1926—The New-Way Course in Fashionable Clothes-Making
Lesson 52—Stationery
Stationery
Before the formal opening of your dress shop, it would be a wise plan to send to all your friends, acquaintances and neighbors an attractive announcement requesting their patronage and inviting them to visit and inspect your shop. With this plan in view, and with future needs in mind, it will be necessary for you to have your stationery printed.
Here again, however, you realize that circumstances must govern your particular case. If you feel that you can do without printed stationery, and if you would rather invest the money in materials or some other way, you can do without the stationery. But for those who wish their shops to be perfect in every respect, we are going to tell exactly what stationery is needed and how it should be printed.
Your letterheads—which means the paper which you use for letters—should be neat, attractive and dainty enough to do justice to the dainty dresses you propose to sell. Your stationer will submit samples to you on request, and will show you the newest in printing and engraving of the name. White bond paper should be used and it should be printed in black. While black and white is considered most correct and appropriate, you may, for your business, use a pale tinted paper. The usual size is 8 1/2 inches wide by 11 inches long. This may be folded to give the appearance of personal stationery—especially when it is used for the purpose of announcing the opening of the shop.
Be careful to avoid extravagant display of the name in the printing. If you expect to call your shop the "Elite Gown Shop," have this name printed neatly and in a fine "feminine" script at the top of the letterhead. Below it you may have something to this effect printed: "For Madam and Her Daughter—Gowns of Excellent Taste and Style." Complete the printed matter with the address. Do not have too much on the letterhead—just the name and address is better than a great deal of unnecessary wording.
Your printer will be able to advise you regarding the choice of type for your printing and the type of lettering to use. However, if you are endeavoring to make your shop, and everything about it, as distinctive as possible it may be wise to call in the services of an artist who will arrange your letterheads to harmonize with the general scheme of the rest of the shop.
Do not order too many letterheads at once. For ordinary purposes, 1000 will do. The name may have to be changed; you may change your location—always remember that if you change anything about your shop at all, it requires a change throughout—in bags, boxes, stationery. Decide definitely before you begin. And even then, purchase in small quantities against any unforeseen necessity for change.
The envelopes should match the letterheads, of course. The stationery and style of printing should be identical. The size depends upon the size of the letterhead, and this will have to be determined for you by the stationer. Be sure to go to a reliable stationer, and remember that a large firm is more dependable than a very small firm.
The name and address of your firm should be printed on your envelope, so that it can be safely returned in case of misdirection. It may be printed in the upper left-hand corner of the front of the envelope, or on the flap on the back of the envelope. To give the letter the appearance of personal correspondence, rather than business correspondence, many women like to put the initials of the firm on the back flap with the address underneath it, instead of writing out the whole name. This is entirely a matter of taste, to be decided by yourself.
How to Word the Announcement
There are many ways to word the announcement, and a great deal depends upon your own personality—upon the policy of your shop—upon the people you address. However, here is a typical announcement which you may use as a guide:
Dear Friend:
I want you to know that I have opened a dress shop at Twelve Bay Boulevard, where I will endeavor to give you the newest and best style creations at modest prices.
I will here create and place before you for your approval, gowns, wraps, suits and other apparel—wrought of the finest materials and in the finest workmanship.
Won't you call and see my new shop? It will not obligate you to examine the smart frocks I have on display, and to inquire regarding the types of frocks most becoming to you. I shall be delighted to have you visit my shop at your convenience.
Cordially,
Helene Roberts,
THE SMART STYLE GOWN SHOP.
Of course, this letter may not suit your own particular requirements. If you care to write to your neighbors and friends, you will want something more simple and informal. a dressmaker who is seeking new customers might write a note of this kind to a friend:
Dear Mary:
I just had to write and tell you about a wonderful new style that has just come in, and that I think it is just suited to you. It will make you look quite tall and slender. Won't you let me make it up for you, in some charming new taffeta I have just purchased?
If you call I will be glad to show you the style and the material. Drop in whenever it is convenient. With best regards,
Sincerely,
Billheads
There are many other important details that must be attended to in the matter of stationery and printing. Your billheads, for instance, are extremely important. They must be ready in time for the formal opening of the shop, so that they are on hand for the very first customer.
Here again your stationer will be of aid to you in the matter of selecting the correct stationery for your billheads, the correct size, type of lettering, etc. The usual size of billhead fits into what is known as a No. 6 envelope, when the billhead is folded once in half. These billheads are used billing a garment to a customer.
The heading should contain a line for the date, a line for the name of the customer, a line for the address, and in display, the name and address of the dress shop. In front of the name of the shop should appear the word "To" and after it the abbreviation "Dr" which means "debtor." For instance, if your business were called "The Smart Style Gown Shop," it would appear on your billhead in this manner:
To THE SMART STYLE GOWN SHOP, Dr.
Twelve, Bay Boulevard
You may print whatever you wish under your name and address—a word or two regarding the policy of the business, the terms, a motto used in advertising. Below the heading should be a line across the full length of the billhead, and then ruled space in which to itemize the garments billed and their prices. Consult a stationer or printer before outlining your billhead.
The wise dressmaker will issue a bill to each customer and keep a duplicate for her own files. This should hold true whether it is a cash sale, or a charge account. With a complete record of all sales on file it will be a simple matter for her to analyze her sales and find out which garments are "best sellers" and which do not sell at all.
For charge accounts, statements to be sent out each month are necessary. These statements are reminders, and simply serve to call the attention of the customer to the fact that her bill has not yet been paid. It is really a second bill, and is indeed the same in appearance as the billhead except that the word "Statement" appears across the top.
Business Cards
Every man or woman in business needs business cards. To the dressmaker starting out in business, so small an item as cards may not seem necessary—but she will find, probably within the first week, that they are very necessary indeed. Pleased customers will ask for cards to give their friends. Trades people will ask for cards. A supply should always be kept on hand.
These cards should state the nature of the business and give the name of the shop. The address, telephone number and hours should also be given, although the hours may be omitted if one prefers. Cards like these may be used instead of a printed announcement, if you wish, and they may be mailed to friends and acquaintances whom the dressmaker would like for patrons of her shop. Many dressmakers give a supply of cards to the people they buy their supplies from—notions, trimmings, materials, etc. to be distributed by them to people who inquire regarding a dressmaker.
The size of cards vary constantly, but a good size is 3 1/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches. It may be smaller, or larger, to suit your own taste. Your stationer will be glad to submit samples and you can choose the size card that seems most suitable to your needs.
The card should be neat, attractive, with the name in display. Do not have too much printed matter on it, but tell the story in a few words. "Better Clothes at Less Cost," "Smart Styles at Small Prices," "A Unique Service for the Woman who Demands Distinction in Dress"—all are excellent mottos that tell the story in a few words.
Other Printed Matter
As her business progresses, the dressmaker will find it is essential that she keep in constant touch with her stationer. Several weeks before Christmas it will be appropriate for her to send little cards of good wishes to her patrons—little remembrance cards that bring return sales. At Easter time the wise shop-owner will send cards to her patrons announcing the new Spring Styles. It is not enough to get a customer and make one sale. It is important that each customer be made a permanent patron, and to accomplish this the customer must be "followed up."
It costs very little, at Christmas time, to have pretty cards printed bearing some such sentiment as this:
THE SMART STYLE GOWN SHOP extends to you the best wishes of the season—and hopes that your merry Christmas may be made merrier by the purchase of one of our new frocks, cleverly designed to carry a note of the festive season.
Yet the returns are sometimes amazing. Women like to be remembered; they are flattered. And many of them will return for a new frock whether they had contemplated it or not.
It is also a wise plan to send out little cards of thanks to customers. Just put yourself in the place of the customer. You know how you would feel if, let us say a week after purchasing a pair of shoes you received a pleasant little note thanking you for your patronage and hoping that you are entirely satisfied with your purchase. Why, it makes you want to go back for another pair!
That is why you should issue a bill of sale for every customer and keep her name on file. At Christmas time remember her with a greeting. At Easter time send her an announcement of new styles. Keep in touch with her—and she will keep in touch with you. Of course, all these little details entail additional expense, and if your income does not warrant such expenditures, you should by all means avoid them.
Keeping Record of Customers
You can now see why it is of importance to keep a careful record of each customer. The first sale does not often amount to very much—it is the constant custom that counts. And one can win the confidence, and custom, of a woman very easily—if one is sincere and earnest in one's efforts to serve.
No only in the matter of bringing the customer back to the shop again, but also for her own convenience and help, the dressmaker will find that a personal record of her customers will be available to her. Each customer should have an individual card, and on this card should appear every item of interest that might be of assistance to the dressmaker. For instance, whether she is stout or thin, what her favorite colors are, her complexion, hair, eyes, her social activities, her favorite fabrics and styles. In this way the dressmaker comes to know her customer, and realizing this, the customer responds by returning each time she needs a new dress or warp. She knows that the dressmaker will understand just what kind of dress or wrap she needs and wants—and will try to sell her no other.
These records should be kept up-to-date. At least once each month the shop owner should glance over her cards and make a note of the customers who have not been at the shop lately. To these customer she should send a courteous little note announcing some new style that is particularly adapted to the customer the letter is addressed to, and inviting her to come in to see it—adding that she is not obligated to buy. Letters like these almost always get response.
Getting New Customers
The dressmaker who succeeds in keeping her customers and getting them to purchase from her regularly is doing well. But she is not progressing—unless she keeps her old customers and gains new ones too.
There are many ways to gain new customers. The most effective way is to advertise in the local paper that is most widely circulated among the women of the city or town. These advertisements may be prepared by an advertising agency—if you plan to run many of them—or if you just plan to run one or two advertisements you may prepare them yourself or have someone who writes well prepare them for you. They may be as small or large as you wish, depending upon the amount of money you want to spend. It is always wiser to run an advertisement for several days consecutively, instead of at infrequent intervals, for in this way you not only attractive more attention, but you gain a discount from the newspaper.
The best time to run an advertisement is when you have something very special to offer. Advertisements should be as interesting as news. If you can offer a new kind of dress, or a new kind of trimming, or a remarkably low price, you have news—and news that is very interesting indeed to the women in your town! Always be sure, when placing advertising in a paper, that you insist upon a good position—otherwise your advertisement may be buried in a corner where no one will see it. And do not advertise unless the income from your business warrants it.
Another way to gain new customers is to take a list of names from the telephone directory and circularize these names either with your card or an announcement. You must not expect every one of the names you circularize to respond, as a great many will be what is known as "dead names." This means that the people have either moved, are dressmakers themselves, or else have a favorite dressmaker already. But the "live" names—the names that bring results—usually warrant this plan of soliciting new customers.
Still another way, is to give three or four of your business cards to each customer, requesting that she give them to her friends. Word-of-mouth advertising is always effective, and if your customer tells one of her friends that she has bought a dress at your shop and was very well pleased with it, you can be sure that that woman is going to pay your shop a visit. Especially if she has a card in her purse as a reminder.
Keep after your customers. Don't let those you have get away from you, and don't let others get those that might come to you. Keep after the old ones and new ones alike, and build up your clientele to as large an extent as possible. Don't be afraid of getting more customers than you can handle. There are always excellent people whose help you can employ—dressmakers, salespeople, etc. But suppose we save all this important information regarding employees for the next lesson.
Lesson 49—52, Inclusive
Questions
- What type of name is best for a shop?
- What points are to be considered in choosing a location for a shop?
- What are good colors to use as a background in a salesroom?
- Name at least five findings necessary for the work room.
- Why is it not wise to have the name of the shop printed on boxes at first?
- What is a good size for a cutting table in the work room?
- What information should a business card give?
- Give a suggestion for getting new customers.
