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The Importance of Place

Sales of the coastal book we produced for Newcastle University are going extremely well. ‘A year in the life of our north east coast’ is a rich visual celebration of the coastline of north east England, featuring hundreds of images by local residents of all ages. We’ve worked closely with the University for over a year on the project, getting involved in the strategy and the marketing, as well as the design, print and publishing of the book.

Additional outlets have now agreed to stock the book, including Waterstones, Blackwell’s, libraries and tourist information offices, and we are about to organise a second print of the book as the initial run is selling out fast.

From locals to ‘expats’, the response to the book has been most encouraging – when people have seen it their reaction has been: where can I buy a copy? Mostly I have directed them to the online shop.

Widening the number of outlets where the book can be purchased can only further boost sales, and it reminds me of one of the core principles of marketing: the four Ps of Product, Price, Place, Promotion. Get one of these wrong and your marketing campaign is doomed to fail.

Product or brand development, setting the right price and successfully promoting the product are generally given the attention they deserve. Place, however – as in making sure that the product gets to the customer, be it on supermarket shelves, local shops or just available online – is often largely ignored.

But if you don’t make it easy for the customer to purchase your product, you’ll probably lose the sale. If your competitors make it easier to buy an equivalent product from them, then the chances are you’ll miss out on the sale. So much these days is geared to making the user-experience as straightforward as possible – one click to buy, one click to listen, no complicated downloading of the relevant software or having to sign up with a provider just to browse – and this is clearly a good thing. But it does create an imperative to keep it simple for the customer.

Customers no longer have the patience to chase after you and your offering – if you don’t make it easy for them, and certainly if there’s an alternative, they will go elsewhere. So make sure your product has pride of Place.

And if you’re interested in a stunning book to adorn your coffee table, you know where to find it – at more outlets near you than ever before.

Ruth Lunn is Lead Editor at Consilience Media, a creative digital and publishing agency in Whitley Bay, near Newcastle.

www.consil.co.uk

info@consil.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Lunn .