ADVERTISING. Alonzo P. Ewing. A paper presented before this Association in 1911 urged cooperation among the Gas Companies of this State. A plan of progress was suggested to bring about uniformity of advertising, with a consequent better result. This plan did not develop as it was intended, because of the lack of a state-wide medium. In 1912 a paper on advertising, presented before this Association by Mr. Richard Fowler, gave same valuable advertising suggestions, well worth while your reviewing. It is not my purpose to tell you what kind of mediums to use, what kind of type, what kind of booklets, nor what to sell. I am first going to give you some details of one of the present campaigns we are using in Detroit, to encourage this type of advertising among gas companies. An able salesman has said that "Salesmanship is giving private lessons, where advertising is giving public lessons." I believe as Knox says, that a successful man must think; must remember; must imagine; must act; and I believe this is true of our advertising. First: It is to make people think. Second: To help them to remember. We want the public to think well of us, we want them friendly, we want them to think of us when they want anything in our line, we want them to give gas at least consideration for any operation where gas may be used. Our advertising should start an argument in their mind which may result favorably to us. We want them to know us by name, we want them to know us by sight. The broader our acquaintance the more salesmen we have working for us, if we are giving good service. We want them to use a little imagination, and to realize what it means for us to serve all of the people, even those from whom we receive no profit. We want our advertising to bring about action, so far as they purchase the appliances that will give them the service that we claim. We want them to have confidence in us so that they will give us their orders. We want them to act toward us as if we were real flesh and blood people, and not just a soulless corporation. To give them good service we must do what the public wants us to do, and our advertisement should help the public to be patient. We should let them know what kind of service we expect them to get, and urge them to insist upon that kind of service. Ofttimes there is a big difference between what we intend our employes should do and what they really do. In a talk with a famous dancing master, with 110 years of famous teachers in his family before him, I learned that his big success came in most part from his former pupils speaking well of him and his methods. His advertisements reminded his former pupils that he was still progressing and prospering. He relies upon them to tell their friends the real sales talk. That is the kind of advertising that we want. That is the purpose of the campaign we are using in Detroit at present. We want to humanize our Company. We want to humanize our organization. We want the public to do business with a lot of real, live folks. We want them to feel that some individual is responsible for errors of omission or commission. If the employe with whom they come in contact, either over the counter, at their home, or over the telephone, does not give them courteous service, we want them to call it to the attention of the head of the department, and our advertising is to let them know the head of the department. If a meter is not set just as promised, we want them to let us know so that we can investigate the employe who took the order, find out just where it stopped. We want them to realize that a man went wrong, if their request was not given the proper attention, and not the whole Company, and by giving us the information they assist us in bettering our service in the future. If a telephone inquiry does not receive proper attention, they may be talking to an employe who has not had the proper amount of sleep; who has been so in a hurry that he has come to the office without his breakfast. He may have a headache, a toothache, or some other ache, and we will appreciate it if the customer will ask to talk to the head of the department. We want to impress upon the public, if possible, that our desire is to give good service, and it is partly their fault if they do not get the service we are trying to give. Each one of our heads of departments has his or her friends, and this series tends to make "boosters" of their friends for our entire organization. We want our business as personal as the tailor's, as the jeweler's, as the laundry's. You buy shoes where the clerk calls you by name. Your wife buys groceries where they call her by name. You buy clothes where the call you by your name, and make it a personal matter. We must use our customer's name as often as possible. A complaint from a friend is in the nature of a request. We want to increase the number of requests and limit the number of complaints. After all, all complaints are requests, if we make them personal. They are much easier to handle, and easier to adjust. I have heard many a company say that their complaint department was really the bad part of their business, and even to-day, many of our customers think that if our office is crowded with people, they are all there making complaints. To-day we feel that our complaint department is really the nicest part of our business. It is the place where we can make the most friends for our Company. You wouldn't say that because a physician calls upon the sick all day long, he has very disagreeable work. He looks upon the patient as he leaves, and feels that he has done good, and is helping to cure, and he is a happy man, and he goes about his work with a smile and with enthusiasm. Just so with our Complaint Department. They have the opportunity to cure the company's sick, and it should be very happy and congenial work. Our Collection Department, if used as a convenience to our customers, instead of an annoyance, is a valuable department to make friends. Our collectors will be much happier and make more friends if we insist upon equitable adjustment, instead of arbitrary adjustment. What does this personal equation mean in the gas business, as compared with our general forms of advertising? More than 60 per cent. of all our consumers visit our office at least once each month. It means that we have an opportunity to make our business personal, to plant the seed of friendship with each one of them once each month if we will only call them by their names. Each advertisement that appears in booklet form, on stickers, or in the newspapers, is carefully scrutinized to see that the wording conveys our meaning and carries our policy. We try to eliminate all useless words. We should carry this advertising policy to our employes, and put into their mouths our policy. Tell them what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. Statler, the famous hotel man, says that it makes a lot of difference in his hotel the way the doorman swings the door, as to whether the guest feels himself at home, or an intruder. So it is important to consider how we will say what we say, and when to say it. Most customers do not want to be kickers. Many hesitate about making requests, thinking that it will do no good. This personal contact will gain their confidence, and they will tell us how to improve our service. An able writer says that "Success comes from self-control." If we are to control ourselves we must give more attention to the education of our employes. Give them facts and figures. Tell them our policy and our plan. We must not mistake our impulse for our will; simply think that we are doing things for the public and make little effort to see that the service is what we think it is. Let our employes know that requests from customers to heads of departments are always investigated carefully and the public given the service that they ask; it is an example to our employes. I am admitting that this advertising is also for our employes. After all, the public must help to educate the employes. We don't want them inconvenienced, but we do want them to bring complaints that we may know our own shortcomings. We really sell service, and that is what we are advertising. Our own employes are our best advertising medium, and are means of giving service. The gas business is adapted the same as other businesses to this "personal contact" advertising. Our salesmen make more than 50,000 calls each month upon our consumers. Each call is an opportunity to make a friend. 65,000 visit our office each month, and give us an opportunity to become more friendly. Thousands of telephone calls are handled over our lines each month, and our method of handling these calls means much toward making friends. SOME GOOD ADVERTISING. Always talk from the consumer's standpoint. Repeat his or her name as often as convenient. It helps to make the transaction more personal. Repeat your own name, as occasion arises. your desire to give personal service. Talk in the affirmative, not in the negative. It impresses Always thank a customer for the opportunity to serve. Thank him by name-be sure to give him your name, so that he may get in touch with you again if his request is not properly attended to. Get the consumer's telephone number. You may need more information, or want to save time by telephoning information rather than waiting to write. He may live in a flat, and the telephone that he has an opportunity to use may be in someone's else name. Good service is contagious. Remember it is easier to make a booster out of a knocker than it is to make a knocker out of a booster. Once convince a customer that you are endeavoring to do the right thing, and he will help you to eliminate the |