Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
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ing things pretty closely, and if you are not
ahead of him in the race for favor, he may
take a few of your choice sales unless they
are carefully cultivated to a definite conclu-
sion. Busy minds and nimble fingers are
thinking
and planning every minute of the
EDWARD LYMAN BILL,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
day, and if you don't grasp the plums, some-
J . B. S P I L L A N E , MANAGING EDITOR.
body else will—that's certain.
EMILIE FRANCES BAUER
THOS. CAMfBELL-COPELAND
The writer has in mind a little store in a
WALDO E. LADD
Executive Staff:
GEO. W. QUERIPEL
certain
large city that began operations on
A. J. NICKLIN
Even Satnrflay it 3 East Uth Street, New J o r t a very limited scale. The original stock was
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States, Mexico very small, likewise the capital of the con-
and Canada, $j.oo per year; all other countries, $4.00.
ADVERTISErVENTS, $2.00 per inch, single column, per cern ; but correct business rules were ap-
Insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a special discount
is allowed. Advertising Pages $50.00, opposite reading matter, plied to the business, and careful attention
REniTTANCES, in other than currency form, should be
was paid to every detail; absolute faith was
made payable to Edward Lyman Bill.
Enttred at the New York Post Offic* as Second Clan Matter kept with the public, and the result—the busi-
NEW YORK, OCT. 5, 1901.
ness grew. To-day it is a very prominent
TELEPHONE NUMBER, 1745-E1OHTEENTH STREET.
one in its locality, and there are many whole-
THE
On the first Saturday of each
ARTISTS 1
month The Review contains in its sale salesmen falling over themselves in their
DEPARTMENT " Artists' Department" all the cur-
rent musical news. This is effected haste to sell goods to this house. The men
without in any way trespassing on the size or ser-
vice of the trade section of the paper. It, has a behind it are now the foremost merchants
special circulation, and therefore augments mater- in their town. What looked at first like an
ially the value of The Review to advertisers.
DIRECTORY OF
The directory of piano manu- impossibility of success was turned into a
PIANO
facturing firms and corporations glorious reality, just because there was hustle
MANUFACTURERS f o u n d o n p a g e 22 will be of great
and brains in every effort displayed by this
value as a reference for dealers and others.
institution.
There are other firms, certain young mem-
EDITORIAL
bers of which we can mention, who have
A PLAIN PIANO TALK.
won success, and they are alert to every-
A
FTER
some
weeks
thing that is strictly up to date. They are
Business enough to
go round — Encour-
of travel in vari- going into bigger stores now—expansion;
agement for the hust-
ler—The advantage of try, we are inclined to
that is what you can do, if you adopt similar
originality— Opportu-
nities for the develop, the belief that fall busi-
tactics. We know it is a mighty sight easier
ment of store activity.
ous parts of the coun- to sit down and write about such things than
nesswill be unprecedentedly large—that some to engage in the actual performance of them,
manufacturers will not be able to take care but some store every day is a living example
of their trade in just the way which they of just such progress; to-morrow may be
would most desire—that, too, some dealers your day.
who have been holding back will be short of
Your business operations may hardly be
stock when the rush moment arrives—that in big enough to admit of the employment of
some sections of the country trade will be just the force that you would like. Adver-
disappointing—that some who have clung tising specialists, for instance, and right here
to old-time theories will see more of their is where a good many piano merchants spend
trade slipping away from them this fall than money without securing just the right re-
ever before.
turns.
It is the time to hustle now, and all active
If we scan the average piano "ads." over
piano merchants should get things hustling the country in the local papers, we find they
for fall business. We are right at its gate-
are not, as a whole, attractively displayed or
way at the present time, and the hour is
the matter interesting. It would pay piano
reached for the inauguration of the rush.
men well to pay a little additional money to
Every moment of the piano merchant's
have their advertising matter well handled.
store life from now on ought to sparkle with
There is one thing, however, that we must
originality. He should conceive every plan
compliment piano merchants upon, and that
to get folks coming his way and—what is
is the taste displayed in their stationery—and
better—keep them coming.
stationery reflects frequently the character
Create a flutter of interest by delving, in
of one's business, and forms a very impor-
a degree, in the novelty advertising busi-
tant function in the general correctness of
ness ; let the townspeople know that you are
things. What is more nauseating than to
up and doing, incidentally selling pianos.
We should say to the piano man, use every receive a bill from a merchant bearing the
effort in the ordinary, and out of the ordin- stamp of cheapness, vulgarity and careless-
ary as well, to bring business your way, for ness? How quickly one may judge from sta-
there is plenty of good business to be had in tionery of what sort of business the sender
is doing!
this great country of ours.
TWENTY-THIRD YEAR.
REVIEW
Your neighbor down the street is watch-
hibited good taste in their stationery, we
would say, give your office stationery just
as much attention as the general appearance
of your store. Let it be neat and attractive,
but void of any semblance of coarse display.
Some dealers have asked our opinion re-
garding circularizing—that is, getting out
circular letters, and getting them into the
homes of the best families in the town.
We would say, if this kind of advertising
is considered desirable, as careful attention
should be paid it as to wedding invitations.
It should be tasty and aesthetic in every way,
then it interests.
In this particular, no concern in the world
has surpassed the ^Eolian Co. in their superb
literature, addressed to retail purchasers. It
has been a powerful factor in building their
great business. The cheap or shoddy kind
of letters or communications and circulars
find their resting place in the waste paper bas-
ket, and it is therefore money thrown away.
While in this connection, we would say
it. would be a very good scheme to let fly
a lot of such personal messages to your trade
as will interest. It would be a good idea to
make them very general—as a sort of per-
sonal invitation to visit the store and see
the latest styles in pianos—dull finish, of
course—'that you have received from the
great, medium and low-priced makers, and
mention them all, because it only shows the
strength of your line. In this connection
get up something novel and different; print
it on some exquisitely tinted paper—by that
we do not believe in getting up a heading
after this style: "A minute of your time,
please," and glue a penny stamp at the side
of the heading—or we don't believe, to even
go further than that, that to draw a personal
check for one cent to each individual to
whom you are addressing one of your fall
"eye openers" will be the proper thing ei-
ther, but something attractive, dignified and
stimulating in piano interest. Individualize
your work as much as possible, because in-
dividuality is the backbone to a business.
Use every point possible for the advertise-
ment of your business. Never lose the chance
of getting before the public in any way you
can, as long as it is in a reliable way. The
railroad that got a picture of one of its trains
on the commemorative series of Pan-Amer-
ican stamps did really clever advertising
work. Some of you may laugh at the fellow
who puts a banner across the back of the
elephant of a circus, but everybody doesn't
treat is as a joke. The simple sign goes into
many a heart and may send a lot of money
his way, and so it is through the line of pub-
licity.
Hang up your banners on the outer wall,
and—yes—keep them there, substituting at
•
To the piano merchants who have not ex- proper intervals new banners.