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I THE RETAIL -^^^| 

 |«^^^ FLORIST I 



THE STANDING WBEATH. 



The standing wreath of cattleyas 

 and valley illustrated on this page 

 was made by H. E. Lozier, Des Moines, 

 la. The green was adiantum, in keep- 

 ing with the choice quality of the flow- 

 ers, and the ribbon was of cattleya 

 color. The wreath illustrates the 

 growing tendency to use ribbon lav- 

 ishly, the ribbon to match the flowers. 



ADVEBTISINQ BY BETAIUBBS. 



A Valuable Business Asset. 



The value of advertising as a busi- 

 nesB asset is generally recognized by 

 the great majority of business men 

 today, but the average florist makes 

 but little show of realizing this fact. 



This diffidence is in part due, no 

 doubt, to the fact that most florists 

 feel unequal to the task of writing 

 elective ads. 



Advertising is an art based on scien- 

 tific principles, largely psychological, 

 referring to the mental influence on 

 the average mind. Certain results can 

 always be obtained from advertising, 

 but, as in other arts, the greatest re- 

 sults are poeaible. only from a thorough 

 knowledge of human nature, experience 

 in preparing advertising copy, and good 

 judgment in the hows and whens of 

 advertising science. 



The principle of advertising a flo- 

 rist 's business is in no way different 

 from that of any other business. It is 

 fundamentally an appeal for business. 

 It is salesmanship on paper instead of 

 oral solicitation. 



The Heading or Catch Line. 



In soliciting business by advertising, 

 as in soliciting orally, the whole secret 

 lies in making the customer believe 

 that the article is what he wants, and 

 at the right price. There is, however, 

 this diflculty in selling by the printed 

 word: The. general public "read as 

 they run" and the advertisment must 

 have a complete thought as a heading 

 or catch line, or in most cases it will 

 not be read. The attention may be 

 attracted by an illustration or design, 

 but the reading of the ad depends 

 largely on the heading. It should serve 

 to indicate the remainder of the appeal. 

 "Make Haste" might serve to catch 

 some eyes, but few would follow it 

 further. "Beautiful Roses" would 

 catch the eye and interest lovers of 

 flowers enough to induce them to read 

 further. 



It should always be borne in mind 

 that every retail advertisement should 

 first attract, second interest, third con- 

 vince and lastly make the reader act. 



Flowers are a luxury and therefore 

 cannot be exploited like a necessity. 

 The beauty of the floWers, the pleaanre 

 they give, their appropriateness for 

 weddings, 'funerals, birthdays, social 

 events, for decorations, etc., are the 



selling points most forceful. Price is 

 a secondary consideration in most cases. 



Keeping One's Name in Print. 



When it seems there is nothing to say 

 about your stock, do not for a minute 

 let your advertising drop. 



The gentle public has a short memory 

 and easily forgets, and someone else 

 gets the trade of the man who lets his 

 name get out of print. 



At such times tell about your shop, 

 your delivery service, your business 

 methods, how carefully and promptly 

 orders are filled and delivered. 



The retail florist's advertisement 

 should be seasonable. He should not 

 only take advantage of the seasons to 

 advertise bulbs, potted plants, Easter 

 lilies, etc., but he should also take ad- 

 vantage of holidays, public events, an- 

 niversaries, etc. For instance, at 



Standing Wreath of Cattleyas and Valley. 



Washington's birthday^ special adver- 

 tising is appreciate(k "Dwarf Cherry 

 Trees in Full Bloom^^' was the heading 

 used by one up-to-d,ate florist. Again, 

 at Valentine's day -jiSi another chance; 

 "Floral Valentine*" would be appre- 

 ciated. The more generally observed 

 holidays will need no suggestion, as the 

 methods employed are well known. 



Bemlnders by Telephone. 



There is one point generally over- 



looked by florists — the telephone is an 

 excellent means of securing new busi- 

 ness and keeping in close touch, iwitb 

 the old. One florist makes several hun'-< 

 dred dollars yearly in this manner: 

 Each Friday and a few days before 

 each holiday he calls up a selected list 

 of regular customers and prospectives; 

 he tells them of the fine, fresh stock 

 of whatever he may have; reminds them 

 of the rush usual at such times, which 

 often prevents prompt attention; tells 

 them that now is the time to secure the 

 pick of the stock, etc. 



The orders he secures in this manner 

 are all ready for delivery the first 

 thing Saturday a. m., or the day before 

 the holiday, so that when the regular 

 Sunday or holiday rush begins he has 

 his staff free to handle it. 



Geo. P. Parker. 



DISCOX7BAGE THE INSATIABLE. 



At the meeting of the Florists' Tele- 

 graph Delivery Association held at the 

 Coliseum, Chicago, in 1912, resolutions 

 were adopted for the purpose of putting 

 the members on record as squarely op- 

 posed to the greed of those, few in 

 number, who are not satisfied with 

 the twenty per cent commission al- 

 lowed the florist who sends an order 

 to another retailer to be filled. At the 

 Minneapolis meeting the position of 

 the association and its members was 

 emphasized — the florist who so far for- 

 gets himself as to take advantage of 

 his customer can expect short shrift if 

 the association gets the evidence of his 

 guilt. 



Fortunately, there are few in the 

 trade who can not be relied on to give 

 their customers everything that is their 

 due. There have been instances, how- 

 ever, in which it was alleged that a 

 person engaged in selling flowers was 

 not satisfied to pocket $1 as his legiti- 

 mate share of an order for $5 worth 

 of flowers to be delivered in some 

 other town and that he therefore sent 

 the order to deliver flowers to cost $3 

 net. He stultified himself and the name 

 of florist is not his. To do such an 

 act is to put oneself outside the pale. 



TO KEEP BEFOBE THEM. 



The way to keep one's name before 

 the trade, if a florist wants to handle 

 the retail orders that other florists are 

 sending into the town, is to be repre- 

 sented in The Review's department for 

 retailers' cards. 



Consult the index by towns on the 

 last page of the department. Is your 

 town represented? If it is, you can 

 tell who is handling the bulk of the or- 

 ders other florists send there. If it 

 isn't represented, it leaves a fine 

 chance for someone who wants to add 

 to his business. 



The minimum charge for a card is 

 35 cents per week on a yearly order. 

 This is for a half-inch card. Larger 

 spaces cost in proportion. 



Every florist should advertise in his 

 home town that he has facilities for 

 delivering flowers anywhere at short 

 notice. In the first place, the busi- 

 ness has not been and can not be 

 worked up from the receiving end; it's 

 the sending of orders that should be 

 pushed. And, in the second place, the 

 sender of an order gets twenty per 

 cent as his profit with extremely lit- 

 tle effort. Make the customer pay the 

 telegraph charges. 



