The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1918-02-01

small to be made attractive to the
passerby. The art of window dress
ing is profession in itself. If a
Retail Merchants Association were
formed, there could be classes given
in window decorating which could
certainly be most helpful to those
availing themselves Of this opportun-
ity. l believe this could be worked
out by having someone member who
has good decorator in his employ
subscribe to a correspondence course
and then have him impart the infor-
nation gained thereby to the other
members Of the Association. This
class could be aided at times by the
help of an outside expert who could
come to Maysville occasionally and
give a lecture which might well be at
tended by the employer as well as the
employee.
Next to your window advertising
want to say few words about your
newspaper advertising. think that
We are wasting money every month in
newspaper advertising which could be
turned into profits by the proper ex
penditure Of effort and thought upon
the part Of the merchant have seen
advertisements in our local papers
calling attention to Strawberries three
or four months after they have gone
out of market and to graduating pres
ents almost up to Christmas time and
to Christmas presents IN into Febru-
airy and March. My belief is that you
can reach more people by newspaper
advertising than by any other means,
but the same argument about stale
windows applies to advertisements
which are not kept up to date and
worded and displayed in such a man
ner that they will catch the eye Of the
reader.
Speaking of advertising, it occurs
to me that the Maysville merchants
must be asleep at the switch when
they allow Cincinnati firms to cover
our bill boards with immense signs
inviting our citizens to do their
Christmas shopping in Cincinnati
This has occurred, to my knowledge,
for the past two Christmas seasons.
| should think that the Maysville
merchants could certainly make some
arrangement with the people who
have charge of our bill boards to keep
those bills off of our streets. We
cannot expect to keep our citizens
from reading the Cincinnati papers
but 1t looks unfair to have these large
colored posters faunted in the face of
our merchants eye at that season of
the year have their own shelves filed
with holiday goods.
An outsider appreciates more than
you realize the proper attention and
help of good clerk, when making
purchases. The untidiness of your
stock or the unattractiveness of your
store may oftentimes be overcome by
some good clerk who makes himself
popular by his selling methods. There
are money and sales lost by the at
tention of a clerk who has had no
instruction in how to handle particu-
lar customers. Another benefit to be
derived from the Retail Merchants
Association would be classed in sales
nanship, but before you can give a
clerk an opportunity to display the
good on your counters. you must first
make your place attractive enough to
get customer inside in order that
the clerk will have a chance. To do
this. first use your newspaper adver-
Using space to the best advantage,
second keep your window or side
walk display always attractive, third
make the interior Of your store as
attractive as you can with the means
at hand. Have your stock always
clean and in order so that the clerk
can find what he wants when he wants
II and will not have to paw over a
lot Of miscellaneous stuff to find an
article and oftentimes have to call in
the help Of another clerk or two. DO
not be stingy with your lights. A
bright clean interior makes u pleas
ant place for a customer to do his
or her shopping. Use plenty of white
paint and electric light Keep your
floors clean and do not allow them to
be Uttered up with lot Of wrapping
49, = NJ