Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1919-12-18

THAT ADVERTISING, THE |.
LIFE OF HIS BUSINESS, I
COSTS HIM NOTHING.
By Fred Mann.
What is really the life Of any city!
It is the merchants. You are the real
people who do things. keep everything
Should they not work to-
gether as unit in having an organ
ization and shape the destinies Of
your city? And urge on you to get
together in an organization, have .
few banquets and talk over the prob
lens of your city and your advertise
ing propositions.
/ am great believer in collective
where everybody in the
town gets together and advertises,
and really one Of your greatest as
sets is good press with good, big
have always said that
/ would attr butte great deal Of our
success to the newspaper men.
When / first started in business 26
years ago bought out grocery firm
in the city of Devils Lake, N. D. For
tunately had a letter of credit, and
Minneapolis grocery firm let me
have s1,6oG worth of merchandise. !
had worked in the grocery business.
and as boy of tweney- lone years Of
age. the highest salary ever got was
$3S a month. didn't have enough
money to pay the freight on my mer-
chandise, and borrowed money from
my father. l opened up that little
store. had to .,ay SIS month rent,
Some of the mer, lants failed in that
town, and / bought some of the fix
lures, about S;S5 or $40 worth. When
got ready to open U 4, the store, a
newspaper man. q friend of mine,
came in and said: erred, you have
got your stock he. and believe you
understand the grocery business. You
are pretty we'll known here and pref
ty we'll liked. want to tell you
something. If you want to succeed
you must advertise want you to
take a little space in my paper. Now
don't think or get it into your head
that you are merely giving it as do
nation to the paper. 1t will mean not
only business for me, but business for
you as well.'
| Someway or other when l had that
little store stocked and let the people
know that was in business and that
would like their patronage, l began
Ito do business, and very fortunately
for me my old boss did not believe in
advertising. We kept putting little
ads in every week, snappy, live ads
My old boss thos - it didn't amount
J to anything. Bos { didn't work Out
that way, and IT, business began t.
come to me. TIE fist year sold
with the aid of or, %, $4,000 worth
of groceries. It W.. along that way
for three or fou. 5. kept in
creasing advertis,:: alter I added
dry goods and clothii..,- We began tt
i grasp the idea that advertising hat
helped to sell groceries and would
naturally help any Other line. dit
the advertising. The business grew
rapidly, and in 1907 we built a yer.
beautiful store. Everybody said
was going broke urc. The building
! cost me $4,000. It is IS by 14O feet
two stories and basement. We onl,
use the lower floor and the basement
/ put in about $4,000 worth of ma
hogany fixtures and fixed it up fine
Everybody said the farmers wouldn'
come in a store of that kind. Blu
they did. We put in rest rooms
something they never had before. Al
the time the advertising was increas
ing.
! had younger brother who cam
,, into the business at that time, VIII
has developed into great advertis
ing man, and at the present time W
have large contract with our dali
paper for advertising for the yea
1920. We have to pay 80 cents a
inch. We spent last year on tina
business between $4,000 and $500
in advertising. We sold over half
5 million. This year we expect to Sc
J. over 100000. We handle grocerie.
t dry goods, ready-to-wear and hav
/ the basement filled with shelf HARD
ware, crockery and dry goods.
e The advertising method that W
E pursue out there is the newspape
first, always. believe that the pres
is the best medium and cannot be bea
Then the personal letter, then the Gil
: cular and pamphlets and catalogue,
But the main thing is the press.
e our little country town, with littl
e over 1900 circulation, we can put j
L an ad, for instance a suit sale. w
run two every year, one in June an
: another along in September, abou
e the time when it is appropriate. w
: send out personal letter to our mai
ing list. We have one compiled q
t only $500 names. Our country
g very thinly populated. We have to g
: out some 40 miles to get this humble
e to mail out. And l just wonder whs
we would do if we had $4,000 pop,
v lation right at our door.
e When we are ready to have sill
Y sale we get out an advertisement tel
incr them all ahont Il E,,ox,,AL;xn.