The talking machine world (July-Dec 1923)

October 15, 1923 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD 69 Radio— Its Yesterday— To-day— To-morrow Basic Principles of Radio Progress and Merchandising Discussed by H. H. Roemer, Sales Manager, DeForest Radio Tel. & Tel. Co. That the talking machine dealer is acting cautiously in the matter of radio goes without saying. And, I dare say, never in his experience as a merchant of reproduced music has he been confronted with quite as perplexing a problem. If he is not one who "dipped in" when the premature "blow off" occurred — he at least heard the unfortunate story through his less fortunate brothers who did. And right here is where the grief began. They were "burnt" — and in many cases they were burnt badly. They have a right to think cautiously and act likewise. And without disregard for those who did suf¥er, I might add that theirs was an experience which has done more for the industry than many other conditions which demanded closer attention in the production of radio and in the perfecting of a merchandisable product in order that the public's interest remain with the art. In a measure, skepticism to-day is as" rampant as in any previous days of epoch-making periods in the history of invention. We are no older than our forefathers in their time. Our beliefs are equally as primitive in the acceptance of anything that smacks of mystery — the new things which cannot be "seen" especially. A condition due to the layman's lack of technical knowledge or closeness to the "inside track," whatever the subject. And as we have the skeptic, so have we the "progressive" and, likewise, the "impulsive" types. It requires all types to make a people, and all types to awaken a people. Were it not for the skeptic improvement and refinement would remain ever at a standstill. The skeptic, that "show me" half-brother to conservatism, demands more than the progressive and counter balances the impulsive. Nor does the category of these classes apply exclusively to the buying public. It has reached out and found its way to the dealer himself, until we have as strong a classification of similar types among our dealer friends as has been described above. So when one morning we awakened and found ourselves in the maelstrom of a public's clamoring demand for a practically unheard-of something — when radio burst in upon us with far greater disorder than the gold rush to Nevada or the Yukon — there was a mad scramble by the trade to get in and we all know the results. Here arose an industry overnight, unknown to mechanical skill, we might say, and certainly unknown to manufacturing science when considering volume output. A field untilled, with absolutely no established dealer outlet, much less a sales or advertising organization in back of it. There wasn't time for organization— much less the necessary time for proper manufacture. The public demanded radio, and the public will have what it demands. Influence of Music in Radio Popularity After that first flash, when the entire country was attracted to radio — what made radio popular? Was it the voice from a hundred or a thousand miles away? No — this only sharpened the appetite for more — hut when music came over the air, then, and then only, did radio rip holes in the public's pocketbooks and anything that "squawked" sold for a time. But it was music that did the trick. Music was the carrier wave of radio's phenomenal grip on the public — and is to-day. I^ittle wonder the talking machine dealer jumped in and bought. It was music, and isn't music Aw field — ^his province f But — radio two years ago and radio to-day are as foreign to each other as Edison's first record compared with the product of to-day. In my close daily contact with the dealer trade I have had ample time to study the talking machine trade's viewpoint. Its attitude is well found ed, based upon that experience any dealer feels who has bought an unknown quantity and each day sees that "graveyard of dead stock"— a monument to "snap judgment" — and a constant reminder of impulsive and untimely action. But yesterday has gone and to-day finds us with what the skeptic of a year or so ago looked forward to. To-day presents that something which the skeptic found lacking yesterday — the public's tuned ear and understanding of radio's practicability and actuality • — plus engineering and manufacturing skill to produce that which can be merchandised with safety to their good-will and without the aid of a great machine shop and engineering corps to attend to service. One need only read a little, see a little and hear a little to satisfy himself completely that as suddenly as radio hit us, just that sudden has its development progressed, until to-day a trip through Grand Central Palace's exhibits will compel admission of the absolute fact that products in radio do exist which have eliminated the greatest objectionable features necessary to the talking machine trade's class of merchandising and are being produced with that same dependable precision as any talking machine, from the finest materials and workmanship in artistic cabinet construction as would meet and satisfy the most fastidious taste of any buyer and add beauty and refinement to any home throughout the land. The Radio Service Bugbear We have heard so much about "service." Yesterday? Yes, service was not alone servicing the set — it was teaching how to operate. Even in the earlier days of radio so-called service was not servicing sets because of being out of order, but the pioneering of education. Look about you. You cannot pick many men on the street who do not know something of radio. And as for boys? It's fifty-fifty as to which stands first — the big league or radio. But the public does not really know a great deal of radio. Servicing to-day is not the bugbear of yesterday, and as fast as manufacturers realize that, "instruction sheets" of less technical nature and more profuse in ordinary terms are eliminating service materially. Service, on the part of the dealer, is growing less and less, until to-day you require very little, especially in the better-built cabinet types. The service scare the talking machine dealer has felt is largely the fault of manufacturers' salesmen, in many cases, who have not talked the line properly. Too much technical stuff. Dealers I have interviewed have displayed their fear of the technical side of the business. Salesmen have juggled the vernacular of this new-found language— radio parlance — until the dealer has stood aghast and bewildered. I dare say the percentage of lost sales to dealers, due to technical fear, would astonish our manufacturers. Sell Results — Not Technical Knowledge Servicing radio can be made a disease or a negligible quantity by the dealer. Talk a buyer into opening his set and by one stunt or another he can produce this or that and you are laying the most beautiful background for "service" that can be put over. A man goes in to buy a clock. The clerk does not open it up and expose its entrails. He sells it on its appearance wd on the reputation of his place and the manufacturer behind it. He sells results backed by confidence. Radio, Mr. Dealer, is not one bit different to-day, except possibly in that a clerk or salesman should at least know the fundamentals of the art, and your manufacturer's selling program should include that educational data as a part of his "selling helps." This data is no heavier than your comparative sales points in the talking machine or piano field. Beyond the minor details of knowing each set sold functions properly w'hen delivered there should be no further servicing (under correct usage) than keeping an eye on the batteries (the automobile has taught every man that) and the tubes. When considering the fact that little boys, not. alone the city chap, but the little fellows far back in remote spots of this country in the hills or on the plains, with the most impoverished tools and materials, without the advantages of anything more than a little red schoolhouse education, are (C ontiniied on page 72) Beware of Imitations Upholstery and Decorative Fabrics Hydol Silk Plush, in the new and beautiful range of colors, is being used extensively for decorating windows. Its brilliant lustre and high quality is recognized by all display men as unequalled. If you want the original Hydol Silk Plush, look for the name HYDOL on either end of the piece. Hydol Silk Plush is carried by all the leading fixture people throughout the United States. If your fixture house doesn't carry our line, write to us direct. Samples and color card illustrating latest shades on request. 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