Calling Turkey: Research Project to Increase Book Sales to Turkish Libraries

If your book-parcel weighs more than 730 grammes (0.73 Kg), then we shall send it in a blue M-Bag with such a label

Big news at Plurabelle as our new marketing strategy begins to take shape. Our aim is still the same: to increase the number of Turkish customers who visit and purchase books from Plurabelle. Turkey’s economy is flourishing, there is a well established network of universities. Our scholarly books could surely contribute to the Turkish Library system. But why have there been so few Turkish customers visiting Plurabelle during the last couple of years? We have sold 70,000 books in the last 10 years, but only a handful of these went to Turkey. Are we doing something wrong? Is there something we are missing?

This is why I, Julia, have joined this project: to investigate. I have a degree in English and I am now studying for an MA in Publishing at Anglia Ruskin University. I have joined with Michael Cahn from Plurabelle to find out if there is something we can do to increase our sales to Turkish libraries. I will try to develop relationships with librarians and make them aware of what we offer. This is a great opportunity to develop a new customer base and share the joy of Plurabelle Books in a whole new market! For me, it is also a research project which will be supervised and which will count towards my degree.

The first stage of my research project is an initial telephone survey of Turkish librarians. We have a short questionnaire designed to investigate the mystery of the missing orders from Turkey. Are there problems with the postal service? Is currency exchange a problem? Are customs procedures an issue? Do you use a consolidating service?

So if you receive a call in the next few weeks, asking intrusive questions about buying second hand books in a foreign country - it will be me, Julia, calling from among the shelves of Plurabelle.

Julia is calling

If you do have some answers to our questions, and you do not want to wait for my call, you could earn yourself credit by contacting us on: 0044 1223 415671 / SKYPE Plurabelle. We would be VERY happy to hear from you, and will honour your call with a credit of £20 to spend on books from the Plurabelle collection.

When calling, ask for either me (Julia) or Michael, but please do allow for the fact that we do not speak Turkish (Michael is a fluent German speaker), and that we are 2 hours behind you. An email will be just as valuable for us, and will earn you the same credit, but we would love to talk to our potential clients on the phone. You can also take our quick survey here.

We look forward to speaking with you!