3 minute read
,---but Sash and Doors are Different
By "Tat" Nicholson, Advertising Manager, The Pacific Door & Sash Co., Los Angeles
Are sash and doors really difierent? What bigger difierence could one want than-corn flakes and shaving cream? Corn flakes are advertised to the women of the country and are eaten by the childten. Shaving creams are advertised to the ,men of the nation and are used by th'e men' It was luck ior the pnomoters of corn flakes -that they didn't assume the attitudi of the sash and door firms, that tbeir comm,odity was difierent. The flavors are decidedly difierent and tire nature of shaving cream and corn flakes is far from being alike, but the mlrchandising angles are the same. The manufacturers of these two popular products went into their businesses with open minds and built their selling channels on the same principles that other successful ve]ntures were built upon. Th'eir conclusions told them, that all selling is alike f the only difference being in the mediums used.
A look into the past shows the millman has been proud of his business beiause it was too technical to be under' stood by the so-called layman. He prided himself on being able to-master the technique of the business, and looked down with a laugh on thoie who could n'ot converse wi'th him on dimensi'on, mechanical problems or moisture content of woods. Consequently the uninitiated washed their hands of the subject entirely and it remains the same today' "Mv architect or contractor will take care of those details," is the byword of the owner, "I simply loathe sawdust and machinery."
Mention m.erchandising. Mention good merchandising' Ptopose a tentative set-up economically sound in all of its pha3es and passed on b1 marketing authorities, and what is the answer?-but sash and doors are different.
Automobiles are technical. In fact they arp so technical that the mind of man did not conceive of an automobile until the recent years. They too are decidedly different. but educational advertising, and sound merchandis'ing has made that industry one of the greatest, both from the net pr'ofit and the sales angle.
Sash and doors possess possibilities for advertising that cannot be excelled, in the manner of appeal to the consumer or mode of presentation, by any other so-called technical oroduct. The field of potential sales has not been scratchi,a. The demand has nbt been even awakened. What more beautiful lay-out could an advertiser want?, -His ideas could roam -at random. What company would n'ot want to be the first to strike? What company would not want to be the first to break down those trarriers of precedence? Theirs would be a continuous success, a success that was never known under a regime of-but sash and doors are different.
The writer does not intend to leave the impression that the technical man or production man has no place in the modern scheme of thirigs. Far be it from that. The technical man will always have a place in business; but to completely mould the policies ,of merchandising from that end is all wrong, and that is exactly.what has been going on. That is why the statement,-but sash and doors are different.
Time is flying. Days hurry by, and with them we see successes and failures. Failures because the business pace is too fast. Successes because businesses have been abreast of the times. Many in millwork have fallen by the wayside until now the toll is so great as to startle the surviving ones into renewed action, into a real introspection.
Merchandising has been lacking. Advertising has been neglected. Marketing and study of the sash and door market was never attempted. Modes and manner of selling sash and doors were never delved into. Today is the time to change the old order of things into the new order of things.
Feature the fact that sash and doors are furniture, are permanent furniture. Feature the fact that they must be chosen as furniture bv the ultimate consirmer. Make it a pleasure for the ultimate consumer when building a home to choose his sash and doors according to his own artistic tastes. Have your Chippendale or Louis XIV doors and trim ready i'o show. Educate. Millwork isn't so technical after all. Create new fashions, your aompany and your name behind your goods. Study the market. Analyze the market. Cater to women. They'll be the buyers some day and soon. Forget dimension and price; that comes after the purchase. Make purchasing as simple as ordering a branded cigarette'or breakfast food. Put the industries' salesmen on the same plane with other industries. Equip them to sell the moment a client enters an office. Install a lounge. A display. An attractive, modern display. Stress style, art and beauty.
"But 'sash and doors are different," marTy readers will say referring to the foregoing paragraph. And to them "To doggedly hang on to a theory. is ignorance. Let's merchandise with the best of the rest. The fndustry can well use more profit."
