While thousands of tanning facilities have both UV and sunless options on their menus, there are many salon operators who have not yet made the leap into the spray-tan market. Continuing this month’s “All Things Sunless” theme, we reached out to a group of tanning professionals to get their expert advice and their thoughts about making sunless a profitable part of any salon business. Our experts include:
[gap]What is the most important factor in your success with sunless tanning?
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Eric: We give each salon team a monthly spray-tan session goal to meet to ensure they are constantly promoting it to clients. To hit that goal, the staff is constantly educating clients about its benefits, showing them the booths and offering special deals to try it.
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Jordan: Customizing each tan for our customer’s skin type is key. Learning what solutions are best for each skin type ensures that our customers always leave satisfied. Our goal is to give each tanner what they want while making sure their results look natural.
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Brandon: The most important factor is offering a variety of options. We restructured our menu to include a spray-booth, custom airbrush and many brands of at-home products. We engaged our Team Members with science-savvy training and gave them sunless products to use. We then began to advertise online with our website and how-to social media videos to educate our clients. The last part was internally directing our UV tanners and prospective customers into trusting our abilities with proper preparation, application and after-care guidance. Make your customers feel confident about your UV tanning services and assure them of your professional sunless expertise.
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Joanna: I don’t think I can contribute my success to only one important factor. It has been a combination of continuing to educate myself as the industry grows and changes, providing a high level of customer service and choosing the right professional products and equipment to be able to provide that.
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Drew: The key to our success with sunless tanning has been two-fold: Teaching our staff the science behind sunless so that they understand the facts behind a good spray-tan – not just the technique; and also cultivating customer reviews. We have worked hard to get feedback, before-and-after photos and more from our spray-tan customers. When someone is nervous about spray-tanning for the first time, we have great examples to show them to prove that it works!
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Bethany: The most important factor is our staff’s understanding and knowledge of our sunless products, and passing that knowledge on to the customers. Our tanning technicians need to be EXPERTS in our sunless tanning products, which colors to use and how to apply them. This is the only way to ensure the customer gets the results they were hoping for! Educating the customer on how to care for a sunless tan is equally important, because there is only so much we can do at the salon. If the customer does not properly care for their tan, it will not look healthy or fade evenly, which means they probably won’t want to get a sunless tan again. If everyone understands how sunless products work, the tans will look gorgeous and everyone is happy.
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What advice do you have for salon operators considering adding sunless services?
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Eric: Once you’ve researched and carefully chosen the systems and products to implement, remember that even one bad experience can turn a client off to spray-tanning forever. Make sure each client receives a full demonstration on what to do before, during and after their session to ensure a perfect result, and that each spray-booth is immaculately clean and stocked with the best solution.
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Jordan: Educate yourself and your staff! There is so much more to a providing a flawless spray-tan than simply picking up a spray-gun. Align yourself with a trusted product manufacturer that has a knowledgeable team you can reach out to with questions at any time.
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Brandon: Learn DHA, everything from how it works with the skin to the makeup of cell that is DHA. You already know the skin – teach your clients the science. Learn your machines, look into how the system operates and how you can maximize your booth for added profit.
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Learn what your clients demand: ask them! They’ll tell you about their previous sunless experiences and you’ll collect so much knowledge on objections toward sunless tanning, as well. That’ll help you with marketing, too. Remember to create client waivers regarding FDA regulations that will help you determine any allergies to the solution you use, which will add to your professional atmosphere and boost staff morale. Don’t just consider sunless services as a way to compete; offer it as the backbone of your business. Invest in a quality spray-booth, as well – try choosing one that doesn’t exist in your town, or perhaps one that you can afford and can be offered at different membership levels … that’s when you can strike gold! And, lastly, offer the best specials to your current clients so they can start spreading the word – there is no better advertising than word of mouth!
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Joanna: Whether you are thinking of adding sunless to your existing business or starting a spray tanning business, do yourself a favor and learn the business inside and out. There is a great deal of information that needs to be learned. Do your research and not just from the Internet. Get yourself and your staff certified and properly trained.
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Another huge piece of advice: don’t skimp. You don’t have to go overboard, but invest in quality equipment that will last. To be assured of getting authentic products with a warranty, buy from an authorized distributor or the product manufacturer, rather than an unknown third party.
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Make sure you evaluate the demand for the service in your surrounding market, know who the competitors are and what they offer. Differentiate your marketing and product strategy not only to create a unique value for your customers, but also to gain a competitive advantage. People should recognize you from your marketing and know why they want to come to you.
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Drew: I would say that if you are considering adding sunless, you should definitely do so! It was a total game-changer for my salon. Make sure you research the system, solution, etc. that you want to use, and then, get educated. Don’t rely on YouTube to learn how to spray tan … learn the science behind it.
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Bethany: My advice for those looking to add sunless services is to make sure your staff is knowledgeable and prepared to get very hands-on! Sunless tanning requires A LOT more customer service than simply sending someone to a tanning room. On average, you will spend at least 30 minutes with new customers educating them on how the product works, then applying the product or guiding them on how to use a sunless booth. Customers will have many questions, and you need to be prepared to answer them! If you do not have a team that you trust to truly provide exceptional customer service and basically become sunless tanning gurus, then find one – fast!
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IST thanks these salon pros for taking the time to share with our readers … such a great industry, isn’t it?
