Certainly no new business should be left to open its doors without emphasising the fact. In the average town much can be done by economical means. A fortnight's steady advertising could be carried on in the local press in which half pages might be taken and made most effective. They would tell of the place the business hoped to fill in the distributing economy of the town, and they would show the advantages it would have over its established rivals. In the small town a well-prepared booklet could also be effectively distributed. There would be no difficulty in placing the booklet in every house of a certain rental value in a town of 70,000 to 80,000 inhabitants. This might be done a week before the establishment opened, and should contain the story of the creation of the new business, a statement of its aims with a full account, well illustrated, of the attractions of each of its departments. On the eve of the opening day the same list of names might be further circtflarised, each householder being sent a personal invitation to attend the opening ceremony. To a small business this may sound a somewhat tall order, but only a low percentage of the invitations sent out would be used on the first day, and though it might result in crowding, there should be no undue pressure. Even, however, if this method resulted in unusual and unexpected crowds, the effect pro duced would still be satisfactory. Those who were crowded out would still desire to see the business which so many people had evidently wanted to visit.
In the shop itself much may be done on an opening day to stamp it on the memories of the people who are induced to visit it. On the opening day the business should not be too keen for sales ; it should be rather inclined to treat every visit made as a visit of inspection. If sales arc good, all the better for the new business, but no (Alba should be made to force sales. The aim should be to give attention to individual visitors, to see that they have an opportunity of viewing all the departments with as little incon venience as possible, and to ensure that they leave t he shop conscious that they have been well treated by the directors of the enterprise. If the business is large enough it would be advisable to run ninHic and light refreshment4. In any town in these days it is not difficult to provide an interesting orchestra of eight or a dozen performers, nor would it be expensive; and if advisable, a few vocalists might be added. Care should
be taken to make a feature of light refreshments which could he distributed at a minimum of cost, and if the firm were in a position to do so, at no cost whatever.
One of the most important items should be the provision of ample printed matter relating to the stores. The full story of the house in booklet form, four-page pamphlets on departmenk, picture postcards with views of various sections of the shop, or any printed novelty devised along the same lines, should be available, and the staff should see that every visitor receives a due share of this printed matter. The f4reat aim in opening a shop should be to make it of the character of a public exhibition, and when the public have been induced to make an inspection an effort should be made to ensure that they carry away sonic further mementoes of their visit in the shape of attractive printed matter.
All this applies to the shop that is to be opened on the store plan, but such a programme would have to be modified in the case of some of the simpler businesses and trades, such as the jeweller, the tailor, the butcher, or the restaurant keeper, where accommodation is limited. The best opening would be a preliminary course of advertising with a persuasive booklet, and as the premises could not be turned into a general exhibition, some continuity might be given to the effects of the preliminary advertising by continuing a steady course of advertising with form letters weekly for four to six weeks. If possible, a leading line might be cut and a feature of this made in the advertising. The great aim in all shop opening proceedings should be to attract as many customers as possible and to give them a pleasant impression of the business from the very beginning. The general experience of trade is that once the public see a new business and are aught that it is likely to serve their needs with individual attention to their wishes, they will steadily pattonise it from the first moment of its establishment. At all events, to simply open the doors tah a conventional announcement in the papers is to leave the public unaware of the existence of the shop and to run the risk of waiting months—it might be years—before they find their way to it.