific to a country or region.
So, what do you want to know?
(Photo: Where the rocky Malta coast meets the Mediterranean Sea)
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