The Supreme Insult to Me From Jeff Bezos
Marketing stupidity on the grandest scale
June 2008 By Denny Hatch
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In the News
Is Kindle the iPod of e-books?LOS ANGELES — Is the Kindle about to catch fire? Could Amazon.com’s seven-month-old wireless e-book reader—a rectangular wonder in antique iPod white, able to download any of 125,000 books adapted to its format—be the tipping point that marks the decline and fall of the paper book? If those two questions continue to dominate techno-talk in the book-publishing industry, it’s because book folk, being weaker in gizmo-related prognostication than, say, the devotees of a consumer electronics show, aren’t sure. But earlier this month here at Book Expo America, the yearly meeting of the American publishing business, they ran into one man who seems absolutely sure: Jeff Bezos, founder and master marketer of Amazon, at his showcase turn before more than 600 attendees at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
—Carlin Romano, book critic, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 10, 2008
Very good, balanced article on the Kindle. I’m an unabashed enthusiast, and would sooner go somewhere without my credit card than my Kindle. The reason I got it is because I’m very, very tired of lugging something like 60 pounds of books on the three- or four-month cruises we take every winter. It does solve that problem with style. On a daily basis, the wonder of the little devil is being able to order a book and watch it appear on my screen about a minute later. I’m up to something like 50 books and counting. It’s a great device. Love it, love it, love it.
Alas, Carlin Romano’s line about “book folk being weaker in gizmo-related prognostication” applies directly to me.
My Kindle arrived last week, and, in a word, Amazon’s fulfillment stinks.
The Box
In the Amazon.com carton was a fat, handsome, book-like cardboard package with two compartments secured by an elasticized fastener hooked around a metal stud. The design of this elegant, ivory-colored package is amusing, with a confetti-like explosion of little black letters that fall into place and spell the world “Kindle.” Cute. Stylish.
Open this book-like package and the Kindle itself is snugly ensconced on one side with the instruction booklet, power cord, USB cable and book cover on the other.
Below are illustrations of the packaging and the Kindle as it arrived—with a protective glassine sticker that invited me to “Start Kindling” with a simple diagram and instructions on how to power the li’l devil up.
I figured out how to charge the battery and spent some time going through the little 30-page pamphlet to familiarize myself with the various elements of the Kindle machine.
“Remove this Start Kindling sticker,” I was told. This was followed by the line, “The Kindle User’s Guide will open automatically, and lead you through the basics of how to use your Kindle.”
After all the hype and hoopla, which included a razzle-dazzle presentation by Bezos himself the prior week at BookExpo in Los Angeles, I wanted to see if my $359 was a good investment.
Takeaway Points to Consider:
*“To be a successful direct marketer, you must be a conceptual thinker. Like method acting, you have to get inside the head of your prospect and BECOME the prospect. Think how your prospect thinks ... Feel what your prospect feels.”—Lew Smith
* “You must think through the entire sales process. Nothing can be taken for granted at any stage of the relationship, from the clicking onto the Web site or the opening of the envelope to the act of giving the credit card number or putting a check in the mail all the way through to the 10th renewal and beyond.”
—Bob Hacker
* Instant gratification is the key. When a product arrives in the customer’s office or home, it should be immediately usable. The buyer should be able to read it, wear it, plug it in and listen to it, ride it, eat it, sit in it, or hang it on the wall and start enjoying it.
* The dumbest line in any direct marketing offer or fulfillment package is, “Batteries not included.”
* If you go through your business career assuming every customer is a bandit out to screw you, you are in a heap of trouble.
* If your very best in-house copywriter—or freelancer—is not writing your transmittal letters and product instructions, as well as renewal and billing series, your business is being hurt.
* If bean counters, fulfillment clerks and/or newbies are making key marketing and policy decisions, stop the practice at once.
* A premium offer should be tested, as it may well beat a non-premium offer.
* If one premium works, try two.
* Old L.L. Bean once said that he did not consider a sale complete until the merchandise had worn out and the customer was still satisfied.
“The sale begins when the customer says yes.”
—Bill Christensen
Web Sites Related to Today's Edition:
“Is Kindle the iPod of e-Books,” Philadelphia Inquirerhttp://tinyurl.com/4lvg66
Kindle on Amazon.com
http://tinyurl.com/2j4bcl
Companies Mentioned:
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