Harry Potter and the Death of Bookshops

It probably hasn't escaped your notice that the final Harry Potter book is out this weekend. Looking a bit harder at some of the reporting around this there's considerable grumbling that Harry Potter is the death of independent bookshops and the death of literature and the book industry. I'm not going to argue with facts and figures presented by experts (largely because I can't be bothered) and I'm going to skim over the fact that Harry Potter has brought millions of pounds to it's publisher and all manner of bookshops and even managed to do wonders for film making in the UK. It's a fair point that independents can't compete on price with the bulk sellers like Waterstones and supermarkets that sell at a loss just to get people through the door. So they'll just have to compete on other fronts that big shops can't manage - quality, personal service.

Here are my top 10 hints for getting the most out of Harry Potter (some of which are admittedly a bit late)

1. Throw a Potter Party - lots of the big shops are doing this, but local shops can make even more of it. Build a community who cares about you and they won't mind paying a little extra to buy from Rita or Chris vs. buying from faceless corporation.
2. Throw an anti-Potter Party - if you really don't like the book, or don't think you're going to sell many otherwise, make a point of it. Throw a party celebrating other books. Maybe you have some Potter's available at full RRP for the desperate, you can take the high ground *and* take their cash if you advertise it with some humour.
3. Vouchers - give away books of vouchers with the book for future discounts, you could even have date ranges on them to keep people coming in for the next few months.
4. Discounts - give people a discount for buying other books, Borders are doing 20% off all books other than Harry Potter before midnight on Friday.
   
5. Rely on your locality - independents are saying they can't compete with supermarket prices. If you can't/won't take a hit on your profit margins rely on the fact that people might not want to trek to get a copy of the book and will pay a premium for convenience
6. Deliver - take your locality even further and jump on your bike. Take pre-orders and a promise to deliver the book to their doorstep.
7. Reward Schemes - For 3 months before the release of the book offer a stamp scheme, every time you buy a book you get a stamp which will give you a pound off the rrp Harry Potter when it comes out. If you have to give it away free do you really care if it means you've sold 18 books to someone?
8. Sign people up - if they're pre-ordering, make sure you make the most of having their contact details. Send newsletters, offers and information before and after the event.
9. Reading groups - just 'cos kids love Potter doesn't mean their parents do. Use Potter to start a reading group that kids can join while their parents browse for their own reading material, or have a coffee. Once you've finished reading the Harry Potter books, slip straight on to something else and keep going.
   
10. Potter Support Groups - for the more grown up readers extend the life of the book, have a series of discussion meetings before the launch re-reading the old ones, then discussing the final book, then discussing other similar books.
    

The Long Tail

I just finished The Long Tail by Chris Anderson (Amazon) and heartily recommend it to anyone with even the slightest interest in economics, the web, marketing or... well anything really.

The core concept is that at the top of the chart (be it music, book sales, or search results) you have a small number of bestsellers, the big hits that everyone buys/sees/reads/whatevers. But as you move down the chart, things still sell if given the chance. If you do not have to be concerned about limited shelf space and can give your customers ways to easily find the unusual, niche items they want, you can really cash in.

Chris Anderson is the editor of Wired Magazine and has been investigating this phenomena for a few years, gathering examples, data and quotes from a variety of sources. He's got a very friendly, easy to read style and an interesting perspective on the subject, as both a professional editor and generic user.

Some books based on a relatively simple concept can focus too much on explaining the idea over and over again, leaving you with a 3 page article that's extended into 200 pages of babble. This book avoids that very well, applying the concept to historical events, unexpected fields and looking at possibilities of where it might lead in the future.

A fascinating concept beautifully told, read it as soon as possible before the examples go out of date.

BOOK: Let My People Go Surfing

Let My People Go Surfing
by Yvon Chouinard
The Penguin Press HC
ISBN 978-1594200724

The subtitle of this book is "The education of a reluctant business man" and Yvon Chouinard definitely falls into this category. He practices MBA, or Management by Absence which has meant that everyone in his company has to have a strong idea of what they are trying to achieve. It's difficult to ask your boss for guidance when he's halfway up a peak in the Himalaya.

The first half of the book deals with the history of Patagonia, from its start in the back of his truck through to being a multinational equipment and clothing manufacturer.

It should be a tale of how not to do it, with itinerant climbers promoted to senior managers and a staff that has permission to disappear when the surf gets big. However the tale reads as an adventure yarn, with a real feeling of teamwork, tolerance and 'out-of-the-box' thinking. Instead of despairing at the ineptitude of the participants, you realise that this may be an alternative way of doing business.

In the late 80s, Patagonia started struggling and Chouinard realised that they had overreached themselves. When he had to lay of 250 of his workers, he decided that he needed to clarify in his own mind why he was running a business. The book goes on to explain the "philosophies" that were created to guide the company onwards.

The philosophies are like a 50 page mission statement, split into categories like "Product Design" and "Environment" and are there to guide any member of the company in making the best decision for the company. While his goals won't be applicable to anybody else's company, the process of setting those goals will be. If you want to see how important the environment is to Patagonia, look at their philosophies. If you want to know how they expect their suppliers to be treated, looking at the philosophies.

Every business person who aspires to create, run or work in a business that isn't a nine-to-five, cubicle farm, sweatshop should read this book.

Links to buy Patagonia amazon.co.uk