Shelf Awareness
"Consumers can't make any decision about whether or not to patronize a business or buy a product until they know it exists. And while Annie Bloom's has been around for 35 years, and currently has a website and a Facebook page and an extensive e-mail list, there is still a vast pool of potential visitors in our area who don't know about us.
"That fact is the motivation for publicity efforts that are now part of my daily routine. What I've learned during the past few years is that even with social media platforms and instant access to all kinds of data banks, word of mouth is still a great marketing tool. Every time I make a personal connection at the grocery store, the bank, post office, or even a parking lot (yes, I do occasionally talk to strangers while walking to my car), I try to mention Annie Bloom's, and in nearly all cases the other person has never heard the name before.... I don't find this trend discouraging in the least. It's not unlike mining for gold."
--Jeffrey Shaffer, writer and a bookseller at Annie Bloom's Books, Portland, Ore., in a post for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association's NW Book Lovers blog.
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