Go Crazy!: Strategies for Independent Bookstores

Go Crazy!

Strategies for Independent Bookstores

Make Book War Ugly Through Deterrence Strategies

Part 12 of the 36-part “Book Wars” series of articles

by David A. Rozansky, Publisher, Flying Pen Press

Readers, Writers & Royalties columnist

May 31, 2009

Copyright 2009 David A. Rozansky

(Note: This is the 12th article in the “Book Wars” series of articles, wherein the author interprets the strategies taught in The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene, and applies them to the business of the independent bookseller, in the arena of the difficult book trade. The first article in this series can be read at http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977657920.)

This series of articles discusses how war strategies can be applied to the book trade for the benefit of the independent bookseller. These war strategies are described in Robert Greene’s The 33 Strategies of War; their application to the book trade is my own interpretation of Greene’s astute studies. In this article, I look at Deterrence Strategies.

Deterrence strategies are perhaps the most efficient defensive strategies available, as their purpose is to prevent one’s enemies from attacking in the first place. The best way to do this is to create a threatening presence, creating the image, real or illusionary, that anyone who attacks you will suffer greatly and be worse off than not attacking at all.

In the world of retailing books, this is the same as preventing your competition from starting a price war, monopolizing the best authors, or stealing employees. If a competitor is a bit nasty and perhaps might even resort to illegal trade practices or vandalism, it becomes even more critical to deter such attacks.

There are two ways to deter tough competition. The first is through apparent strength, the other is through a reputation for vengeance or craziness.

Real strength is one of the simplest deterrents. In business, this means having deep pockets with plenty of cash in reserve—for lawyers, price wars or hostile takeovers. However, such deep pockets actually invite attacks like lawsuits and scams.

Apparent strength is not as easy to create, but when the illusion is believed, it can create the same deterrence, perhaps even more so, as apparent strength is usually a vague level of strength; one’s competitors can’t determine just how strong the strength is, and the ambiguity will make them act more conservatively, unable to commit to certain plans.

Creating apparent strength is a little tricky. It involves keeping the accounting books secreted away, and using the trappings of excess profits to create the illusion of excess profits. Fancy fixtures, sponsoring large events and being liberal with salaries are some of the ways to create the illusion of strength. Of course, these cost real money, and the whole point is to look like there is more money than there really is. A store can go broke trying to look like they have deep pockets. It can be a self-defeating strategy if relied on for too long, and is a temporary strategy at best, perhaps to deter a competitor from moving in down the street.

It is also an ineffective tactic if the competitor is a large corporation or discount store that has millions of dollars at its disposal. It is just not possible to scare the chain stores away with the appearance of strength. In fact, face it, the strategy of deterrence is more in their playbook than it is in yours.

The second strategy is fairly independent of cash on hand or relevant size of the competition. The strategy is that of appearing to be just crazy enough to take the competition down with you should you be attacked. A reputation for vengeance or craziness goes a long way. In war, this is done with an occasional incomprehensible—perhaps reprehensible—violent act. In the world of retail, violence is probably not a useful (or legal) option. But craziness is.

If the competition believes you will give the store away rather than lose a price war, it’s unlikely that competitor will start such a price war. If you seem prepared to start filing outrageous countersuits and charges of anti-trust violations, unfair competitive tactics are less likely to be used against you.

Of course, under it all, you are really cool and calm. It is only that you appear to be emotional. Others perceive you as chaotic and out of control, and because they cannot predict what you might do, they tend to tiptoe around you, trying not to be the target of your ire.

It takes a little work to create this illusion. To appear chaotic, one must occasionally, and unpredictably, act a little crazy. Do something that the competition will not understand, perhaps in response to something mostly harmless that they have done.

Here are some examples:

The competition puts a bestselling book on sale for 20% off. Not unnatural. But to appear to be crazy, you can call up the other store, rant that they are destroying the market, that they are being totally unfair, and that you will “show them.” Then start giving that same book away for free, with a large sign out front and a call in to a popular talk show. This radical response to a simple discount will throw the competition off balance.

Another tactic, often useful against larger chains, is to make it look like you are readying a major anti-trust lawsuit or a political charge at changing zoning laws to the detriment of the large competitor. At the slightest threat of legal trouble, the manager of the big chain store down the street will immediately call the home office and giant law firms will be engaged. The staff of the chain store will then be hampered with all sorts of rules while you can simply call off the lawsuit, saying that it was all simply an idea you were floating…and of course, you never actually said anything about taking legal action, it must have been their “imagination.”

If you are attending a regional booksellers association trade show, it is possible to begin ranting and raving—perhaps at an employee (who may or may not be in on the playacting), perhaps at a competitor who deserves it. If it is not practical to verbally attack anyone at the convention, start a screaming rant against some unidentified vendor or publisher. This temper tantrum should be visible, and should have dangerous undertones that you are ready to take action that will negatively affect everyone. The sales reps who see the rant will make sure that those who are not present also hear about it.

A more subtle way to create a deterrence is to take a big risk and act confidently when doing so, as if you have the resources to back up your big gamble. Bold moves generate respect and worry.

If a competitive threat is imminent, reverse the tables by doing something bold. If a large chain store is about to open down the street, it may be time to move to the storefront immediately next door to their future location.

If you are using this concept of the preemptive strike, be ready to back off if the competitor fights back, then strike again later when least expected. It is important to make your marketing hit the competition where it will hurt the most. If every time they begin to threaten your market they suffer a pre-emptive counterstrike, they will quickly learn to not threaten your market. This may seem overly aggressive, but really, you only need to make the competition suffer a little pain, perhaps losing sales for a day or a week, to drive the point home, so long as everyone gets the message that perhaps you are capable of a lot worse.

Some competitors are naturally paranoid, and it is possible to play on this without ever firing a single shot or ever offering a deep sale. Just let them “discover” some fact that makes them think you are ready to launch an effective marketing attack. Chances are, they will overplay their defenses and prematurely unleash their own secret plans, making them clear to you for a proper counteroffensive. This can almost be entertaining, as the more secretive and mysterious you are, the more the paranoia will erode their own business, without ever actually having to do anything.

Like any reputation, a reputation for craziness takes years to mold, and must be undertaken with complete consistency. Let on that it is only an act, and all your efforts will be for naught and you will become an easier target, not a harder one.

Ultimately, what makes deterrence tactics work is the uncertainty principle—people are afraid to act when they are unsure of the consequences. By being unpredictable and irrational in your responses, you increase the level of uncertainty in the minds of those who would wish you harm. In their minds, it becomes more profitable to leave your store alone.

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This is just one article in David A. Rozansky’s column, Readers, Writers & Royalties, a blog column about the book trade, from writing and publishing, to selling and reading. This series of articles—“Book Wars”—is an interpretation of the strategies listed in Robert Greene’s The 33 Strategies of War, as they apply to the independent bookseller. The next installment of this column will look at Non-Engagement strategies, the strategy of turning the other cheek.

Readers may find archived articles or subscribe to Readers, Writers & Royalties at www.ReadWriteRoyalty.Gather.com. Subscribe to all of Mr. Rozansky’s articles at www.FlyingPenPress.Gather.com.

David A. Rozansky is the publisher of Flying Pen Press. He has been in publishing since 1987, and has more than one million published words under his byline. Flying Pen Press is at http://www.FlyingPenPress.com. He is available for speaking on the subject of writing magazine articles, public relations, marketing and book-length material.

The book mentioned in this article is The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene (Penguin Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-14-311278-5, trade ppb, $18.00).