ENTRIES TAGGED "customers"

Are we solving customer problems?

Customers only care about their needs, not your business problems

This article contains my personal views, not those of my employer Lonely Planet.

The challenge the publishing industry faces today is complex. Against centuries of industry inertia and decades of business momentum, the job of transforming publishing is demanding to say the least. The healthy and long-lasting business model we once had is still funding emerging digital models but simultaneously holding them back.

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The sorry state of ebook samples, and four ways to improve them

A good ebook sample can turn a browser into a buyer.

Joe Wikert: "My gut tells me the revenue missed by not converting samples into sales is a much larger figure than the revenue lost to piracy. And yet, the publishing industry spends a small fortune every year in DRM but treats samples as an afterthought."

The paperless book

The paperless book

The problem for publishers is that customers don't know what a book is anymore.

The publishing world needs some new language that describes what happens and, more importantly, what is possible when the words are separated from the paper.

How Twitter helps a small bookstore thrive

How Twitter helps a small bookstore thrive

Omnivore Books follows a simple Twitter rule: 1/3 personal, 2/3 professional.

Learn how Omnivore Books, a cookbook store in San Francisco, uses Twitter to solidify relationships with customers and break through the publisher blockade.

Ebook refunds and absolute satisfaction

Why no-questions-asked ebook refund policies work.

Joe Wikert says if you trust your customers with a generous ebook returns policy, they'll pay you back with loyalty and future business.

Ebook pricing power is undermined by perceived value

Wide ranging ebook pricing and deep print book discounts leave consumers scratching their heads.

BizBookLab owner Todd Sattersten discusses the issues surrounding ebook pricing and perceived value, and he suggests it might be time to bring back the serial novel.