Stayin' Alive

By Glen Gardner/ Marketing Consultant

Do you have any idea what the #5 album in the country is right now
according to Billboard? Here's a clue: It's not K$sha, Taylor Swift or
Katy Perry. According to Billboard, the fifth best-selling album in the
nation is the Bee Gees "Number Ones" at about 32,000 units.

Thinking this to be a bit odd, I dug a little deeper to find out why a
band with only one surviving member and an album released before Moses
was a kid saw a 3,000 percent sales increase in the last charting period.

It turns out the reason is a little outfit called Amazon. If there was
every any doubt that Amazon has done a great job of dominating the
retail landscape, Billboard provided a pretty good lesson last week.
Amazon priced the 2004 offering from the brothers Gibb at 99 cents for
three days during the reporting period. That accounted for virtually all
of the 3,000 percent sales increase.

Next time you consider your competition, don't forget to include Amazon.
The recent problems that electronics giant Best Buy is experiencing also
have some roots in the explosion of Amazon. It seems Best Buy has become
Amazon's showroom. Folks head out to Best Buy, touch and feel the
components they are interested in and then order them on Amazon. It will
probably result in Best Buy closing scores of stores and drastically
reducing square footage in the brick and mortar stores that remain.

To survive in this new retail landscape you have to offer your customers
much more than a commodity that they can get on Amazon. You don't want
to become an Amazon showroom. Not only do you have to offer superior
service, but you have to let the potential customer know how you are
truly different. That means a consistent marketing message aimed at
making sure you are staying alive!