Swiss booksellers make only limited use of the web for marketing
Nowadays, booksellers also rely on online stores or social networks. For the little ones in the store, however, personal customer contact is more important.
"Almost all of our members have their own website," says Dani Landolf, Managing Director of the Swiss Booksellers and Publishers Association (SBVV), when asked by the SDA news agency. It sounds similar from French-speaking Switzerland: all members have a website, says Jacques Scherrer, Secretary General of the Association of Booksellers and Publishers of Western Switzerland (ASDEL). However, not all booksellers have an online store on their website. Landolf estimates that around half of SBCA members have one. No estimates are available from French-speaking Switzerland.
The reason for the reluctance of online sales outlets: The high costs. "Independent booksellers are small businesses with low turnover and little margin. They don't always have the money to develop an online store," explains Scherrer from French-speaking Switzerland, and Landolf regrets that there is no standard solution for bookshops.
Second shop window
One of the bookshops that has a website but no online store is the Zytglogge bookshop in Bern. "An online sales outlet is not necessary," says owner Gabriela Bader on request. Many customers order their books by email or telephone - Bader estimates that ten to 20 orders are received in this way every day. An online store would only involve costs and would not bring any added value. She doesn't have a newsletter or anything similar, "our customers don't want that" - and Bader doesn't use the bookshop's Facebook account so much to give book tips.
Instead, she uses this channel to draw attention to events, in-store projects or articles on the subject. "We are an extremely small bookshop; we work through direct contact with customers," she explains, who - as she says - knows almost all of her customers personally. Nowadays, direct contact is more in demand again, she believes, "even among young people."
Strengthen existing customer base
Jacques Houssay, one of the six managing directors of Libraire du Boulevard in Carouge GE, makes a similar point. For him, the Internet is just another tool that can strengthen an existing foundation. "If a bookshop doesn't have a strong identity and customer base, then the internet can't build this for them either," says Houssay, who has been a bookseller for 40 years. "Nothing replaces direct contact with people."
Barbara Schädler from the Vetter bookshop in Basel's Spalenvorstadt district also says that the website appeals to existing customers. "Customers check the website to see what new works we have on offer - or they want to order a book." Of course, they also hope to attract new customers. This bookshop does have an online store and subject lists where interested parties can sign up and be contacted about new releases. However, it does not have a Facebook account. "We're probably a bit old-fashioned in that respect," said Barbara Schädler. (Delphine Gasche/SDA)
