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Print music is a difficult and complicated category and discussions about “ downsizing ” or “ streamlining ” or “ vendor optimization ” or even “ exit strategies ” are most likely going to be met with resistance from print music managers . This isn ’ t just an emotional resistance to change , but an instinctive attempt to protect their print music department and those loyal customers who rely on it . We ’ re proud of the work we do and we know how fragile it can be . At the same time , however , we need to understand these profitability measurements and how to act on this data if we want our print departments to stay alive and well . It ’ s not enough to just , hopefully , sell a little more print music than you did last year ; you have to do it profitably .
This means making some category management strategy changes that are going to feel like steps in the wrong direction . Reducing your inventory to the proper level to support your sales goals and changing the footprint of some , or all , of your print music department are two steps “ backward ” that are going to feel wrong , but are the right actions to take in order to get your print business moving in the right direction again .
CMT : The summary for your session mentions that if terms like “ inventory turn ” and “ GMORI ” have become the main themes of your print department , that ’ s when it ’ s time to work towards your sprint forward . Can you start by explaining why basing your approach on things like inventory turn may not be ideal for a healthy and prosperous print department ?
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EW : “ Turn ” is not the enemy . I think as an industry we ’ ve accepted a turn of 2.0 as an attainable goal for print music and as a new industry standard . That number is important ; however , print music is complicated . As long as we ’ re calculating turn at the category level , it can be a very useful management tool ; however , if we start evaluating turn at the SKU or item level , we have to be very careful to recognize all of those SKU relationships that exist , and evaluate those items within a larger SKU group . So many print items are part of series or system and have a measurable effect on the sales of the other items in that series or system . We need to evaluate those series and systems as single units , not as individual titles . If we are trying to manage turn at the item level , without looking at SKU relationships , then we ’ re going to be stocking a lot of band methods without bassoon books and a lot of piano methods without level four books , and we ’ re going to start losing sales and customers instead of moving forward .
Remember , too , that being overstocked on items that sell well is going to hurt your turn number as much as having too much invested in items that aren ’ t selling well . The turn number can be a red flag about changing the way you are doing your print music purchasing .
CMT : Related to the first question , in what ways does the print department differ from others in the store in terms of your approach to merchandising , promotions , etc .?
EW : Print Music has the broadest appeal of any product category in your store – students and teachers , casual players and professionals , occasional customers and regulars … Print music is for everyone , so it ’ s important to build a “ something
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for everyone ” approach into not only your events and promotions , but also to the merchandising of your print department . Have point-of-purchase , impulse displays of popular titles for those customers who don ’ t have time to browse the whole department , for example .
CMT : Can you share one or two of the tips on merchandising , assortment planning , and promotions that you ’ ll be presenting during your session ?
EW : I ’ ve done a couple of presentations for RPMDA about visual merchandising and planograms over the years and I ’ ll touch on those subjects again this year . I ’ ll also be discussing some strategies for merchandising in a smaller space with fewer fixtures . For example , a half-empty fixture creates more of a negative perception than having one less fixture does . I ’ ll also be reviewing creating displays that are merchandised by “ brand ” – Disney ’ s Coco , for example – versus merchandising by genre or arrangement , in order to build on that brand ’ s perceived popularity and increase sales of all of the items within that brand .
I ’ ll also be talking about working with publishers and vendors to create new and promotional items in order to attract new customers , like the colouring books we developed with Santorella Publications or the songbook and CD packs for current popular titles – The Greatest Showman , Imagine Dragons , and Taylor Swift – that we ’ ve created with the help of Hal Leonard and Baker & Taylor .
10 THINGS YOU CAN DO NOW TO IMPROVE YOUR
SOCIAL MEDIA
Cristina D ’ Alessandro , Cosmo Music & Alex Ordonez , Alfred Music
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CRISTINA D ’ ALESSANDRO
CMT : First off , which of the current crop of popular social media platforms would you say are most integral for music retailers ?
Cristina D ’ Alessandro : The top three platforms that music retailers would find integral to their business are , without a doubt , Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . There is no need to reinvent the wheel here . These platforms have dominated the industry for years and are successful for a reason . Facebook gives retailers the opportunity to listen to the voice of their customers . Through features like reviews , star-ratings , and public posts , you can easily view your customers ’ feedback and make smart choices for the growth of your business . Twitter is a great place to find conversations and connections that are already happening in the industry . Mixing trending topics , hashtags , and retweets with your own individual content can bring online customer engagement to the next level . Instagram ’ s unique photo and video environment gives retailers a chance to put a “ face to the brand .” Staff members , affiliated artists , and even customers can provide photo and video content that deepens the connection between you and your customer base . Often , product itself can be the star that gets that next “ like ”!
CMT : Are there any on-therise platforms that you think are well suited to helping music retailers that they should be checking out ?
CD : The advice that Alex [ Ordonez , co-presenter ] always likes to share , and really , the advice that every business owner should hear with regards to social media , is to just “ keep it
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22 • CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE |