River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1914-02-19

Shipped In Plain Packaees-Many
Local Merchants Deficient In KnowI-
edge of Advertising.
copyrighted, 1914, by Thomas j. Sullivan.1
The first hypocrite was the man who
stole the livery of the court of heaven
to serve the devil in.
Some people speak as if hypocrites
were confined only to religion but
they are everywhere, people pretend
ing to wealth when they have not
sixpence, assuming knowledge of which
they are ignorant, shamming a cul-
ture they are far removed from, adopt
ing opinions they do not hold and pre-
tending honest business roles which
are far from the legitimate.
As a man loves gold, in that pro
portion he hates to be imposed upon
by counterfeits, and in proportion as
a man has regard for that which is
above price and better than gold he
abhors that hypocrisy which is but
it's counterfeit
Lying before the writer is the acme
of hypocrisy. 1t is a catalogue of one
of those mail order houses, and on one
page three sewing machines are adverN
tised. The first is declared to be the
most perfect sewing machine on the
market" the second is said to have
more good sensible ideas than any
other while the third is praised as
being ''the most superior sewing ma
chine on the market"
Now, which of these machines really
is the best? Which of them is as good
as the one your retailer sells and guar
antees? Can any reader of the above
triumvirate of ads. tell? Most assur
eddy not.
The lesson should be plain to all who
receive these catalogues. They con-
tain glowing descriptions of goods, but
the senders of money do not know
what they are going to get for their
money when they send it to mail or
der house.
Goods In Plain Packages.
Were it not so serious it would be
amusing to read some of the smooth
arguments the catalogue houses adj
vance to their readers in an effort to
induce them to send in orders. They
say that goods are sent in plain pack
ages because many merchants who buy
of them to sell again object to having
their name appear on the boxes. We
know we are safe in saying there is
not one single merchant in the whole
United States who ever ordered any
goods from these concerns. The state
ment is made in an effort to make the
consumer believe that he can buy as
cheaply as his local merchant can.
But printed matter that will sell
goods is within the power of almost
any local retailer Most all the expert
advice is little more than empty gen
eraliZing about nOneSSentialS. 1t is not
literature, remember, but advertising,
that you want to write. knowledge of
words and type and the ability to
write fine Introductory paragraphs and
striking headings are not to be de-
spised. of course, but the facts, not
fancy ways of saying them, are what
induce the people to spend their money
in the local stores.
The merchants knowledge of his
store, his goods and the people is more
than an offset for any lack of ability to
coin catchy phrases or to use technical
language in telling the printer how he
would like to have his advertising
look.
When the merchant sits down to
write his ad. he should imagine that
&c, hoY 70 oil RI &c r
ed on the other side of his desk. He
should write what his talk would be
if he were determined to make sale
to that customer when in the most OBJ
stinate of moods. He should write it
all down, then lock it in his desk for
few hours, later cut out all the super
fiuous words and print the facts with
out any trimmings.
Personality Brings Trade. s.
The nearer the local merchant can
come to making his advertising sound
like his talk the more effective it will
be. Personality is what brings and
holds trade; personality secures to your
competitor trade likewise difficult to
wean away from him.
The modern retail merchant must
make sure that his displays in his WIN
dows and in the store itself are such as
will interest women. A general vari-
| ETY. ought to be shown, with prices
clearly indicated in plain figures. Make
inspection easy and then let shoppers
inspect undisturbed, for in this man
ner many new wants will be developed
in the minds of the shoppers. The
merchant or salesman who stands over
a shopper and attempts to press sale
| invariably annoys the customer and
hastens his or her departure.
The merchant who has not advanced
with the times must come to full real
ization at once that many changes are