Bookshops Marketing

BookShops Marketing

This article is about bookshops marketing ideas and strategies to create the best journey for your customer at your bookshop

So as a bookshop owner or manager here is what you need to do:

  • Being well organized will make it easy for your customer to enjoy the journey searching for a specific or new book
  • Make an ordered database for your shelves on an excel sheet so when someone asks about a specific book you can search and get it right away
  • Cleaning your books and shelves is a must because books get dusty and scratched easily
  • Your bookshelves should be pleasing to the eye and easy for the customer to check all the books displayed on the shelves
  • Order the shelves by author name, best selling, and literary genres
  • Place all children literature books in one place to make it easier for kids to pick what they like without moving a lot in the place
  • Participate in book fair events
  • Make a home delivery service

Bookshop clerks

  • Now this is very important
  • You need clerks who have a lot of knowledge about books and also about authors
  • Bookshop clerk should always know what to recommend and what is his recommendation based on (means someone who read a lot and still reads)
  • They should know about new and old books to provide the best information to customers
  • For example: If you went to a book store and you wanted to get a book that is similar to a game of thrones and he recommended storm of swords then it’s ok, but you can’t ask about a game of thrones and the clerk recommends something from a different genre
  • So bookshop clerks as we said should have the knowledge required and it is a very important role

surprising your customer with giveaways

giveaways recommendations:

Here is the fun part that will generate great word of mouth marketing to your bookshop

you can do this once a year or on any holiday you pick such as Christmas or Easter or you can do it always and be known with that (branding)the bookshop that makes reading easier for its customers

  • pocket notebooks with your logo on it
  • pencil set with your logo on it
  • Pencil case
  • Bookmark with a light
  • File tray
  • Book holder
  • You can also think about a lot more types of gifts

Marketing offers for bookshops:

You should count your traffic and see which months, weeks, or days you are not getting your profit target.

You will count your traffic as books you sold. (Daily, weekly or monthly)

For example (from January till march you are doing great sales revenues and April was not so good) so make offers and discounts in April

Always take your customer’s E-mail or phone number.

When having any offers or discounts or even a new collection of books you should inform your customer via e-mail or SMS, also some people use WhatsApp.

Summer discounts just remember those people you see on the beach holding books …yea good.

Make loyalty club cards annually here is how :

Offer to the customer that they pay an extra 25 USD (this is an example) for being a member at your loyalty club while they are making a purchase then once a member a discount on every purchase for a whole year, and when the year is over they can renew the card.

Loyalty club members should always have more benefits such as if they bought two books you give them the third for free or they should always be the first to know about the new book collection that arrived you can also make them exchange their old book for a new book and pay only 50%on the new book.

social media strategy for bookshops marketing:

  • Respond to messages quickly
  • People will ask you in messages about book availability
  • Post about new books that just arrived at your store
  • Engage with people by asking questions like what is your favorite quote from a book
  • Make a post with tell us your favorite literary genre or best book and we will give you recommendations
  • Make an everyday quote post and ask people did you read this book or which book is this quote from (quotes from books for sure)
  • Ask questions like for example did you read the alchemist if yes what is your best part or quote of the book

Bookshop survey :

This is something important to do because it makes you listen to your customer to know how to improve and to also know how to make your customer loyal to you, and if the customer stayed loyal you are making more revenues

Always take your clients number and e-mail and ask them where do they prefer to hear from you (about a new collection of books or offers and discounts) from your store

Recommended questions
  1. Is it the first time to visit us if yes do you have any comments so we can do better
  2. If this is not the first time you visit how often do you visit
  3. If you are searching for a specific book do you always find it in our store
  4. Is it easy for you to search for a specific or a new book in our store
  5. What are your favorite three literary genres
  6. How many books do you read per year

so let’s make our analysis now:

First and second questions:
Is it the first time to visit us if yes do you have any comments so we can do better.
if this is not the first time you visit how often do you visit.

If it’s his/her first time to visit give them a free give away like the giveaways we mentioned before this is will be a very good experience for him and it will help you generate a great word of mouth marketing ,if it’s not his first time to visit so it means he comes by a lot start sending new books available at your store to his e-mail or number he/she will feel that he/she is a special customer, and at the same time if he likes any of the new books you mention in the e-mail or phone number he will come and make a purchase so you are doing revenues and the customer is feeling special.

Third question:
If you are searching for a specific book do you always find it at our store

If yes, then congratulations , if no

Then you need to know whether it is the quantity or variety of your books and fix it.

Fourth question:
Is it easy for you to search for a specific or a new book in our store.

It’s about the interior design, so if it’s hard to find books for your customer you need to change the order.

Fifth question:
What are your favorite three literary genres.

Now you know from the answers how to filter your clients and what to send them via the E-mail.

For sure you will send each one book availability based on the genre he likes.

sixth questions:
How many books do you read per year.

If the answer is I read more than 6 books per year is a very good type of customer to your business you should always update them with your new books collection.

Less than 6 is ok but concentrate more with the more 6 books per year.

It doesn’t mean you eliminate the less than 6 books you just know to who you are doing your marketing plan and who are you trying to attract more.

Bookshops Marketing

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