capitalizing on a good book

imagine how this must sound in a staff meeting: “the lord is my product; there is nothing i shall want.” what is seemingly at odds here is the intersection of religion and commerce as it relates to the large number of and variations of bibles sold in the marketplace each year.

strangely enough, i stumbled across of all things – a bible store – recently when shopping at the outlets nearby. mam and i joked about its close proximity to the nine west store where we were heading.

“close enough,” he said, “that he expected its customers to be the husbands of the shoe-shopping wives next door praying to avoid bankruptcy.” (my brave, dear husband preferred to do battle against the evils of nine west directly – by pouting in the aisle, watching me hunt for and try on new boots.) so when cindy crosby’s article “not your mother’s bible” in the october 30, 2006 edition of publishers weekly came across my radar, well, i knew well enough to acknowledge divine inspiration when it presents itself.

in today’s marketplace, the same mentality that gives rise to many different pairs of brown boots available at nine west exists for bibles sales as well. while a relatively stable market exists for bible sales, selling the “good book” may be more difficult than one would think. as the article points out, in most cases, the very people who are buying bibles already own between three and 10 copies. (note to self: must remember this argument for next shoe-shopping excursion.) how can an industry expect sustainable margins from sales on a product that people already own? while content will be the same in most cases, the key differentials between bible a at home and bible b on the shelf will be two of the four p’s of marketing lingo – packaging and positioning.

but it’s not as simple as changing the color or heel height of its current product to focus consumer attention on the new product. as the ms. crosby notes in the article, there are pratfalls lurking in this market: “wrapping your arms around this market is like hugging an 800-pound gorilla – it’s huge, it’s intimidating, and it can turn on you.” publishers must handle with sensitivity any changes to what some consider “a life manual divinely inspired by god” to avoid alienating its core audience. when changes are made to the bible’s format, you will find changes to be lumped under one of four main categories: 1) readability, 2) portability, 3) usability, and 4) attractiveness.

by focusing on these areas, publishers have brought to market bibles with additional commentary for better understanding of the text, waterproof and pocket-sized versions as well as a host of other colors and cover styles. pink faux leather bible with matching prayer beads, anyone?

but as any good marketer realizes, even with a divine “product” and audience-approved packaging and positioning, price is still a factor. for publishers, this most often means outsourcing production to keep already slim margins from disappearing like meatless fridays after vatican ii. another oddity mentioned as specific to the bible industry in the article is the missionary angle of spreading the good news. one publisher mentioned donating nearly 26 million copies in 2004, a factor that surely impacts the bottom line. (what, you thought those bibles found in hotel nightstands just appeared there magically?)

but despite all of its possible pitfalls, publishers who heed the call to makeover the bible for consumer consumption have realized steady sales. while readership is generally nudging lower each year, the number of people professing to read the bible is growing with latest figures noting about 96% of evangelical christians admit to having read the bible in the last seven days. (what's scarier - the fact most people don't read daily newspapers anymore to keep abreast of current events or the fact that they read a book written 2000 years ago at least once a week?)

with a readership this large, capitalism is happily answering the call of christianity by offering a diverse product lineup designed to fit every shape and color. just like the two new pairs of brown boots i scored that fit over my fat calves. hallelujah!