Basis of Selling.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4281, 22 September 1936, Page 6

Basis of Selling.

BUSINESSES THAT FORGE AHEAD.

In an article addressed to British business men, Mr W. H. Harford, a director of a leading Englsih firm, says that “many British Industries are not at the moment so constructed or so operated that they can profitably add advertising to their selling methods. They have not —to use the popular, but misunderstood, term—rationalised the selling side of their business activities. I would go further and declare that a number of firms are to-day spending money in advertising who are not getting the results they should, because advertising does not occupy its proper place in their marketing methods. They are firms who should proceed to modernise their marketing plans in such a manner that advertising would be more fruitful. Partial Rationalisation.

“The agitation for rationalisation has unquestionably increased the efficiency of many British businesses and British factories. It has reduced overhead costs, lessened duplication, and eliminated unnecessary competition, But many rationalisation schemes have stopped short there. "‘The only regrettable thing about rationalisation, as it is generally understood, is that it leads at any rate temporarily to more people being thrown out of work. Such an unfortunate factor may be avoided if simultaneously with rationalisation of production earnest efforts are made to increase demand. The cheapest, quickest, most effective way to increase demand is by means of advertising. ' "Those industries —like the motor industry, the wireless industry, and the trawling industry —who are advertising boldly, are among the most prosperous. The moral is so obvious that it is astonishing how many people overlook it,"

EDUCATING ESKIMOS Officials of the social service department of Harvard University are puzzled. A recent drive for old clothes and books to be sent to Dr Grenfell in Labrador resulted in a predominance of evening clothes and Greek text books. Question arises whether an Eskimo clad in top hat, tails, and patent leather pumps, and reading Sophocles’ “Antigone” in the original is a true picture of the arctic man or not.

TASTERS Joseph Strobl, chief soapmaker for a Los Angeles firm, tests his own products by tasting them. It has been found that chemical tests take too long, and that Strobl’s tongue will do the work. Almost as unenviable a job is that of the man, employed by the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, who does nothing else but test the salinity of the sea. Samples of North Sea water are given him, and by tasting them he can say which water harbors most fish. His tongue saves the fishing industry many thousands of pounds annually in useless searching. We know of wine, beer, whisky and tea tasters, but the roast beef taster is a camparatively recent vocation. Roast beef tasters are employed by the United States Government at Washington to taste cooked samples from their finest herds, so that the meat can be graded and priced.