National Magazine of-the Vending Machine Industry
GROUPS
Among the many theories that Henry Ford either holds, or is ac
cused of holding, is that of selecting a 'price appeal for a particular
group of people and sticking to it. In a recent advertising magazine
a writer expressed the opinion that somwhere in
the world there were a number of people who would
buy anything, if it were only offered to them in the
right way. The manufacturer then, must design his
article with a special group of buyers in mind and
then conduct his sales campaign to reach that group.
If he can stick to his group in price appeal, adver
tising, and in all the other avenues of business, he is
all the more assured of continued success. He can
be assured that there is a definite group of operators,
and people, for whom he is building machines. Hold
ing a picture of these in his mind, his machines
take on a form suited to the ones whom he hopes
will patronize his devices. The idea can be carried on down through
the work of the operator. No operator expects a machine that will
appeal to everybody. He knows enough about hivman nature to un
derstand that people fall within well defined groups, that certain types
of machines will be patronized by one group but ignored by another,
and so on. When he tries out a machine on a certain location to see
whether it will get the play, he is simply determining by actual trial
whether the proper group of people frequent that place. It is all an
interesting matter of salesmanship when the operator begins to
study business so thoroughly that he can readily distinguish the
crowds to which he hopes to sell amusement or merchandise by ma
chine. An operator in Milwaukee who placed his venders in factories
chiefly, studied his customers carefully and learned that he could
readily sell ten-cent work gloves in his sandwich machines. Another
operator knows railroad men by long experience and he selects and
locates his machines to appeal to this group. Of course he is making
money. Another young man comes to Chicago to operate machines
that appeal especially to college and university students. He has al
ready learned the art of selecting machines and supplies in smaller
cities. Every successful operator is an example in some way of
learning his crowd and how to put the right machines in their way.
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