Aiming Frustrations

There seems to be a growing unrest among America’s bibliophiles. And they seem to have voiced their message very clearly; we want e-books.

Now the growing challenge for publishers like Harper Collins is to reconcile this increased demand with an eye for maintaining profitability.

It is no secret that the jury is still out on whether e-books are a blessing or a curse for the publishing industry. On the surface, it seems like a godsend; increasing general interest and convenience in reading while dropping printing-related costs. The dilemma, however, is in the distribution. The nationally dominant book sellers Amazon and Barnes and Noble (and, in a few months, Apple) are involved in their own increasingly heated competition to sell their e-book readers and, subsequently, their own digitally unique versions of e-books. It is this battle that is hurting the business of the publishing companies. As each company jockeys for market position, their demands for low-cost content becomes more and more unreasonable.

Unfortunately, this reluctance to abandon profitability is increasingly being perceived as publisher’s resistance to changing technology; which is going to be one of the most difficult challenges facing the public relations efforts of Harper Collins in the very near future.

There is already some evidence that the growing impatience of consumers waiting for cheap and abundant content is being blamed on the publishers rather than the distributers. For example, one tweet by user Moriajovan that complained a book she was looking for “had the cover on site, but not in ebook file. That's Harper Collins.” Despite her inability to find her desired e-book on a distributer’s website, she assigned the blame to the publisher.

The challenge of addressing these concerns is one of posturing Harper Collins' brand as one that is on the cutting edge of technology. Some ways to accomplish this is by engaging consumers in honest conversation about what content they would most like to see in e-book format, and then working to meet the needs of the greatest number of people.

Because it is becoming increasingly clear that consumers are pinning their frustrations on publishers, Harper Collins should take this opportunity to posture themselves as a leader in the field by being the most in-tune with consumer demands.