The talking machine world (July-Dec 1924)

30 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD July 15, 1924 Making Repeat Record Patrons by Service System for Eliminating Loss of Sales Due to Being "Out" of the Records Asked for — Service Is Important Selling Force Service is all the average talking machine dealer has to offer his customers. It is true he is selling music, both the best and worst, according to the demand of his clientele. But so are a half dozen or more other dealers handling the same line of products in his own town or district. It is the retailer who impresses his customers most forcibly in the matter of service who can be expected to get the best results. It is to be assumed, of course, that the talking machine retailer who considers his business seriously carries a full line of records of the company that he represents, or at least endeavors to carry a full line so far as his capital or factory production facilities will permit. Being thus able to provide a customer immediately with any desired record is the first essential ■of good business. Record Shortage Kills Sales It will happen, however, that no matter how earnest may be the attempt to keep a complete stock of records on hand constantly, and no The Matchless Lafayette Neutrodyne — No squeals! — No interference! — Great distance! — The desired station every time on the same dial setting! — A piece of furniture, a musical instrument and an ornament. THE KOR-RAD CO., Inc. Sole Distributors 151 East 58th St. , New York Lafayette Neutrodyne Receiving Set . $150.00 Lafayette Reproducer . . . 35.00 Solid Mahogany Cabinet . 35.00 Dealers, write for proposition THE |\jEUTRODYNrI matter how carefully the stock is checked, there will be periods when available supplies of certain records are exhausted and new shipments have not yet arrived. Where the customer is new and in a hurry this lapse sometimes means a lost sale. If the proper spirit of service is shown, however, danger of losing business in this manner can be minimized. System for Notifying Customers "The idea of notifying the customer when a desired record is received is not by any means new, for it has been and is being used by many letailers. There is one dealer in the metropolitan district of New York, however, who has developed a definite system for handling these back orders from customers. A card file is provided with a sufficient number of index cards to take care of normal requirements. Perhaps there is a run on a record by a certain wellknown singer . sufficient to deplete available stocks. The name of the first customer who inquires for that record is entered on a card and on the index card is written the number of the desired record. Every other request that comes in for that particular number before new stock arrives is duly entered on a card and all these are placed behind the index card. Perhaps during the course of a month there will be half a dozen records out of stock with all inquiries duly listed on cards and placed on a special file. As each record is received from the jobber or manufacturer, the first move of the clerk is to go over his stock order file, take out all cards containing requests for that number, and send to each customer a prepared postcard announcing that record number so-and-so, title so-and-so, has been received and will be delivered either in person or by messenger as desired. To save time several hundred of the postcards are printed in advance so that all that need be written on them is the name and address of the customer, the number of the record and the title. The form used by the dealer in question is as follows: New York, . 1924. We are happy to advise you that we have just received a fresh supply of record Number of (space for title) by (name of artist) We are reserving one of these records for you and shall be glad to deliver to you in person or by messenger as soon as desired. We have also received a number of new records well worth hearing. Very truly yours, A. B. JONES & CO. (Address) 'Phone I.IC.-1.1....I iin.l.T llu' Hiim-IHii. Pi.l. 'ill N... 1 ir.OUHO Mud.* by H. K. Tli.mipH.ni Mftf. Co. Jersey City, N. J. It is but natural, and experience has proved, that many customers who have demanded certain records have gone elsewhere and secured the desired number rather than wait for that one particular dealer to get fresh stock. As a result, perhaps only three or four follow-up postcards will result in sales of the record mentioned and perhaps where the number is very popular all the orders will have been already filled and no sales will be made. The point is that the sending of the postcard appeals to the customer as a bit of service to be appreciated. It impresses him with the fact that the dealer considers his patronage sufficiently important to warrant giving special attention to his desires, and although the immediate sale may be lost future business is being built up. Too Little Attempt to Follow-up To many dealers it may seem that any comment on the desirability or necessity of following up either record or machine customers is superfluous in tin' belief tint practically all retailers follow this practice as a matter of course, (in the contrary, there is a surprisingly large number of dealers who take each sale as it comes and make little or no attempt to follow up the customer or encourage his patronage. Perhaps it is unjust to say that the dealers themselves assume this attitude, but certainly there is a certain type of clerk who works on the theory that the less time and effort expended on the customer the easier becomes the salesman's job. An Example of Neglect There is one authentic case right now where a customer has been purchasing records from a New York dealer for five or six years at regular intervals and has at times requested records that were not at the moment in stock. This dealer, who, by the way, handles his trade personally, operates an attractive store and is pleasant to deal with, has not yet made a note of this particular customer's address nor has he made any effort to advise the customer when fresh shipments of desired records have been received. Certainly it must be accepted as an exceptional case. The customer in question has on most occasions taken the trouble to visit the dealer at various times to inquire regarding the receipt of certain records, but what about the scores of other customers who, rather than take that trouble, will go to a competing dealer only a short distance away and get the record sought? Repeat Cutomers Key to Success True, it would mean the immediate loss of only a 75-cent or $1 sale, but every move the retailer can make to keep the customer coming to his store regularly and at the same time keep him away from his competitor's store adds to the certainty of holding his patron's trade. Big business does not grow from continually making sales to new customers. It comes rather from having old customers come back regularly and often. This is the sort of business that cuts down sales expense. What the Dealer Must Keep in Mind No matter how popular a line of machines or records may be, and no matter how strong is the demand for it, the dealer should not lose sight of the fact that the burden of selling rests upon him and not upon the customer. And service is a part of selling! Hermann Thorens Ste. Croix, Switzerland Manufacturer of Europe's Most Celebrated SWISS PHONOGRAPH MOTORS LH.JUN0D&C0. 104 Fifth Ave. New York Sole Agents for the U. S. A.