All women, for instance, are influenced by what other women do, and there is no other touch more productive of sales than the reference to what some other customer has ordered, or what comments she has made. Both in educational campaigns and in writing to regular customers on some specific proposition it is a good policy to work in some reference to a recent sale:
"One of our very good customers from your neighborhood writes us that her new suit (Style 3587) has caused her more perfectly delightful compliments than she ever had before."
Such testimonials are to be found in every mail-order house that has attained even a moderate success, for women who are pleased are given to writing letters profuse in their expressions of appreciation.
At times it is desirable to quote a whole letter, withholding, of course, the name of the writer. The most convincing letters to use are those that tell about first orders, or how some friend induced the writer to send in a trial order, or how she came to be a customer of the mail-order house. These personalities add a touch of human interest, they create an atmosphere that is real, they mean much to a woman.
Quoted letters are especially effective in getting a first order after a woman has become sufficiently interested to write in for a catalogue. Here is one lifted from a letter sent out by the general manager of a suit house:
Dear Mr. Wardwell:
You ask me to tell you how I came to send you my first order.
I think I had written for your Style Book three seasons. Each time I found many garments I liked. I found waists and dresses and skirts that were much prettier than the ones I could get elsewhere. And yet, some way or other, while I longed for these very garments, I did not order them. I think it was simply because I never had ordered by mail.
One day when looking through your Style Book the thought came to me: "If you want this dress, why don"t you stop hesitating and wondering and sit down right now and order it?"
And I did--and ever since I have bought my suits, dresses, waists, almost everything, from you.
Testimonial letters from prominent women, wives of distinguished men and others whose names are widely known, are always effective. A number of years ago Mrs. Frances Cleveland, wife of the ex-president, wrote to a furniture factory for a cedar chest.
The order was in Mrs. Cleveland"s own handwriting and the letter was at once photographed and a facsimile enclosed with all the letters and advertising matter sent out by the furniture house.
Such things have an influence on the feminine mind that the skilled correspondent never overlooks.
The reason that so many letters fail to pull is because the correspondents are not salesmen; they are unable to put actual selling talk into a letter. For after you have aroused a woman"s curiosity and appealed to her love of style and her desire to economize, there has got to be some genuine, strong selling talk to get the order.
The difference is brought out by a large Chicago mail-order house which cites the customer who inquired about a certain ready made skirt in a 34-inch length which could not be supplied as the regular measurements run from 37 to 43. A correspondent thinking only of the number of letters that can be answered in a day simply wrote, "We are very sorry we cannot supply the skirt you mention in the length you desire, because this garment is not made regularly in shorter lengths than 37 inches. Regretting our inability to serve you," and so forth.
The letter inspector threw out the letter and dictated another:
"We cannot furnish skirt, catalogue number H4982, in a 34-inch length, but we can supply it in a 37-inch length; this is the shortest length in which it is regularly made. You can have it altered to a 34-inch length at a small expense, and as the skirt is an unusually pretty style and of exceptionally good value, the price being only $7.65, we trust you will favor us with your order."
This is letter-writing plus salesmanship. The correspondent did not spill over in his eagerness to get the order; he did not describe the skirt as the finest to be had nor insist that it was the most wonderful bargain in the catalogue. Rather he told her it was an "unusually pretty style and of exceptionally good value." It was so simply told and so naturally that it carried conviction. It refers to style and to economy--two things that appeal to every woman.
Letters personally signed by the "Expert Corsetiere" of a large wholesale house were mailed to a selected list of lady customers in cities where the Diana corsets were handled:
Dear Madam;
Here"s an incident that proves how important corsets are in wearing the new straight, hipless gowns.
Mrs. Thompson, who is stouter than the new styles require, tried on a princess gown in a department store. The gown itself was beautiful, but it was most unbecoming and did not fit at all, tho it was the right size for her.
Mrs. Thompson was about to give up in despair saying, "I can"t wear the new styles"--when a saleswoman suggested that she be fitted with a Diana Corset in the model made for stout figures.
The result was that the princess gown took the lines of the corset and fitted Mrs. Thompson perfectly. In fact the original lines of the gown were brought out to better advantage.
This only goes to prove that with a good corset any gown will drape right and take the lines of the corset.
You"ll find it easy to wear the new long straight style gowns if you wear a Diana corset in the model made for your style of figure.
The Dianas are made after the same models as the most expensive French corsets costing $10 to $25. Yet $1 to $5 buys a Diana.
The Diana is not heavy and uncomfortable as so many of the new corsets are this year. The fabrics from which they are made are light and comfortable. At the same time, so closely meshed and firmly woven that with reasonable wear every Diana corset is guaranteed to keep its good shape and style or you will receive a new corset without charge.
The Diana dealer, whose card is enclosed, invites you to call and see these new corsets.
Will you go in to see the Diana today?
Very truly yours, [Signature: Grace La Fountain]
The letter is in a chatty style that a.s.sures its being read. It does not say, "We have just the corset for you stout women"--but that is what it means. It interests and appeals especially to the stout women without reminding them offensively that they are too heavy to wear the styles in vogue.
The National Cloak Company has studied the methods that take firm hold on the women and finds it necessary to bear down heavily on the guarantee of satisfaction. Many women are inclined to be skeptical and hesitate long before sending money to an unknown house. So the National uses a guarantee tag insuring customers against dissatisfaction, sending these tags out with the goods. It a.s.sures the return of money if the order is not all right in every way and further agrees to pay all the express charges. Free reference is made to this tag in the company"s letters and it gives a certain concreteness to the guarantee feature. This tag makes its own argument, proves its own case.
Business men generally take it for granted that satisfaction goes with the goods; their experience enables them to size up a proposition quickly and if there is any flaw in the advertis.e.m.e.nts or the company"s methods, they pa.s.s it by. But women, not so familiar with business affairs, must be approached from a different angle. Little points must be explained and guarantees must be strongly emphasized. The formal letter which appeals to a man by going straight to the point would, by its very conciseness, offend the vanity of a woman.
The successful correspondent never overlooks the susceptibility of a woman to flattery--but it must be the suggestion of flattery, the implied compliment, rather than the too obvious compliment.
"The handsomest gown money will buy can"t make you look well unless your corset is the correct shape."
This is the opening sentence in a letter advertising a particular corset. The lady is gracefully complimented by the intimation that she wears handsome gowns, yet there is not the slightest suggestion that the reference was dragged in as a part of the selling scheme.
Instead of insinuating that she must buy cheaply, let it be hinted that she is actuated by the very laudable motive of economy. "You would scarcely believe that such delicious coffee could be sold at 20 cents--unless you happen to know that the flavor of coffee depends largely upon the blending." Here the low price is emphasized but there is no hint of forced economy; rather it suggests that the best quality can be obtained without paying a high price.
"You can offer your most particular guest a cup of Regal coffee and know she has never tasted a more delicious flavor and fragrance."
This is the beginning of a letter that successfully introduced a new coffee. Here is a tactful compliment--the taking for granted that the recipient entertains guests of some importance--guests who are particular and will notice her coffee. There are few things that the average woman is more concerned about than that her guests will be pleased with her refreshments. The suggestion that she herself would enjoy or even that her family would enjoy this coffee does not make such direct appeal to a woman as this a.s.surance that it will please her particular guests.
The house that uses the same kind of letter on men and women will never score such big results as the firm that understands the different processes of thinking and the different methods of making the appeal. With the man it is reason, logic, argument; with the woman it is suggestion, flattery, persuasion. The correspondent who aims to establish a large mail-order trade with women must study their whims, their prejudices, their weaknesses and their characteristics before he can make an appeal that brings in the orders and makes permanent customers of trial buyers.
It is the little things--this subtle insight into feminine nature that marks the successful selling letter to the woman. They are not things that can be set down and numbered in a text book; they are qualities of mind that must be understood and delicately handled.