the Christian products landscape were involved in helping to create the Christian Product Code list in an effort to help our industry more collaboratively work together to streamline our supply chain.

The cumulative effect of their work was a very robust product category code list that, to date, has probably been used more by publishers within our industry than retailers. Today, many (not all) publishers are including various forms of the CPC codes on their books in an effort to help stores more effectively merchandise their product. CPC codes are broken into three distinct sections: Super Category, Primary Category, and Sub-Cate-gory (for example, Christian Living/Practical Life/Personal Finance).

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE

You might be asking, “Why do we have two lists, one for Christian books and another for the rest of the books published across the globe?” That’s a great question and it’s the reason why over the last couple of years the CPSG has set about the task of rolling the existing CPC codes into the more widely accepted BISAC codes. This work is seminal, in that it will greatly enhance our industry to track the movement of Christian books around the globe as compared with all other types of books, thus giving us a greater grasp of how effective we’ve been in our mission, and helping us to plan for the future.

Why do I find it necessary to give you this history lesson? Because it’s vitally important, in numerous ways, that your store has a solid plan in place which ties product codes to merchandising. Why, you ask? Let me list the ways.

HERDING SHEEP…I MEAN CUSTOMERS

When designing the store I managed, the store designer said something that will forever stick in my mind. He said, “Customers are like sheep, they’ll go wherever you direct them.” Of course, from a Christian worldview we can see the double meaning in the first part of that statement. He was specifically referring to the store layout, but I think the same holds true in reference to your store’s category and department signs.

When designing that same store, I had spent years in an existing location where I often thought about how I’d lay out the shelves, categories, and departments if I had a blank slate with which to work. Now was my chance. I took the Christian Product Category list and a highlighter and highlighted those categories that most closely represented my store’s book and Bible mix.

The Official Magazine of CBA

Next, I went to “slicing and dicing,” determining which categories were substantial enough to warrant sufficient shelf space and appropriate signage.

Next, I grouped similar subcategories together geographically around the store. The end result was a well thought out logical category progression where complementary categories were housed next to each other. What we ended up with was a strong fiction section, subcategorized by genre (Romance, Historical, Suspense, etc.), a great Christian Life section where you could find Men, Women, Teen, Family, Parenting, Singles, and Love and Marriage titles within a few aisles. Devotionals and Prayer books were logically placed on shelves adjacent to one another.

In another section, near the Bibles, we placed Reference books (broken up by subcategory—commentaries, handbooks, dictionaries, etc.), Bible Studies (organized by subcategories such as topical, books of the Bible, or people of the Bible), Bible Software, Theology, and so forth.

The idea is to group books together so customers might get interested in a cross-over or complementary category just because its located in the general vicinity. Also, make sure your category signs are clearly printed above the appropriate shelf and at eye level. If you have more than one subcategory displayed on a section of shelves, be sure to label them as such using a simple handheld labeler.

Also, if you find some of your category names use too much Christianese, don’t be afraid to define what it means—customers will appreciate it. At the store I managed, we had a Discipleship category which read parenthetically “Growing in Your Faith,” an Apologetics section “Defending Your Faith,” and an Evangelism section “Sharing Your Faith.” All were done in a slightly smaller font under the larger category name.

IF YOU CAN’T MEASURE IT, YOU CAN’T MANAGE IT

Do you know which categories are your best performers? “Sure,” you say, “Christian Life,” right? That’s a no-brainer. But do you find yourself lumping too many books into your Christian Life section? We went through and found a significant portion of our Christian Life titles could be broken out into smaller subcategories that gave customers more face-outs to look at (which sells more books, by the way), and a better defined idea of the books’ content.

One such category, Discipleship, turned out to be a good category, but one we had to promote by leading customers to it who

Merchandising

wanted books for new Christians or books that specifically dealt with spiritual growth. Over time, the category began to attract repeat customers. What about Apologetics, or Ministry Aids? Can you measure them accurately against the previous year and determine which categories need a boost in shelf space and which ones you need to shrink?

I T ALL STARTS WITH YOU (AND YOUR CUSTOMER)

We live in a tremendous day and time called the “Information Age.” I’m absolutely amazed at the sheer volume of information collected each day by various industries all in an effort to identify consumer behavior so that products and services can be better developed to meet their needs.

Within our industry, information is just as precious. As a retailer, you have in your possession an extremely powerful business tool that if leveraged right, could help to not only increase sales across the industry but more specifically bring more traffic into your store. By working to merchandise your product in a standard way, you’re helping publishers know more accurately which categories are doing well, helping them better tailor products to suit your store, which in turn brings more customers in your door to purchase more from your great selection.

Using category codes to merchandise your store is one of the most effective means of serving your customers, managing your inventory, and growing our channel. Take a look at your store today to see if your categories are logically arranged with clear signs. Because in the end, customers won’t know what you have unless you tell them.

For more on the most current BISAC Subject Headings List, e-mail me at mcovington@ecpa.org or Eric Grimm, CBA Retail Technology & Strategy Manager, at egrimm@cbaonline.org. AR

Michael Covington is Information & Education Director for the Evangelical Christian Publishers Assoc. He managed a growing Christian-retail store for eight years during which time he was awarded the Jim Carlson Bookstore Manager of the Year award, and has more than ten years of industry experience. He’s married to Christina and has two sons, Nathaniel and Samuel. He currently resides in Phoenix, AZ.

Questions for Michael Covington? Please e-mail publications@cbaonline.org.

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