Bookstores Lift Page From Airline Marketing Manual : Retailing: Waldenbooks and B. Dalton chains will launch frequent buyer programs that offer good customers discounts, coupons and newsletters.

The nation’s biggest bookstore chains--Waldenbooks and B. Dalton--are trying everything from home delivery to opening up tony stores in the face of sluggish sales.

The quest for more customers continues next week when the two national rivals launch membership card programs that reward frequent customers with discounts, coupons and special newsletters.

“We want to set ourselves apart,” said Ron Jaffe, senior marketing director at the 1,300-store Waldenbooks chain, which is owned by K mart Corp. “A lot of book buyers buy books wherever they find them.”

Waldenbooks and B. Dalton built nationwide empires and increased sales by opening stores in fast-growing shopping malls. But in recent years, the pace of shopping mall construction has slowed. Meanwhile, discounters such as Crown Books, book clubs and independent booksellers have increased competition.

“They appear to be vulnerable,” said Bernie Rath, executive director of the American Booksellers Assn. “They have a reputation for serving the masses and serving them well. But they find themselves having to scramble among themselves for market share.”

This week, Waldenbooks unveiled a computer-based membership program called “Preferred Reader,” which will replace the chain’s current membership programs. For $10, club members receive a card that entitles them to a 10% discount and $5 back for every $100 in purchases.

Computers will track the purchases and literary tastes of each member, and Waldenbooks will use that information to send out newsletters and coupons. For example, a frequent buyer of romance books might receive a newsletter and coupons on romance novels.

“This is something that makes sense for us and will generate (customer) loyalty,” Waldenbooks’ Jaffe said.

The 800-store B. Dalton chain--a subsidiary of B.D.B., which also owns Barnes & Noble and recently acquired Doubleday bookstores--will also begin offering a similar program, called “Booksavers Club,” that has been tested at its Dallas stores since 1988, said spokeswoman Sharon Jonas.

Besides discount book membership, both chains have undertaken efforts to beef up service and selection. Waldenbooks customers, for example, can buy books by calling a toll-free number and have their orders delivered to their homes within 24 hours.

“We have increased product selection,” Jaffe said. In addition to carrying a broad selection of the newest books, Waldenbooks also has expanded its selection of back stock.

B.D.B. has also purchased discount and upscale bookstores, which have been growing faster than mass-market bookshops. B.D.B. bought the discount Bookstop chain, which also offers discounts through a membership card program, and the small but venerable Doubleday chain.

“People like to drop the name Doubleday and carry their bag around,” Rath said.

B.D.B also plans to open 10 to 12 Scribner’s stores this year. Scribner caters to affluent book lovers with large selections, about 25,000 titles, cozy chairs and knowledgeable employees.

“It’s just one of the market niches that we wanted to fill,” Jonas said of the Scribner stores.

Some independent bookstore owners, who have established a reputation for delivering a high degree of service, feel somewhat threatened by such developments.

“Of course, it’s going to eat into my business,” said Douglas Dutton, who owns Dutton’s Brentwood bookstore. “But they haven’t found a way to compete with us in terms of service or personalization or in the breadth of stock. I’ve got 75,000 titles.”