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Interview:
Ben Wadley of All About Movies.
By Stuart Ayling
Ben Wadley is the movie expert. He is principal and founder of
All About
Movies, a Brisbane-based business that has grown to serve customers all over Australia. Ben also appears regularly on 612 ABC Radio.
Stuart Ayling (Managing Director of Marketing Nous) speaks with Ben about his marketing tactics.
Stuart Ayling: Tell me a bit about All About Movies.
Ben Wadley: We've been in business for seven years (at time of
interview) and we retail hard-to-find videos and movie memorabilia. Our main products are videos and posters, but we also sell assorted movie memorabilia and collectables such as lobby cards and autographs.
S.A.: How would you describe your different market segments?
B.W.: We've developed three distinct customer groups. One is the educational market, typically schools and universities. Another is the commercial market, such as restaurants that are looking for themed material. And lastly there is the general public.
S.A.: You have built up a strong following in a niche market. Which marketing activities did you do in your early days? What worked? What didn't?
B.W.: When we first started we targeted video libraries [local video rental
stores] by manually faxing out to every video library we could get a fax number for. We also did mail outs to video libraries as well. We saw video libraries as an important referrer to All About Movies as that's where many people start when they are looking for a video.
There was also a lot of personal selling and networking. I'd visit video libraries to meet with them and explain what we do, and also network with other people I came into contact with.
We also did some print advertising in a childcare centre magazine and in the Courier Mail [the major Queensland daily].
What didn't work? Well...we don't do any more print advertising apart from in the Yellow Pages where we are in the Video
Movie Sales category. We use Yellow Pages interstate as well.
S.A.: All About Movies has received media coverage on a number of occasions. How did this come about?
B.W.: Mainly this happened through me contacting a major Brisbane TV station about doing a segment for a specific show with a local focus [then called Brisbane Extra]. After I had appeared on this segment interest from other media mushroomed, with newspapers and ABC radio contacting me for further stories.
I did a follow up on Brisbane Extra one year later and each time there was a huge response from viewers.
What I found was that media outlets will sit up and take notice of stories covered by other media particularly if it is a major station or paper.
S.A.: I know you have customers across Australia, how do you market to customers in other states?
B.W.: For the general public we use the Yellow Pages extensively. We use fax and email to send out letters in bulk to our educational customers. This is so much easier now using computerised programs. My fortnightly segment as "The Movie Detective" on radio, whilst not specifically promoting All About Movies, also helps to get the message out to people right across Queensland.
S.A.: Which marketing activities will you be concentrating on in the future?
B.W.: Definitely e-commerce via our web site. I see this as a big opportunity for our future growth. E-commerce is important for a business like ours that doesn't have a physical retail storefront. It's a cheap way to get stock moving.
S.A.: What has been the most important aspect of your business to get right?
B.W.: As the business has grown I've had to develop systems that operate whilst I'm not there. The main thing is to have a system that revolves around a concept or idea that is focused on serving the customer and maintaining customer service standards.
Part of our success has been providing customers with a new level of service within our niche market. You see, most video libraries will sell a few second-hand videos but they cannot offer the knowledge, service, or professionalism that All About Movies provides. Ultimately this difference creates a sense of
reassurance which is particularly helpful when we have to track down hard to find
videos for our customers.
S.A.: What is the purpose of the All About Movies web site? What do you see in future
e-commerce/e-business developments for you?
B.W.: The All About Movies web site is designed to offer access to our online movie catalogue. It covers every movie that has ever gone to video in
Australia - that's over 40,000 movies. It's very comprehensive, a bit like an online dictionary. In the future we'll have the same service available for movie posters.
S.A.: Have you noticed any industry or overseas trends that will be affecting decisions you make for All About Movies here in Australia?
B.W.: The rise of DVD's presents a challenge for us, as this is effectively a new format for the same movie that we would have previously supplied on VHS. Sometimes movies are on DVD but not on video. We must be able to include DVD access for all titles available within Australia.
S.A.: What is your advice to other firms wanting to develop a presence in a niche market?
B.W.: Two things are clear to me. First, make sure you have a good source of supply to meet customer demands. Then back this up with the best level of service you can provide. This means having the best knowledge around and giving great customer service.
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