BiA.Y 28, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



13 



ADVERTISING » 

 -FOR RETAILERS 



X 



ssz 



THE MODEBN BUSINESS FOBCE. 



Awakening Has Come. 



About four years ago, when the 

 writer first discussed the subject of ad- 

 vertising in the pages of this magazine, 

 the publicity efforts of the average 

 retail florist were of a decidedly feeble 

 kind — and, I dare say, fruitless — fruit- 

 less because of their very feebleness. 



Here and there a progressive, who 

 had been watching the success of ad- 

 vertising as applied to other lines of 

 trade, was quietly trying it out in his 

 own business — according to his light — • 

 and in so doing had discovered an un- 

 tapped reservoir that has been yielding 

 him handsome returns ever since. So, 

 you see, to investigate is to grow. 



But as for the rest, all was indif- 

 ference, apparently. 



Happily this condition of affairs no 

 longer exists — a wonderful change for 

 the better has occurred. Eetail florists 

 everywhere are being aroused from 

 their lethargy and getting in step with 

 the times in regard to publicity mat- 

 ters. Their eyes have been opened, and 

 they now see. Only a start has been 

 made, but the wheels are in motion and 

 time will impart the momentum that 

 will accomplish results. 



How It Was Started. 



I have no hesitancy in saying that 

 The Review is directly responsible for 

 much of this awakening — this quicken- 

 ing of interest that is now being mani- 

 fested in the subject by florists. Prom 

 time to time it has published stimu- 

 lating articles and reproduced in its 

 pages many retail advertisements, with 

 accompanying testimony as to their in- 

 dividual effectiveness and success, all 

 of which has yielded splendid fruit. 

 Naturally, all are not pioneers and 

 pathfinders — all are not endowed with 

 an abundance of initiative — but nearly 

 all are quite ready to follow when the 

 way has been made clear. 



Now that the trail has beeijjfc'azed 

 and the path to a bigger an 

 business has been made perfec 

 and so well defined, what flo 

 persist in marking time? 



Confidence the Foundation; 



If I were to ask you to name the 

 essential ingredients of business success 

 in any line you'd have to include con- 

 fidence. Advertising is a confidence 

 builder. Say this over and over again. 

 When you are ill, why do you call in 

 a certain physician? Because you have 

 confidence in him. "When you built 

 your house, why did you employ a cer- 

 tain architect? Confidence, wasn't it? 

 Exactly! Now, what brings certain 

 people to your store regularly to buy 

 your flowers and engage your services? 

 Confidence again. So I ask, what are 

 you doing to insure a continuance of 

 this confidence that is now reposed in 

 you by your patrons? 



retter 



•plain 



will 



Human nature is strangely fickle, at 

 best, and it always seems extraordi- 

 narily so when we try to get people 

 to do precisely what we would have 

 them do. It may be true that you have 

 the largest and finest store in town, 

 the best location, and all that, but un- 

 less you provide some way of keeping 

 in touch with your patrons — ^maintain- 

 ing a constant, ever-present point of 

 contact, so to speak — they are liable to 

 get out of touch and eventually out of 

 the habit of always visiting your store 

 when in need of flowers, especially so 

 if the other fellow is up and doing and 

 alive to opportunities. 



Now, here is just where advertising 

 can serve you perfectly. It has been 

 pointed out to you, and I want to em- 

 phasize it here, that advertising is the 

 greatest builder and molder of public 



The Editor !■ pleased 

 w^ben a Reader 

 presents his Ideas 

 on any subject treated In 



eVft«^ 



As experience is the hent 

 teacher, so do \ee 

 learn fastest by an 

 ezchanKe of experiences. 

 Many valuable points 

 are brought out 

 by discussion. 



Good penmanship, spelling and 

 grammar, though desirable, are not 

 necessary. Write as you would talk 

 when doing your best. 



WE SHAIX BE GLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM TOU 



confidence, and one of its special func- 

 tions is to hold and retain present 

 patronage, besides attracting and add- 

 ing new. 



The Newspaper Is Best. 



Experience has proved that news- 

 paper advertising is by far the most 

 productive and profitable form for the 

 use of the retail florist. Other things, 

 good in themselves, are but secondary 

 and supplementary. 



Now, the daily newspaper is a won- 

 derful institution in many ways. To 

 the advertising florist it is what the 

 air or ether is to the wireless system 

 of telegraphy. With the readers as the 

 receiving stations, it is the connective 

 medium, the constant contact point that 

 puts you in touch with the public. In 



the wireless system every individual 

 station has its distinct tuning or num- 

 ber of vibrations to which it responds, 

 and if you would communicate with any 

 special station you must know its par- 

 ticular tuning. So likewise with ad- 

 vertising, if ytrtr'-^ould get in close 

 touch with the people of your city — 

 the readers of your newspapers — you 

 must know something of their indi- 

 vidual requirements and demands, their 

 likes and dislikes, and to know all these 

 things you must study and observe 

 carefully — it pays, bountifully. 



I cannot emphasize too strongly the 

 great importance of looking from the 

 viewpoint of the disinterested outsider 

 when planning and writing your adver- 

 tising. I know it is not so easy to do, 

 but this rule must be faithfully ob- 

 served if you desire something more 

 than mediocre success. It comes so 

 handy to say "we this" and "we 

 that," but such forms must be tabooed. 



But then, don't consider that adver- 

 tising is mostly the study of forms and 

 usages, type and display, but rather 

 that it is a study of human nature, and 

 how to use words so as to make people 

 do things. Advertising is salesman- 

 ship on paper, and a good salesman 

 generally has a fund of knowledge con- 

 cerning human nature. 



If every florist will keep before him 

 the fact that advertisements are real 

 talks to real people — talks that must 

 actually do business, and must be just 

 as simple, direct and clear as a busi- 

 ness talk — instinct will aid greatly in 

 making easy the matter of form, type, 

 display, etc. 



The Only Possible Policy. 



Someone may ask: "What, then, is 

 the best advertising policy for a florist 

 to follow?" Now, if there is one thing 

 people like to find in your advertising 

 it is honesty — first, last, and all the 

 time, the only advertising policy worthy 

 of consideration. You must give the 

 people a square deal; Barnum to the 

 contrary, notwithstanding. 



Falsehood in advertising is like a 

 short wick in a small lamp. 



If you want repeat orders give your 

 customers a dollar's worth of flowers 

 for a dollar, every time. If you offer 

 a dollar box for 75 cents, be sure that 

 it is a dollar box. If you know that 

 your offer is only worth 75 cents, say 

 so. If they are good flowers, the truth 

 about them will make them better, and 

 such publicity becomes a power — the 

 kind people believe in. 



When you come to think it over, if 

 people are not to believe what you tell 

 them, you might better keep still and 

 not advertise at all, because you will 

 have wasted your time and ammuni- 

 tion, fired your gun and hit nothing. 



Now, all this talk about honesty in 

 advertising is not a Utopian dream — it 

 isn't anything but just plain common- 

 sense. 



This whole idea is based on the doc- 



