^fy^ip'iTt.',- 



March 19, 1914. 



The Florists' Review 



17 



RETAIL STORE MANAGEMENT 



WHAT THE LEADERS IN THE TRADE ARE DOING 



. ^ . ... •- 



BOOSTING tilE BUSINESS. 



Plan the Advertising Early. 



Every retail florist recognizes the 

 importance of making holiday prepara- 

 tions in good time, but the last detail 

 to have attention almost invariably is 

 the advertising. It should be attended 

 to as promptly as any other matter of 

 importance. It may be true that some 

 last-minute advertising is good adver- 

 tising, and successful, but it is unde- 

 niabJLe that nothing ever was lost by 

 making plans early; good copy isn't 

 usually written on the back of an 

 envelope while out to lunch, although 

 a, bright idea often is so recorded, nor 

 is the best typesetting done, as a rule, 

 on the ad that reaches the newspaper 

 just as the forms are closing. Now is 

 the time to plan the Easter publicity. 



N^lfl so many years ago 

 retail florets trusted whol- 

 ly to ImjK and a bright 

 wijuLow.^ for their Easter 

 buSTfi^sss. Some still do. 

 But increased numbers 

 each year join the ranks of 

 the advertisers. One might 

 almost say that it is uni- 

 versally recognized that it 

 pays for a florist to adver- 

 tise. The doubt is as to 

 the method. Pretty nearly 

 every florist among those 

 who don't advertise is 

 ready to do something 

 along that line if somebody 

 only will show him how. 

 Showing him how is best 

 if it takes the work off his 

 shoulders, in addition to 

 supplying the ideas. The 

 florist stands ready to pay 

 the bill if somebody will 

 but show him results. 



There are a lot of peo- 

 ple ready to help, for a 

 consideration, and the flo- 

 rist who is not prepared to 

 give his advertising the 

 necessary time and effort 

 will do well to call in one 

 of the bright young men 

 who do such work for a fee. 

 And do it now. 



Many Ways. 



There are a lot of ways 

 to advertise. One of the 

 oldest of sayings is that 

 "A satisfied customer is 

 the best advertisement. ' ' 

 It is. Also, satisfied cus- 

 tomers are the basis for all 

 other advertising. It a 

 man can not satisfy his 

 customers it will do him no 

 good to advertise. 



An excellent way for a 

 retail florist to advertise is 

 by means of mailing cards, 

 circulars or folders. He can 

 write them himself and get 

 them printed or he can buy 

 extremely handsome Ones 



that are offered, ready-to-mail, to one 

 florist in each town. These appeal 

 strongly to the florist who draws his 

 support mainly from a certain class of 

 people, or from a certain section of 

 his town. He feels that he reaches, by 

 the mailing-card method, just the peo- 

 ple he wants; that his ammunition is 

 not wasted on people with whom he has 

 little chance of doing business. If this 

 method is employed for Easter, no time 

 is to be lost. In addition to preparing 

 the literature to be mailed, a list of 

 names must be made up. Addressing 

 also takes time. 



Some florists print a circular and 

 make a house to house distribution. 

 This is a good, effective and inexpen- 

 sive plan for the man who makes lit- 

 tle pretense to style, but it will not do 

 for the florist who considers himself in 

 the tony class; he can not enter into 



EASTER ANNOUNCEMENT 



mis 



The choicest, most fragrant 

 Cut Flowers — Azaleas, Easter 

 Eilies and a profusion of Plants 

 in Bloom, Baskets of Flowers, 

 Dainty Corsage Bouquets — ^be- 

 tray the preparations we have 

 made for Eiaster. 

 You, and your friends, are cor- 

 dially invited to visit "The 

 Flower Shop" this week to sec 

 this reaflly wonderful array. 

 Place your Easter order early 

 to insure the Jbest selection. 

 Mail or telephone it if you can- 

 not call in person. 



PARCBL POST— Oar special 

 method of packing in a corrugated 

 box for safe delivery of Flowers 

 or Plants long distances. 



TELEGRAPHIC DELIVERY— in all parts of the U. S, 

 and foreign countries. 



In "The Flower Shop" everywie, young or old, will 

 find the correct Easter floral token. Quality pre- 

 vails, yet prices are most rea- 

 sonable. You can make satis- 

 factory purchases here for just 

 the amount you wish to spend, 

 be it large or small. 



Special Easter 



Price List 



on request 



'"WssaPi**'** 



V-^t? 



A Good Example of the Easter Ad that Quotes No Prices. 



competition with the grocer, the butcher 

 and the clothing renovator iQ ^ stuffing 

 the mail boxes. ^h , -^ 



But to use any variation of these 

 methods demands early preparation. 

 The later one lets it go the more cer- 

 tain he is to confine his advertising to 

 the newspapers. . , .. . 



The Easiest Way. 



The newspaper affords the quick and 

 easy way to advertise. A man who has 

 something to say, in a business way, 

 can tell his story to more people and 

 in shorter time by using the newspaper 

 than by any other method. Doubtless 

 the reason why florists do not do more 

 adverjiising in the newspapers is that 

 so many florists are located at one side 

 of town and draw their patronage, not 

 from the whole population of the place, 

 but from some certain section of it; 

 they feel that the news- 

 paper, with its general cir- 

 culation, reaches too many 

 people who are not apt to 

 become buyers, the rate be- 

 ing high when only the ef- 

 fective circulation is con- 

 sidered. There is, of course, 

 some fact in the theory, 

 but florists with stores in 

 the center of town are rap- 

 idly increasing their use of 

 newspaper space and all 

 will agree that for the man 

 who has put off planning 

 the newspaper affords the 

 one means of getting quick 

 action. The newspaper is 

 organized for speed. The 

 florist can call in the so- 

 licitor at the close of the 

 business day and have his 

 ad appear in the morning 

 edition. Of course it's bet- 

 ter to take several days 

 to planning the ad, writ- 

 ing the copy and setting 

 the type, but the newspa- 

 per gives the advertiser 

 what he wants when he 

 wants it. It reaches more 

 jteople for less money and 

 in quicker time than does 

 any other medium. A flo- 

 rist, with the aid of the 

 newspaper, can accept by 

 wire an offer of stock for 

 a special sale and have the 

 ad in the hands of the pub- 

 lic the next morning, by 

 the time the stock has been 

 delivered by the express 

 company. 



The Easter Ads. 



Nobody but the store 

 buyer can advise as to 

 what to advertise for Eas- 

 ter; and nobody but the 

 man who directs the store 

 policy is in position to ad- 

 vise as to how it should 

 be advertised. It is safe to 

 say, however, that if no 

 plans have yet been made 



