Music Trade Review
Issue: 1927 Vol. 85 N. 9 - Page 3
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THE
REVIEW
VOL. 85. No. 9 Published Weekly. Federated Business Publications, Inc., 420 Lexington Ave., New York, N. Y., Aug. 27,1927
9lns
|lo 0 o o p perM' e n U
Customers' Musical Taste
And the Way to Meet Its Demands
Ruth E. Wright Preisz, of the Bradbury-Preisz Music Co., Yakima, Wash.,
Analyzes the Average Customer Who Comes to the Store and Tells How
Meeting Their Tastes Increases the Volume of Sales in the Retail Music Store
r
O the casual onlooker, selling music is
something delightful, nothing to it but
the mere opportunity of hearing the latest
numbers, as they are released from the factory,
or the constant companionship of the very best
in musical composition. A short time ago a
waitress from one of the better tea rooms came
in and asked for a position, telling me that she
desired different employment and thought she
was especially suited to selling records and
musical instruments, as she was very fond of
all kinds of music, good, bad and indifferent.
To her surprise I asked her whether or not
she was familiar with the operas, if she had
studied languages sufficiently well to enable
her to give correctly the titles of. selections,
artists and operas. Furthermore, I asked her
if she knew anything about the personalities
of the artists, where they were singing the
present season, what was known of them per-
sonally, what instruments composed a band,
a symphony orchestra, brass or reed, what the
difference in the instruments were, what old
violins were famous and by whom were they
made, what instruments were used by the dif-
ferent concert artists and anything concerning
the history or price paid for them that would
be of interest to the listener. That girl opened
her eyes and, needless to say^ knew none of the
necessary things for the successful girl in the
music business.
It goes without saying that many who are
successful in this particular line of work enter
into it without these qualifications. But they
must be adaptable to that sort of thing, willing
to work and to learn all possible from the daily
contact with all sorts of musical tastes.
Difficult to Handle
People who music shop are particularly dif-
ficult to handle. One may be able to tell in
a measure what a customer's taste in clothing
might be. A milliner can judge her customer
by her general color scheme and can suit her
faco bv the study of her features, hair and
color of her eyes. But we who sell music—
we who must satisfy souls—are given no clue
to what the inner wants are. We cannot tell
by the mask, their features or the color ot
their hair, eyes or clothes, what sort of a heart
they have. We cannot tell always what great
sorrow or happiness has touched their lives.
If they enter our presence with the usual
remark: "I want a record, but I haven't any
YTERE is an analysis of the average cus-
X JL tomers who come into the retail music
warerooms and the way in which their
varying tastes in music may be met on the
part of the sales person. The article em-
bodies the actual experience of the writer
and shows how practical psychology may
be applied to develop the volume of sales.
Better salesmanship is an essential today in
the retail music trade and nowhere more
than in a wider musical knowledge and ap-
preciation on the part of the salesman.
idea what kind I want'—we seek and try until
by chance we stumble on to the strain that
appeals. Of course what will appeal one time
will not do another day, for music deals almost
entirely with the emotions, and the minor mel-
ody that sways them in the gloomy mood will
have to be replaced by something stirring and
bright.
Character reading has come into its own in
the busy workaday world. We are not perfect
and set rules cannot be applied to every case,
but types often ring true and one has old-
fashioned "earmarks" by which they may be
guided sometimes.
Character Reading
An old lady with a twinkle in her eyes, tiny
"smile" wrinkles about her eyes -and mouth,
who is keen for her years and alert, will not
want slow-moving melodies unless they bfi the
good old songs and ballads from her girlhood
days. She will tolerate a taste for jazz in
her grandchildren with good humor and tell
of the days when she danced the quadrille and
polka. She will laugh mirthfully when you play
the comic numbers and tap the toe of her com-
fort slipper in time to an old-time fiddle tune.
A soothing waltz will appeal to her, or perhaps
a simple melody or selection from lighter
opera. Occasionally one goes wrong on this
type, but not often.
There is the tall, spare woman, of the same
age as the other, but in type more s e v e r e -
drooping lines at the mouth, and eyes that are
sharp and piercing. This woman has met with
disappointment in her life or was not endowed
with the genial spirit of good fellowship. She
will be honorable, righteous, mentally alert, a
bit watchful of her purse strings, and prac-
tically know her wants. She is set in her
manner and deliberate of action. Church music
will appeal to her, the old hymns and the
ballad type of song, heavy with sentiment and
sadness.
A type of person whom nobody cares to serve
is the highbrow. She is the lady of high-arched
brows, who deems it unwise to more than
speak her wants to the saleslady. She will
quite often not know much about music, and
a clever saleswoman will often catch her in
traps of her own making, yet discreetly hide
'the fact. She assumes a most patronizing air,
loathes jazz, or else gets a great kick out of
it. Her knowledge is practically gained from
what others have in their collections or from
the catalog. If the title sounds classic she must
have it by all means. She yawns, is bored
with the task of making a choice, and en-
deavors to impress the saleswoman with what
she knows, where she has been and the things
she has seen. Reticent in speaking their minds,
these women are often extremely hard to please,
and more times than a few will take the very
numbers refused in the first place. Information
regarding' the selections being played will h a y
( no effect upon this very superior person and
a disinterested glance in her direction very
soon informs the saleswoman there is nothing
her customer does not know.
(Continued on page 4)
THE
REVIEW
VOL. 85. No. 9 Published Weekly. Federated Business Publications, Inc., 420 Lexington Ave., New York, N. Y., Aug. 27,1927
9lns
|lo 0 o o p perM' e n U
Customers' Musical Taste
And the Way to Meet Its Demands
Ruth E. Wright Preisz, of the Bradbury-Preisz Music Co., Yakima, Wash.,
Analyzes the Average Customer Who Comes to the Store and Tells How
Meeting Their Tastes Increases the Volume of Sales in the Retail Music Store
r
O the casual onlooker, selling music is
something delightful, nothing to it but
the mere opportunity of hearing the latest
numbers, as they are released from the factory,
or the constant companionship of the very best
in musical composition. A short time ago a
waitress from one of the better tea rooms came
in and asked for a position, telling me that she
desired different employment and thought she
was especially suited to selling records and
musical instruments, as she was very fond of
all kinds of music, good, bad and indifferent.
To her surprise I asked her whether or not
she was familiar with the operas, if she had
studied languages sufficiently well to enable
her to give correctly the titles of. selections,
artists and operas. Furthermore, I asked her
if she knew anything about the personalities
of the artists, where they were singing the
present season, what was known of them per-
sonally, what instruments composed a band,
a symphony orchestra, brass or reed, what the
difference in the instruments were, what old
violins were famous and by whom were they
made, what instruments were used by the dif-
ferent concert artists and anything concerning
the history or price paid for them that would
be of interest to the listener. That girl opened
her eyes and, needless to say^ knew none of the
necessary things for the successful girl in the
music business.
It goes without saying that many who are
successful in this particular line of work enter
into it without these qualifications. But they
must be adaptable to that sort of thing, willing
to work and to learn all possible from the daily
contact with all sorts of musical tastes.
Difficult to Handle
People who music shop are particularly dif-
ficult to handle. One may be able to tell in
a measure what a customer's taste in clothing
might be. A milliner can judge her customer
by her general color scheme and can suit her
faco bv the study of her features, hair and
color of her eyes. But we who sell music—
we who must satisfy souls—are given no clue
to what the inner wants are. We cannot tell
by the mask, their features or the color ot
their hair, eyes or clothes, what sort of a heart
they have. We cannot tell always what great
sorrow or happiness has touched their lives.
If they enter our presence with the usual
remark: "I want a record, but I haven't any
YTERE is an analysis of the average cus-
X JL tomers who come into the retail music
warerooms and the way in which their
varying tastes in music may be met on the
part of the sales person. The article em-
bodies the actual experience of the writer
and shows how practical psychology may
be applied to develop the volume of sales.
Better salesmanship is an essential today in
the retail music trade and nowhere more
than in a wider musical knowledge and ap-
preciation on the part of the salesman.
idea what kind I want'—we seek and try until
by chance we stumble on to the strain that
appeals. Of course what will appeal one time
will not do another day, for music deals almost
entirely with the emotions, and the minor mel-
ody that sways them in the gloomy mood will
have to be replaced by something stirring and
bright.
Character reading has come into its own in
the busy workaday world. We are not perfect
and set rules cannot be applied to every case,
but types often ring true and one has old-
fashioned "earmarks" by which they may be
guided sometimes.
Character Reading
An old lady with a twinkle in her eyes, tiny
"smile" wrinkles about her eyes -and mouth,
who is keen for her years and alert, will not
want slow-moving melodies unless they bfi the
good old songs and ballads from her girlhood
days. She will tolerate a taste for jazz in
her grandchildren with good humor and tell
of the days when she danced the quadrille and
polka. She will laugh mirthfully when you play
the comic numbers and tap the toe of her com-
fort slipper in time to an old-time fiddle tune.
A soothing waltz will appeal to her, or perhaps
a simple melody or selection from lighter
opera. Occasionally one goes wrong on this
type, but not often.
There is the tall, spare woman, of the same
age as the other, but in type more s e v e r e -
drooping lines at the mouth, and eyes that are
sharp and piercing. This woman has met with
disappointment in her life or was not endowed
with the genial spirit of good fellowship. She
will be honorable, righteous, mentally alert, a
bit watchful of her purse strings, and prac-
tically know her wants. She is set in her
manner and deliberate of action. Church music
will appeal to her, the old hymns and the
ballad type of song, heavy with sentiment and
sadness.
A type of person whom nobody cares to serve
is the highbrow. She is the lady of high-arched
brows, who deems it unwise to more than
speak her wants to the saleslady. She will
quite often not know much about music, and
a clever saleswoman will often catch her in
traps of her own making, yet discreetly hide
'the fact. She assumes a most patronizing air,
loathes jazz, or else gets a great kick out of
it. Her knowledge is practically gained from
what others have in their collections or from
the catalog. If the title sounds classic she must
have it by all means. She yawns, is bored
with the task of making a choice, and en-
deavors to impress the saleswoman with what
she knows, where she has been and the things
she has seen. Reticent in speaking their minds,
these women are often extremely hard to please,
and more times than a few will take the very
numbers refused in the first place. Information
regarding' the selections being played will h a y
( no effect upon this very superior person and
a disinterested glance in her direction very
soon informs the saleswoman there is nothing
her customer does not know.
(Continued on page 4)
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