John Helmus BEA BISG

Sales Data Analysis for Publishers: 

Sales Data Analysis for Publishers John Helmus BEA Chicago

Slide2: 

Using and Analyzing Data = Creating a Competitive Advantage

Where do we use the data predominantly?: 

Where do we use the data predominantly? Executive reviews Publishing/editorial teams Sales Marketing/Publicity

Types of data being used: 

Types of data being used Purchasing/returns data Internal data sources Point of Sale data Bookscan/Other aggregators Directly from accounts/wholesalers Market research data

Purchasing Data: 

Purchasing Data Allows a publisher to review sales activity in real time and by product line/imprint within the publishing house Impact of promotional offers to the channel

Returns data: 

Returns data Nobody likes returns, but reviewing this can help a publisher to see trends, especially at the retailer level early SKU reduction Category shifts

POS Data-Benefits: 

POS Data-Benefits Real time tracking of title sales in channel Helps reprint/first print determinations Reviewing run rates Seasonality For example, Tax books sell when? Category/market share trends Format/price point trends Competition Using Bookscan data

Sample reports: 

Sample reports

Weekly Account Title Tracking (sample data): 

Weekly Account Title Tracking (sample data)

Publisher Market Share (sample data): 

Publisher Market Share (sample data) 5/22/2004 5/15/2004 Total XXX Unit Sales 143,000 143,000 Total Wiley XXX Unit Sales 33,054 33,423 Wiley % of Overall XXX Unit Sales 23% 23% # of Wiley XXX Titles Sold 1,280 1,309 Top 750 XXX Units Sold by All Publishers 80,087 80,645 Top 750 Titles Represent % of Total XXX Market 56% 56% Total Wiley XXX Unit Sales in Top 750 22,188 22,526 Wiley % of Units Sold in XXX Top 750 28% 28% # of Wiley Titles in XXX Top 750 198 200 Wiley % of Titles in XXX Top 750 26% 26%

Industry perf. v. Wiley (Source: Bookscan): 

Industry perf. v. Wiley (Source: Bookscan)

Other POS Reports include: 

Other POS Reports include Category share—BISAC Codes How do we fit compared to the others Price point analysis Are we pricing competitively? Promotions analysis Are our promotions successful at retail? Cooperative Advertising ROI Is our money being well spent?

Other POS Reports include: 

Other POS Reports include Backlist review tools for retailers Compare retailers supply/demand Examples Borders v. B&N Office Depot v. Staples Gauge success of marketing plans Selection of tour cities—author/category How is our advertising working? How well is our publicity generating sales? Reviewing Market share over time for key subjects that we publish into

Other POS reports:: 

Other POS reports: Reviewing title selection and that of our competition: How many titles are in the market on a particular subject/category? How well do they sell? Where did they sell (I.e., online v. mass v. traditional retail)?

Market Research Data: 

Market Research Data For Dummies Cliffs Notes Frommers

Market Research Data: 

Market Research Data Brand Satisfaction/Awareness Purchases/Repeat Purchases Learn about Brand Equities-what means most to the consumers

Market Research Data: 

Market Research Data Can help determine Packaging Pricing Content Where they are buying books (new/used/reading at library) Demographics

Challenges: 

Challenges So much data, so little time Data flow inconsistent from some accounts Not much specific data from independent stores/accounts buying via wholesalers Not much information from College accounts Managing interpretations internally Used books Getting global cuts across the data Getting the retailers to act on the analysis

Conclusions: 

Conclusions Publishers should make use of as much data as they can get access to Access should not be limited to one part of the organization, but rather available to as many parts of the organization as can be managed The more that you can analyze your business and your customers, the better you will understand them and compete effectively Share your findings with your customers in order to make sure that they benefit from your analysis and SELL MORE OF YOUR BOOKS!

Questions?: 

Questions?