But he
never reaps first and sows afterwards. This principle applies to all
kinds of business, and to nothing more eminently than to advertising. If
a man has a genuine article, there is no way in which he can reap more
advantageously than by "sowing" to the public in this way. He must, of
course, have a really good article, and one which will please his
customers; anything spurious will not succeed permanently because the
public is wiser than many imagine. Men and women are selfish, and we all
prefer purchasing where we can get the most for our money and we try to
find out where we can most surely do so.
You may advertise a spurious article, and induce many people to call and
buy it once, but they will denounce you as an impostor and swindler, and
your business will gradually die out and leave you poor. This is right.
Few people can safely depend upon chance custom. You all need to have
your customers return and purchase again. A man said to me, "I have
tried advertising and did not succeed; yet I have a good article."
I replied, "My friend, there may be exceptions to a general rule. But
how do you advertise?"
"I put it in a weekly newspaper three times, and paid a dollar and a
half for it." I replied: "Sir, advertising is like learning--'a little
is a dangerous thing!'"
A French writer says that "The reader of a newspaper does not see the
first mention of an ordinary advertisement; the second insertion he
sees, but does not read; the third insertion he reads; the fourth
insertion, he looks at the price; the fifth insertion, he speaks of it
to his wife; the sixth insertion, he is ready to purchase, and the
seventh insertion, he purchases.
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