We live in a digital age. No longer is it appropriate to rely on clever TV adverts or a book signing event in order to generate the necessary interest for a newly published book.
Publishers have to learn how to market their books and other products to an audience that is digitally and socially aware.
Historically this has meant using tech vendors to create and manage marketing campaigns.
Surprisingly the sale of traditional books is starting to rise again; but this isn’t enough to keep publishers happy. Put simply the power of social media and other digital marketing campaigns has the capability of dramatically increasing sales.
In the process a large amount of profit can be made; which the publishers want a slice of.
The only successful way to achieve this as a publisher is to become more like a tech vendor.
What Is a Tech Vendor?
A tech vendor is simply someone that sells products via digital marketing. They will invest time and money in building social media campaigns and creating digital opportunities. The result is they are in an excellent position to create sales.
Usually these sales are of someone else’s product; they simply make a mark-up to make their profit and make being a tech vendor viable.
Unfortunately this means that there interest s in the sale and not the product. There are many techniques that can be used to sell a product; but not all are designed to represent the product fairly.
This can then lead to issues regarding customer satisfaction and future sales.
The result is the publisher suffers; not the tech vendor.
The Solution
Increasingly publishers are seeing the only solution to this issue is that they become the tech vendor as well as the publisher.
This does mean a learning curve on their part to create the right environment that will encourage people to buy a specific book.
The publishers can then ensure the books are represented accurately and the sales are genuine; happy customers dramatically increase the chance of future repeat sales.
To become a tech vendor publishers need to:
Understand The Data
The first step is to use Google data studio templates to understand the reports digital marketing campaigns generate. A good data template will allow you to understand the success of different campaigns and choose where to direct your efforts in the future.
Understand The Target Audience
The younger generation is generally more interested in marketing via digital means. If the book is targeting older readers the campaign will need to be adjusted according to the best way to connect with them.
You must understand your audience before you can start being a tech vendor.
Get A Database
The last thing you want to do is hound the same potential customer 10 times in one week. You need a customer management database in order to track those you have targeted and those you are going to. This will help to ensure that each market segment gets the right campaign to draw them towards a sale.
Remember, the most important factor is understanding your audience; the rest can be built from there. Publishers may be intentionally becoming like tech vendors, but this is driven by a need to maintain profits and their reputation.
