Business English Part 95

CAPTURING THE LATIN AMERICAN TRADE

No empty iteration of the Monroe doctrine, no reservation of ca.n.a.l privileges, will capture the trade of Latin America. This will be accomplished only by efforts to produce and to sell those countries the kind of goods that they want; measured, labeled, and packed their way; offered in the language that they understand; and, moreover, sold at attractive prices.

Our consuls abroad report that in all these essentials American dealers are deficient and that British, French, and German manufacturers fill the South American markets.

To these rivals must be added another, for, in spite of old South American prejudices against Spain and Spanish goods, the Spaniards are quietly regaining their footing in those republics of whose trade a century ago the home country enjoyed the monopoly. Her advantages, we know, are a common language and familiarity with the ways of life and the tastes of the buyers. Spain produces just the kind of wine, olive oil, and canned goods that South America wants; she turns out the kind of paper, the patterns of cotton goods, the styles of tools and implements, the clothing, shoes, and weapons used in Latin America; and the result is that she gets the trade. One-sixth, at least, of her entire exports goes to her former possessions.

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South Africa has been successfully operating an agricultural parcel post. By its instrumentality gold, diamonds, minerals, wool, feathers, saddlery, boots and shoes, confectionery, fruit, plants, seed, b.u.t.ter and eggs suitably packed, and other farm products are transported, and the producer and consumer have been brought together. From the report of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs we learn that the scheme has worked well, is a recognized and popular feature of the postal system, and is entirely feasible. The spa.r.s.e settlements and widely scattered population have not operated to bar its success, as was feared at the time of its introduction.

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The duty of applying the remedy for wrecks rests, primarily, with the railroad managers. And what is the remedy, and how is it to be applied? It would seem that there can be but one answer: there must be stern discipline for taking risks. There must be thorough instruction as to what risks are and how to avoid them, just such instruction as the "safety first"

movement is leading up to, but extended to every man in every department of every road. In addition, the promise that no engineman will be censured for losing or not making up time or for not running fast when it is not considered safe to do so must be changed to the positive, unequivocal statement that there will be a substantial penalty for every case of running fast when it is not safe to do so.--_Railway Age Gazette._

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More and more attention, each year, is being given by the railroad managers to the locating of new kinds of industry along their lines. The roads in the West and the South nearly all have efficient industrial departments, land departments, or immigration departments. Their men seek out new industries, meet the steamers to tempt immigrants into their region, arrange for the purchase or rental of lands, and get together reports of the soil, the products, and the advantages of any desired location. Perhaps the greatest effort, however, is bent upon the location of new factories along the route. In one year one southern railroad induced more than seven hundred men to establish industries along its lines, after the railroads had made complete and painstaking investigation of all the conditions that would confront the prospective manufacturers.

CHAPTER XVIII

ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING is one of the most vital forces in the problem of distribution. Every advertis.e.m.e.nt is a salesman and is written and sent out with the idea of doing the work of one. It may bring in actual orders or it may merely do "missionary work"; that is, it may introduce a certain article or product and educate the people to see its advantages so that when next they desire that particular sort of article, they will order the one that they have seen advertised.

Many an article that has had practically no sale has by means of an effective advertising campaign been brought to a point of wide distribution and ready sale. How many safety razors would the manufacturers sell if they had never advertised their product? Very few.

But when day after day, everywhere a man looks--in street cars, newspapers, magazines, and on billboards--he sees staring at him a reason why he should use a safety razor, he soon comes to feel that he needs one. It is just the same as though the country were covered with salesmen who were constantly after every one to get him to see the advantage of the safety razor. The advertised articles may in themselves be no better than the unadvertised brands, but advertising has created a demand for the one over the other. The secret of selling success is creating a demand.

The importance of advertising is demonstrated by an experience which the city of Chicago had on Wednesday, March 2, 1911. On the afternoon before, a dispute arose between two newspapers and their printers, ending in a temporary strike of the printers. As a result, all papers published on March 2 contained only four pages each, in contrast to the usual twenty-four, because they contained not a single advertis.e.m.e.nt.

Fortunately, the strike lasted only one day, as the local printers were at once reprimanded by the International Typographical Union. But the losses that newspapers and retail business men suffered on this one day convinced them of the power of advertising. Street cars, downtown streets, and department stores were almost empty. To be sure, billboards still proclaimed their wares, but, as soon as newspaper advertising ceased, the great ma.s.s of shopping stopped.

=Exercise 279=

_Oral_

1. What are some of the advertising methods used in a retail business?

2. What are some of the advertising methods used in a wholesale business? Where are the advertis.e.m.e.nts published?

3. What is the princ.i.p.al advertising medium of the mail order house? Explain why it is effective.

4. What is cla.s.sified advertising? Why are newspapers anxious to increase it? Name several reasons.

5. What is "display" advertising as distinguished from cla.s.sified? What is the princ.i.p.al medium of this kind of advertising?

6. Give several instances of advertising by means of the distribution of "novelties," such as calendars. Is such advertising effective?

7. Is the distribution of samples good advertising? Be specific in your answer.

8. Is it a good thing to have a trade-mark? Name some trade-marks that you think are good advertising.

9. Is a bargain table good advertising? What is its advantage in a retail store?

10. What cla.s.s of advertising is done in the cla.s.sified columns of a newspaper?

11. What cla.s.s of articles and products is advertised in the street cars and trains? Expensive or inexpensive? Things you use every day or not?

12. Are articles advertised by billboards usually widely advertised articles or not?

13. What kind of articles would you advertise in:

1. The newspaper rather than the magazine?

2. The magazine rather than the newspaper?

3. The street car rather than on the billboard?

4. The trade papers rather than the newspapers?

14. Suppose you were bringing out a new soap and you could use only one of the following mediums: (1) newspapers; (2) local and trade magazines; (3) street cars; (4) billboards and posters. Which would you choose and why? Would your answer be the same if you had real estate to sell? A new machine? If you were producing a new play?

15. NEWS ITEM.--The University of Wisconsin has issued a bulletin, stating that of all the money spent for food, shelter, and clothing 90% is spent by women.

Would the following be good advertising for a magazine: "The women of the country read this paper"?

Give reasons for your answer.

16. Do handbills suggest cheapness to you?

=Exercise 280=

_Oral_

Discuss the value of each of the following as forms of advertising:

1. Location.

2. Furnishings of the office or the store.

3. Letter headings.

4. Window displays.

5. Electric (or other) signs.

6. Moving electric signs.

7. Colors (especially reds, greens, and yellows) as against black and white.

8. White lettering on a black background.

=Exercise 281=