HOUSEWIFE’S GENIUS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 17773, 8 October 1927, Page 10

HOUSEWIFE’S GENIUS.

MANY IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES.

Housewives often make most helpful discoveries. One woman will find, perhaps by accident, that a .tinned.'milk advertised for certain specified uses is delicious when served in a way entirely different from the usual one. Another will stumble upon the fact that a floor polish can be put to a variety of unexpected uses.

Two thousand interview's with housewives have recently revealed the fact that 3 5 different uses have been found for a certain washing preparation, a big proportion of them entirely new' to the proprietors. It was used for shampooing the hair—and the dog; for washing feather boas, and even skin rugs. And in the course of an investigation into the use of shaving soap it was found that some women use it for washing their laces; they find it so soft and soothing. The Rise of a New Profession. Those are some of the interesting examples of feminine ingenuity brought to light by market research, a new profession which, although it lias the commercial value of giving the advertiser the truth about certain products, is purely scientific in its methods.

Some advertising firms have their own research departments, but this is such an intricate and specialise matter that one London firm devotes itself exclusively to market research. All kinds of inquiries are carried out into the marketing of each product. The side of this research work of greatest interest to women, and for which women are generally employed, is the discovery of the consumer's point of view'. AVhen Women Need Taet. “It is difficult to describe exactly wiiat type of woman u r e like for this work,” the manager of a firm said. “A university degree alone is no criterion, nor is any specific experience in salesmanship, political canvassing, or economics. The women

w r e employ are mostly'widely read, widely experienced, and, above all, practical people. They must,';’; of course, haveva. Scerthin tactfulness and charm of manner. These women. are engaged as they are quired at salaries-'of from 5 to* 10 guineas a week. ; "Work in Which Few Succeed. “A research inquiry .is pot the easy, amateurish job' it sounds, although a woman with a natural ‘flair’ for it can make a success even of her first job. But 5 0 per cent, qf the picked women I employ prove, I find, to he inadequate and are not engaged a second time. Of fifteen women recently put on one investigation five were new. Of these only two were satisfactory. . Housc-to-House Canvassing. “A woman sent out on one of these jobs has to canvass probably two industrial centres, such as Leeds and Bradford. In these towns her work would he to conduct a house-to-house inquiry, finding out from the housewife exactly how she uses the product! She is not out to advertise or coerce people into .buying....... She is not out to ‘boost’ one firm at the expense of another. She is there to get the.-facts. It is just as exact and scientific a job as conducting a laboratory research into the feeding habits of a plant or insect. Sharing Household Knowledge. “What she learns is of value to the housewife as well as to the firm concerned, .who will thereafter advertise their product accordingly. "There are other , considerations. The manulacturer who is out to sell his goods must give, the public—and women, after all, are the buying public-—what it wants. If one of these investigations of ours reveals a feature in the product that is disliked by a majority of women, this is remedied if possible. Thus the shape of a face-cream pot or the nozzle of a toothpaste tube will be altered if women object to a particular design.

“And, a factor that the housewife will be quick to appreciate, we often report that prices are too high, whereupon they must be, and are, reduced.

“It is amazing how even the busiest woman appreciates the work we are doing. The woman investigator finds that her exhaustive questionnaire is answered with the greatest good humour.” ■