April 18, 1925.
P R E S T O
MAKING HOME FOLKS
TRADE AT HOME
EEBURG
That Suggests an Effort for Every Dealer in a
Small City Close to Big One, But
Only the Energetic
Attempt It.
THE PERSONAL EQUATION
TYLE"L"
Neighborly Feeling Enters Largely Into Solution of
Small Town Dealer's Problem of Diverting Trade
From City Stores.
Every music merchant in the smaller towns has
the problem of keeping the "home trade" at home.
The problem is greater when a large city is within
easy distance of the small town, thus making the
competitive factor more acute. What to do to keep
the interest of the community at home is something
that invites thojght and action every day of the year.
Take the music merchants in a certain town of, say,
50,000, as illustration of the conditions created by the
big city too close to the smaller one. In the smaller
places the merchants have the same necessity of
action and word that would keep before the commu-
nity the impression that they are as modern as the
music stores in the big places, about an hour's train
ride distant. Not all of them, however, attempt the
ceation of that thought in the local prospects. And
only occasionally does one strive continuously to
make the desirable mental impression.
The Energetic Firm.
In its big striving, one particular music store does
not direct efforts to combating the local competi-
tors, but rather strives to divert business from the
music merchants in the big city. To battle with
neighbors for the trade that stays at home is con-
sidered futile. About a thousand of the townsfolk
work in the big city every day and scores of farmers
send produce to the large place weekly. Shopping in
the big city is a natural thing with such people. The
fact that a fair percentage of even those whose busi-
ness is in the big city, is a measure of the strength
of the appeal of the energetic local music store.
The average dweller in the small town finds a day
in the big city more or less of an adventure—some-
thing different from every day routine. The bigger
stores, with their greater variety, have an appeal that
cannot lie disregarded. So the policy of the energetic
small town store is deliberately planned to meet these
natural appeals of the large city.
The KEY to
OSITIVE
ROFITS
MANUFACTURED ONLY BY
J. P. Seeburg
Piano Co.
"Leaders in the
Automatic Field"
1510 Dayton St.
Chicago
Address Department "E"
Ways to Interest Neighbors.
To do this the ambitious local store strives to be
ever new in interest. While stocks are not unneces-
sarily large, they are well displayed in windows and
ware-rooms, and their demonstration is made a daily
feature of the business.
Certain factors naturally help this store to hold its
own. The business of the small city house now in
mind is close to sixty years old, and the same family
has been accumulating good will since the store was
opened In fact you might say there is a habit of
confidence in the store, and its owner, from his fellow
citizens. The effort always is to maintain and extend
that confidence.
Customers and Friends.
There is an air of old customer familiarity in the
store that the bigger-city store cannot give the people
of the smaller town. The people know the owner,
and all who work in the store, and the personal
equation is a dominating factor. They expect satis-
factory dealings. They look for a shade better price
than the big city merchants give. The energetic local
store makes the prices lower without cutting its own
just proportion of profit, and takes care to adver-
tise the fact. The customers in the smaller town
reason that the bigger store in the bigger place must
have larger expenses.
All these are obvious advantages the store in the
smaller tow r n can have. Beyond them comes the
effort to meet the appeal of interest and larger variety
of the larger stores. The energetic smaller store
alluded to has a piano line that fulfills every require-
ment as to degrees of quality and price.
Carries a Strong Line.
One of America's greatest pianos, in upright, grand
and reproducing form, gives character to the business.
Great care in selection is made in choosing the other
musical goods. Everything in the musical merchan-
dise line is standard and distinguished with a name
that is nationally known. The best makers of brass
band goods, and orchestra goods, are represented
there and the sheet music department has a stock of
music and books large and varied enough to do credit
to any big city store.
But fine goods and comparatively big stocks will
not offset the big city store allurements. To do that
the store depends on particularly strong advertising,
really artistic show windows that emphasize the mer-
its and attractions of the goods, store demonstrations
and "stunts." The newspaper advertising and book-
let and folder distribution is timely, continuous and
effective. The window displays of the store literally
draw crowds of citizens day and night, and create the
germs of desire, and the "stunts," as the various
store features are called by the sales staff, are really
strong aids to the preservation of the trade-at-home
feeling.
Store Attractions.
Of course the store has its Music Week events, but
in reality every week something is done to associate
the store with musical affairs local and general, and
accentuate the bond between the customer and the
store.
Every Saturday there is a Children's Hour of musi-
cal entertainment. Music teachers consider that the
most effective means towards inculcating the desire
to learn music in the young auditors. Clever children
who perform on piano, violin or other instruments,
thereby incite the little listeners to ambition to do
as well or better. Three orchestras of twelve or
more are really classes of varying proficiency organ-
ized among tjie boys and girls. Monthly concerts
keep alive the enthusiasm of the pupils and advertise
the music firm in whose hall on the top floor of the
store building, the concerts are given.
Bind Salesman and Customer.
Professional and amateur players of band instru-
ments are made to feel at home in the band instru-
ment department by the manager and his salesmen
who are all proficient in playing various instruments.
Indeed the manager is a professional player and
leader and teacher of a local band and a band in an
adjoining town.
The sheet music department is considered an ex-
cellent advertising means as it is made a connecting
link between the store and a great number of people
who are interested in music and musical instruments.
A demonstrator is at the service of customers all the
time and the sheet music section is made attractive
by the featuring of popular music.
Strong Publicity.
Of course these "stunts" would mean nothing if
they were not backed up by consistently good mer-
chandise The store tells the news of these events in
a store news leaflet which reaches 3,000 families in
the community on the first of every month. It is not
a joke book, with a few timid advertisements stuck in.
It is four pages of frank and interesting news about
the store and its workers, mailed in a one-cent en-
velope, and it is read. That means of sending it
raises it to the character of a letter. It is never dis-
tributed from door to door. The Store News an-
nounces and reports all the "stunts" and is the most
effective stunt itself in making the home folks trade
at home.
And this store news idea is so effective in keeping
alive local interest and holding the home trade for the
small city music store against the invasion of the
large center attractions that Presto will return to it
later as a special subject of discussion and sugges-
tion.
B. C. WATERS FINISHES
TOUR OF SOUTHERN STATES
Official of Western Electric Piano Co. Successful in
Introducing Line to Live Trade.
A trip through the south, where trade conditions
were observed and friends visited, was completed this
week by B. C. Waters of the Western Electric Piano
Co., 429 West Superior street, Chicago, when he re-
turned to headquarters with a good number of orders
from dealers in Texas and neighboring states.
Mr. Waters expressed the opinion that the possi-
bilities in the automatic instrument field in that sec-
tion will be far greater when dealers acquaint them-
selves with the new models and inventions and the
profit that can be had by exploiting the wide line of
the Western Electric Co.
MISS FABER A MUSICAL GENIUS.
Miss Virginia Faber, young daughter of J. Valen-
tine Faber, M. Schulz Co.'s representative in Osh-
kosh. Wis., has remarkable talent for music and is
now known over a wide section of the state as a
clever pianist. Little Miss Faber has made a num-
ber of appearances in Oshkosh, but her remarkable
talent was more fully realized after her appearance at
a recital at the First Congregational Church recently.
The T. E. Rice Piano Company, Wooster, O., has
moved to 236 South Market street.
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