Martin Lindstrom Consultation Inspires Changes at Avid Bookshop

Following a Skype consultation with author and brand-building expert Martin Lindstrom, the staff at Avid Bookshop, in Athens, Georgia, made changes in the interior and exterior of the store that have resulted in a boost in sales and many compliments from customers.

Lindstrom, author of Small Data: The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends (St. Martin’s Press), awarded the consultation to Avid Bookshop as part of a social media challenge issued during his keynote presentation at Winter Institute 11. In February, Avid owner Janet Geddis sat down for a video chat with Lindstrom, who identified several areas of the store in need of attention.

Looking at the exterior of the shop, which is housed in a small brick building on a historic block with a classic hanging bookstore sign outside, Lindstrom realized right away that passersby might assume the store focused on used books. “Martin noted that, standing outside the front entrance of the shop, there was nothing obvious to show him that the bookstore contains fresh, new items for sale,” said Geddis.

To freshen the shop’s appearance outside, staff removed decals from the double doors at both entrances and thoroughly cleaned the windows. “It was amazing how crisp the entrances looked and how much brighter the store got,” said Geddis.

The store also now has a plan to change the writing on the sandwich board outside on a daily basis. “Changing the sign daily keeps pedestrians on their toes and reiterates the idea that there’s always something new and fresh at Avid,” Geddis added.

With Lindstrom’s encouragement to make better use of adjacencies — related book and non-book items shelved together to capture add-on sales — Avid’s sidelines buyer has taught staff how to merchandise more effectively, how to understand customers’ sight lines, and how to pair books with gift items on shelves and table displays.

Another area of concern was the staleness of in-store displays and decorations, including posters that were curling at the edges or T-shirt displays that looked disheveled. To freshen the store’s interior space, staff removed unnecessary posters and moved the T-shirts from behind the cash wrap to a more eye-catching location.

Lindstrom also suggested redesigning the layout of the store to create a clear path through the shop to ensure customers see all the important displays and featured shelves. The mobile shelves in the front room have since been rearranged, and tape on the floor outlines where furniture should be put back if items are moved for an event.

A table in the center of the room now serves as a focal point when customers walk in, a shift of just a few feet, said Geddis, that has resulted in increased sales from that display.

“Just yesterday I overheard a first-time customer, who’d been in the store for nearly five minutes and hadn’t gotten more than a few feet into the shop, exclaim excitedly, ‘I can’t get past this front table!’” said Geddis, who has heard from other customers how fresh and open the store feels with the new layout.

For Geddis, the consultation with Lindstrom was helpful and inspiring, she said, but he certainly didn’t shy away from criticism. “He had a lot of love for Avid and complimented me on things we were doing well, but much of what he talked to me about was definitely tough love.”

Prior to the call, Geddis provided Lindstrom and his team with dozens of photos of the bookstore for review. “I resisted the urge to change anything before the photo shoot that would make the shop look better — tidying up beforehand or rearranging shelves and displays. I wanted Martin to have a truly accurate depiction of what it’s like to be outside the store and then what it’s like to walk around in it,” said Geddis. She also supplied marketing files, including fliers, promotional bookmarks, and stickers, as well as links to the store’s social media pages.

“Many of his ideas were things that I or my intrepid staff members had mentioned now and again as areas for improvement, but for whatever reason I just hadn’t made the move to fix the issues,” said Geddis, but the consultation has really inspired her and the staff to take action. “My team was really invigorated by my conversation with Martin, and it brought up a lot of good topics.”

Taking the advice of Lindstrom’s team, Geddis recorded the Skype call so she and staff members can refer back to it as needed. Geddis said that the store staff will revisit the conversation as a group again soon to evaluate the effectiveness of the changes that have already taken place and to see if there are any others to implement.

“So far we are really happy with the results of our updates, and customers seem quite happy as well,” said Geddis. Sales for the period following the consultation are up over the same period as last year, and staff is hearing positive feedback from customers. “People seem to be finding what they need more easily and we hear a lot of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ as people discover books and gifts that delight them.”