31 st Chennai Book Fair is due on January. Bapasi ,the fair organiser is gearing up for all time High of 530 stalls (above 500).
Bapasi had a general Body meeting regarding this Book air on 10Th November 2007.there were hot debates regarding increasing the stall rent & allocation of Prime stalls/4 stalls.

It ended with win win agreement between organiser & members with following conclusions,

• The stall rents will not be raised
• 4 stalls will be in all rows no exclusive prime stall rows
• organisers can increase the stalls numbers
• Bapasi can use the fund allocated for food for advertisements.

at the end organiser claimed they would require more funds , the funds in Proposed Budget may not be sufficient for organising,But still they were happy as the opposition for 4 stalls /Prime stalls if let for vote would have lost & Put organisers in soup.

members felt happy that their rent is not increased their stall rent they were very happy that their major mental block 4 stalls Are the prime stalls are not in separate row .

whats pathetic is even organisers & Participants (members ) never even bothered to think the convenience & benefit of visitors, they never thought of increasing the audience who come as paid visitor/ Pass Visitor.

Every year all the participants & organisers Hype that there is Increased audience & Increased sale. every one knows the fact there is growth ,is that sufficient?

are we taking steps to increase the sale of exhibitors, than organising & just wearing an organiser badge?

as an organiser are we doing Justice to the participants & Visitors ?

as an exhibitor are we doing fair trade practise?

as an exhibitor am i taking steps to increase the walk ins?

as an exhibitor how do i differentiate from others exhibitor?

do we have exclusivity in each stalls are its a big Book market?

What we need to think is y do pavement Book shops make money out side the exhibition venue ?Answer Is simple he is able to convince the Buyer That he offers More things for less ,Also value for Money

if organisers can translate this Book fairs will be Win win to Both Organiser/Exhibitors & Visitors

lets Dream to make it happen at least in 2008

Publishing companies -marketing activities.
Do publishing companies market Books in India?
Does a Book seller Brief about the Book If being asked?
Do Publishers Give book briefing to Book sellers?
Are Publishers Helping Booksellers to Increase their market share?
these questions make Look different But The answer to All this questions is 'NO'
Except a few Majority of Publisher reps don't have knowledge to explain about the Book,this is Because of lack of product knowledge.Publisher's never even attempt to train their staff.
It is worst in case of STM Publisher's reps promote Books to Highly educated masses (Prof,Researcher's,P.G's).They stand in front of them like courier delivery Boys,Just hand over product information Brochures,Complimentary copies,Inspection copies.Many a times they cant even explain the advantages of their Book over the Competitor's which is a vital factor in deciding the future of the Book.
4P's of marketing
Product
Price
Placement
PromotionBasics of marketing as its said
Do any Publishing company train their Rep's about their Book,Contents, advantages, Pricing,target audience,
Do they take steps to make Books availability?
Do They perform activities to Promote their Books other than sending Brochures & meeting ?
Without even making an effort to do the bare minimum ,Expecting the market to grow by its own is a Crime ,Only Magic can make it happen.
I Find Few publishers who sincerely attempt & Succeed,Jaypee Brothers Is a Classical example of success in Implementing Right & Consistant efforts in Implementing marketing Strategy,This has not only made them leaders in their segment also has gained them International reputation.
In Tamil regional Publisher's SURA Books which is Known for success by School Exhibitions is now Attempting Book Exhibitions In Book stores repliacting The Success of Anuragam-kalaingan pathipagam,Anatha vikadan & NCBH which was poieneer in Mobile Book shops & School Exhibitions.
Attempts Of New Horizon media(KIZHAKKU/Kilakku Pthpigam) to Sell Books to unconvetional Book store audience Needs to be appreciated & rewarded.

Book Sellers Discount structure in India.

The Normal discount structure to Book sellers is based on the category of Books they sell, it varies from 15% to 40% on current titles, Up to 70%-90% on remainders.

Educational text books (Like Dhapathirai publisher's) are offered only 15% to the Book seller's other's like technical publication Pune which sells through Prgathi books offers 25%

In well known Publisher's like TMH,PHI,Pearson etc,Bookseller's get a discount of minimum 30% to 33% ,and even more depending on the quantity & reputation.

Ironically the short discount Inland publisher's books which was selling less earlier started selling more in quantity, As these Books

• are priced at lower end.
• covers the entire syllabus ,
• are written in an simple English.
• helps in exam point of view to score marks

students prefer Inland publishers than renowned publishers books like TMH,PHI, Pearson.

As educational institutes are Mushrooming Increase in Intake has reduced the quality of students,quest for knowledge is vanishing & Thirst for scoring marks is increasing this has resulted in booming the sale of inland publishers.

Non availability of stocks of leading publishers Books (like TMH,Pearson,PHI etc) with the wholesalers during beginning of semester & academic year is also another major reason to support Inland publishers

Mostly these inland Publisher books are Authored by professor of college in a particular area,these books are being recommend by his friends who works in various college in that area as a gesture of friendship .Hence its being felt discount is not necessary as the books directly goes to the college from the author turned publishers,the small discount they offer goes to his friend who recommends & sells the Books in that college.Book seller who has been working with publisher for ages finds no role to play in this new system.

seeing this opportunity even leading Book wholesalers who represent leading publishers contact the college directly to keep themselves fit & alive in this race

Educational Book sales through books store has reduced which resulted in increase in demanding Discount structure on other books (like general books, regional Language books,Management,Fiction,Non Fiction & children's books) which has to depend on Book stores for sales,to meet the overheads of running a bookstore in a competitive environment.

English Books which was sold at 30% discount to bookstores now is being sold at 33-35% and even more based on Volumes & reputation.

regional language books which are Sold at 20%-25% discount is now being sold at a discount of 25%-33% and even more based on volumes & reputation.

Children's books in English are sold at a discount ranging 33%-40% depending on the publishers .

many books are sold on sale or return (consignment ) basis & return & replacement.

credit period to book seller's which was earlier 30-45 days, is now increased to 90-120 days but realisation of payment takes even 10-20days more from leading book stores.

Distributors/wholesaler's who operated before at a gross margins of 10-15% are now reduced to 5%-10% with this reduce in operating margins wholesalers in India who wish leverage on their distribution & liquidation of stocks through their business contacts , turn as publishers by hiring local authors who are being offered a throw away royalty.

With Globalisation Bigger giants doing extremely well in various Industries, Reluctant Publisher's have shown a path to wholesalers who turned as publishers & Author turned publishers to flourish in the market.

its looks fishy on one side the discount structure of leading publishers is being increased, but the sales is not increasing,on the other hand inland publishers discounts are as low as 15% -25% but still their sales grow year after year.

Increase in discount & credit was done only to increase the sale & profits, but its not reflected in our balance sheet. If sales demand is created by publishers, Booksellers will satisfy themselves with the descent margin they are offered.

The key to success lies not in offering more discount & credit days , But In creating demand for your books in Books stores through enquires & sale . Also through ensuring prompt availability of your books in wholesale & through supply in time to book stores.

Increase your sales through walk-in's

The best way to increase your sales is to increase your book sales in retail outlets,It looks simple But whether its easy, all that looks simple is not that easy because all that looks simple has to executed.the best way to increase retail sales is to increase their walk in & enquiries. Increasing the walk in is not that easy a lot of systematic act ivies, campaigns & promotions are required to increase store walk in,Even Bigger stores Do Regular activities to Increase the Walk in of customers,to name a few

• Recently oddessy has promoted an offer of Buy 3 books & get the lowest priced book absolutely free.they do regularly do authors meet.
• Landmark Did its mega Discount sale up to 60%, They also regularly organise author's meet.
• Oxford does book launches,author- readers meet & Discount sale regularly.
  

the above mentioned are very few examples,you have to design your own activity to promote walk ins.
publishers can join hands with Retailers in getting activities done,they can supply their books for exhibitions that are organised by the book stores, offer extra discounts for discounts fair, Book stores can also associate with like minded companies like Pepsi,Coke, Fan ta,Reliance to do promos & campaigns

store walk ins is directly proportional to your growth ,Increase your walk in customer, he is going to be your treasure for your future.Make him feel delighted by your approach & service he will make you feel delighted when you look at your sales figure & Profits.

from next time u meet a small book store owner don't look just only for orders & payments,see how you can help him to sell more , offer a helping hand by talking with your bosses in your company.Update him whats happening around in the market & provide tips that can help him to increase his sales & walk in's.

many times Bigger companies rep's /executives don't respond to small orders they received from small book stores they are not given importance as they are small even if you cant supply directly, guide him from where he can get stocks from.

Remember every a book that sells in Bookstore is contributing for your growth,Your companies growth,Ocean is made of small drops & journey of thousand miles starts with a single step

good luck for your success journey.