The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1910-05-12
Saturday Evening Post.)

The test of an advertisement in
the retail field is the amount of bus.
mess it brings as compared with the
amount done on the same day of
the previous year. A good retail
advertisement should not cost more
than seven per cent of the total sales
of that day.
The small advertiser, does not, as
a rule, spend anything like seven per
cent for advertising purposes. In
deed, only too often he does not know
how much he really does spend. If
he secures large volume Of business
through advertising he is satisfied,
not always remembering that the cost
Of the publicity might foot up to ten
or twelve per cent, an unprofitable
figure. On the whole, the amount of
money devoted to advertising in small
towns and cities, especially through
out the West and up in Canada. is
too small. Many stores do not spend
! more than one per cent for publicity
work. One house in a town of 5000
doing business OF about $4,000
annually, holds its advertising expen-
ditcres down to $500. An appropria-
ton of $1,000 or $1,000 should not un
der normal conditions be excessive
for town of 5000. True, an un
changing population OF from 5000 to
10000 canot profitably be worked toe
aggressively, yet there are many light.
innate promotion ideas which the pub
lie in small towns take to kindly, and
they can be put into execution at q
cost of not more than three to five
per cent of the total sales.
Special sales are a strong adver
tising feature for the SHALL merchant
Some find it good plan to have theil
sales on fixed days, as for example
Saturdays lor Wedneadays. Theil
customers learn that on these days
the store will always have something
good to show. The advantage OF
this plan is that it largely does its
own advertising. People soon begin
to talk about the sale days, and OF
ten they will not buy until they have
seen what is to be had on those days
The disadvantage Of the plan is that
people are apt to defer their shop
ping until sale days, so tnat the store
will be crowded then and almost emp
ty on other days
Some merchants have found that
irregular days for sales are better.
They have them five or six times q
month and find them extremely pro-
ftable. This plan will be more ex.
pensive than the other, because it
will be necessary to do coniderable
advertising before each sale, in order
that they may be profitable. Special
sales on we'll known goods, not car
ried regularly in stock, are often big
sale is over the special item of sale is
taken off sale altogether and held un-
til some future time.
For all retailers the window is q
powerful medium. There is a retail
store in Chicago that is said to spend
$4,000 a year on window displays
alone. If it pays the largest store in
the largest city to put in time, energy
and money into its window displays,
it will pay the smallest store in the
smallest city relatively as we'll In
fact, the merchant in the small towns
has an exceptional chance Of beat
ing the game by the use Of his win.
dow displays he has 50 little compe'
titon. In small towns the average
merchant neg1ects this important
feature Of his business simply
because the window displays are No
elected is . reason why the live man
should make the most OF his opportu'
nifty. A well-arranged window viii
be doubly conspicuous because of the
fact that the other windows are poor
The best way to make the appeal to
q wide range of buyers 10 BY chang
ing the window display often-rathel
than by crowding into It samples o.
everything in stock. The success oi
window displays depends upon how
well they are made. Brains ani
hard work must be put into them.
OF course, It fs out of the question
for the small town merchant to de