Navigating the E-Market: The Devil Is in the E-Tails

Sheila Bounford, deputy managing director at NBN International (book distributor)

• Knowledge of IT and electronic practices are essential for successful publishing.
• No use in cursing Google, Amazon, etc., because we have to work with them--don't be immobilized by concern.
• Electronic sales grow as a percentage while brick and mortar decline.
• The e-tail environment gives power and choice to consumers--they become their own order processing clerk.
• In time of recession, it's not a bad idea to look abroad; reference book sales, especially, have remained strong.
• Amazon and B&N are not as important yet in Europe; they lag behind 2-3 years.
• UK Amazon Advantage Programme has 30-35% of NBN's sales; no returns, so she encourages publishers to use.
• The Book Depository is a very popular UK e-tailer: high distribution, low margin.
• E-tailers redistribute to lots of places but often don't know who the ultimate consumer is.
• It is essential to manage stock and keep available; figure out if POD is worth it; ensure digital print to quicken fulfillment.
• The dues and subscription format survives (barely);  backorders are dead--no customer patience.
• The IT behind these systems is constantly changing and upgrading; if your distributor isn't also upgrading and changing, you probably have a problem.
• Expect to spend some money.
• Get as much customer data as possible.
• Know your customer: who and where they are; how they want to buy.
• Understand your supply chain: the customer requires fast and courteous service, especially in a recession.
• Successful publishers will have a passion for customer service; customer expectations are high.
• Pay attention to your buyer's buying experience.

Becky Clark, marketing director at Johns Hopkins University Press

• Approx. 25% of JHUP e-tail sales are from Amazon; #1 client; B&N and Borders return too much.
• Very low barriers to entry? If an e-tailer is offering terms that sound too good to be true, it probably is (experience with not being able to pay their bills).
• Metadata drives business... boring but essential. This is not the fun copywriting, creative stuff of before; everything is automated, and if the correct metadata isn't being fed, books won't sell.
• Yes, Vendor Central (Amazon) is frustrating and weird things happen.

Chris O'Brien, course adoptions manager at CQ Press

• There has been a significant change in how course adoption business works because students want to purchase their texts online.
• After using Amazon Advantage, we see sales fairly consistent year-round, not just in fall and spring; 2006-2010 growth went from 1% to 10% of total sales.
• It is essential to supply Amazon with good data, both metadata and the "search inside the book" feature.
• Professors will often use Amazon (sometimes with sales rep in the room!) to check the price before adopting book (less than campus bookstores).

Ed Turreen, director of publications, marketing, and web development at Peterson Institute for International Economics

• Because of book turnarounds of 8-12 weeks, multiple title changes can occur along the process, so publishers must keep metadata updated.
• Amazon is consistently the largest buyer, with anywhere between 20% and40% of sales.
• We have seen a significant decline in sale through our own Web site.
• We have a few books on Kindle and see it as potential growth area.
• It is easier to get books onto Nook for B&N, but still far fewer sales than even a few books on Kindle.

From Question-and-Answer Period

• A rise in the number of textbooks sold through Amazon and other online retailers means a loss of bookstore data (who is adopting the book) and pushes marketers closer to the actual academics doing the adopting, rather than the bookstore manager.
• PubTrack for Higher Education (Bowker product) is currently in negotiations with Amazon to acquire sales data for course adoptions; check this product out, because it could be really helpful for targeting professors, although probably expensive: http://www.bowker.com/index.php/component/content/article/4/54.
• Everyone seemed to agree that working with Amazon is often frustrating, but sales (with no returns!) is worth it.