Book marketing: Friendlier, more comfortable

Book marketing: Friendlier, more comfortable

Burhanuddin Abe, Contributor, Jakarta

Over the past decade, Indonesia has witnessed a rapid progress
in its book publishing industry, not only in terms of the number
of books published but also the number of new bookstores.

Many new bookshops have sprung up in addition to the
ubiquitous Gramedia and Gunung Agung, two institutional players
in the nation's book business. These new bookshops can be found
not only in imposing shopping centers downtown, but also hidden
away in backstreets.

The emergence of these new players has made competition in the
book business much tougher. With a novel concept of turning the
bookstore into a recreational place, new players have been
successful in luring bookworms into their outlets.

In the past, it would never have occurred to many Indonesians
that a bookshop could be combined with a restaurant or cafe. When
you get tired from all that book browsing, you can drop into the
restaurant or cafe to eat and drink while chatting with friends
and enjoying the ambience. If you are a member of the bookshop's
club, you may also browse the Internet for as long as you wish.

One bookshops that has developed this concept is QB World
Bookstore. With a network consisting six outlets, QB has been
deliberately designed to provide comfort to their customers.
Aside from a cafe, QB also provides Internet facilities.

"We want to be different. Here you can not only buy books but
also get involved in other activities such as book discussions,
film screenings, art exhibitions, and photo exhibitions," said
Richard Oh, owner and manager of QB network.

Richard would like to establish an emotional relationship
between buyers and QB that is not confined to a business
transaction. Therefore, QB adopts a membership system. A customer
buying Rp 1 million worth of goods is entitled to a QB membership
card.

Another advantage for QB members is that he or she receives
weekly reports about new books and upcoming QB events and
activities. If you have a QB membership card, you can use it as a
discount card at 30 places around town including restaurants,
cafes, hotels and other places. The annual membership fee is a
mere Rp 50,000 (about US$5).

Winfred Hutabarat established a similar network of bookshops
under the name of Aksara. Aksara also accommodates
non-bookworms and that's why you can also find non-book products
like audio CDs, design objects, gift items and souvenirs in their
bookstore. With its browser-friendly concept, you are free to
read without any obligation to buy anything.

Besides Aksara, there are several other bookshops that have
adopted a similar marketing approaches, such as Kinokuniya,
Maruzen and Times. This new concept has certainly worried the old
players. Friendly service and the comfort that new players offer
to customers may easily encourage book lovers to frequent these
bookshops rather than the old ones.

Besides, these new bookshops also offer competitive prices.
QB, for example, can give a discount of up to 20 percent for
best-seller books, twice the amount of conventional bookshops.

With growing competition from the new players, established
bookstore operators like Gramedia and Gunung Agung cannot afford
to relax. In a way, Gramedia has also adopted a one-stop shopping
concept in several of its spacious outlets such as in Matraman,
East Jakarta. The only difference lies in the management pattern.

In the new bookstores, the restaurants or cafes are usually
owned by the bookshop owners, but in the case of Gramedia, the
restaurants or cafes are provided by other companies. Gramedia
leases out the space.

Gramedia, like the new bookshops, also sells non-book items.
Just go to the first floor of the Gramedia bookshop in Matraman.
There you can find many wares including sports equipment, bags,
souvenirs, computer printers and even musical instruments. So, if
you come to this bookshop, you don't necessarily come to buy
books. Perhaps you want to buy a badminton racket or a guitar.

What about Gunung Agung? Established over half a century ago,
Gunung Agung also keeps rejuvenating itself. One of the
strategies that this chain has adopted is to reposition its
target market.

Gunung Agung has 32 outlets in Java and Bali. These bookshops
can be found in shopping malls or as stand-alone stores with
different demographic and target markets.

Every bookshop operated by the bookstore chain has a different
target market. Gunung Agung in Pondok Indah Mall is quite
different from the one in Arion Plaza in terms of the shop and
merchandising concept. Both are located in Jakarta but their
target markets are quite different.

Gunung Agung in Pondok Indah Mall targets children, teenagers
and young professionals as its main buyers while Gunung Agung in
Arion Plaza targets office workers.

Once these people have a good image about Gunung Agung, they
will frequent the bookshop even when they become adolescents and
have their own children later. Once an emotional tie is
established between Gunung Agung and people, the hope is that
they will also take their family members to shop there.

Gunung Agung has worked hard to change its image as a serious
bookstore and tries to make itself appear welcoming for their
target market. That's why this bookshop has carried out various
attractive promotional programs such as book discussions, author
book signings, story-telling, and product demos. It also offers
competitive prices.

In addition, Gunung Agung has also improved its service to its
customers. The bookstore not only shows hospitality to its
visitors but it also sells quality goods and provides comfort
inside. Other things that this bookstore has done is to display
its wares correctly, arranging merchandising in such a way that
they create an attractive visual effect.

All these different marketing models are but competitive
efforts to pamper consumers. It is the only way that bookshops
can stay relevant and thus survive.