Selling the invisible
Books as a communication tool
by Don Domonkos

Selling the invisible is difficult - and yet companies are increasingly discovering that what their customers value most is not physical products or even services, but intangibles, such as insight into their situation, a trustworthy partnership, values they can admire or ambitions they can share.

Hold me, smell me, read me
But how do you market these? One way is to make them tangible - for example, in the form of a printed book. Yes, a good old-fashioned book! It may seem counter-intuitive, but, unlike digital media, a book has the advantage that it can be held in the hand, smelled, browsed and admired. It can grace a coffee table, desk or shelf for a long time. All that time, it stands as a reminder, a physical icon of an abstract quality that the customer values, and a branded object with more presence than any website, DVD or e-book.

Communicating abstract value
That explains why many companies are now turning to books to communicate the abstract value they offer to clients and partners: thought leadership through their understanding of trends and developments, authenticity through their heritage, responsibility through their sustainability credentials, or the power to inspire by creating an aura of luxury or excitement around their products or services.

A variety of forms
We've recently been involved in creating a number of such books - each of them quite different. One, a book of itineraries for the Eurail Group, aims to inspire travellers to live out their dreams and undertake new, exciting journeys (using one of the company's passes, of course!). Another is a corporate history for the shipping supply company B&S, demonstrating to customers, suppliers and employees its long and proud journey towards becoming the unified company it is today. Others have included a book on classic drama, showing Accenture's commitment to sponsorship of the arts, and a volume for Deloitte that demonstrates its thought leadership in financial management and corporate governance.

Before you start - some practical tips
So what do you need to consider when thinking about producing a book? Here are just a few tips:

1. Define your aims. Decide on the audience(s) you want to address (customers, suppliers, consumers, etc.), and what you'd like them to do after looking at (and preferably reading) your book. Do you want them to be impressed by your expertise and call you for an appointment? Do you want them to think of your company differently? Do you want them to experience your brand in a particular way? Whatever it is, make sure your content is geared to that end, and that the tone of voice is appropriate to both the audience and your company.

2. Imagine the finished product. Decide what you want the book to look like. A glossy coffee-table book, with a lot of emotive pictures and not much text? A more serious book, with black-and-white photos and some 'real' reading inside? Or a colourful 'fun' book, with a very human face? It will depend on your target group - and your budget.

3. Involve the right people. Make sure all key stakeholders are involved from the start and are represented on an editorial board. That way, you'll have their buy-in. If you don't involve them till later, they may raise issues that have already been settled, or require changes in work that's already been done. And that can soon put a strain on the budget and the timetable.

4. Put someone in charge. Appoint an editor-in-chief to have the final say on what can and cannot go in - at the end of the day, someone has to take decisions when the Editorial Board can't agree. Remember the proverb: "Too many chiefs and not enough Indians!"

5. Be realistic. Making a book requires that you dedicate time, effort and budget. And in order to stay within the parameters you've set, it's necessary to plan carefully. Involve designers and writers right from the start: they can give valuable insight into fine-tuning the concept, and give a clear idea of how much time and money will be involved in creating what you want. Although work on the design concept can start almost straightaway, it's best to get most of the text finished and approved before the detailed design work begins.

Finally, throughout the project, it's important not to forget why you chose to produce a book in the first place: to create an effective, tangible and enduring way of conveying your story - and the invisible value you offer.

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