Most business tips and advice we find on the Internet tend to be geared toward large companies – tons of advice about hiring high-priced social media marketing firms, billboard advertising, Facebook ads and Google ranking. In today’s economy, smaller tanning salons simply can’t spend that kind of money with no guarantee of an immediate return.
Don’t get me wrong: I believe all of the above marketing methods are critical in today’s market; but, I have some ideas that can help you build your customer base and save enough money to launch a solid advertising campaign.
The goal is to be known for your memorable customer care and genuine community support.
Implement customer service strategies that go above and beyond what your competitor can offer. To do this, you need to transform your facility from just a tanning salon into the best, friendliest, happiest, most welcoming salon in town. Work to become the business at the forefront of your community. Take every opportunity to give back – donate gift certificates to local charities and city-wide events. Offer free sessions to the local “movers and shakers.” The goal is to be known for your memorable customer care and genuine community support. These two factors – combined with great services and products – are what customers will grow to love and will help you thrive … even in a town with big box competitors.
Don’t just compete on price. I know it’s frustrating when you see a coupon or hear of an upcoming sale at another local salon that seems to be something you can’t compete with. If you just match the price or honor that coupon, you are basically saying your services and products are overpriced. Many large companies do price-matching (Walmart, Target, Publix, etc.) – the reason they do this is because they sell the exact same item.
In order for you to honor pricing set forth by a big box salon, first, take a step back. Do you offer the exact same equipment? The exact same products and services? If you can’t answer “yes” to these questions, then matching a price doesn’t really make sense. Don’t discount your service in order to compete.
If you sell a month of unlimited tans for $25 and your competitor sells it for $18.88, I suggest charging the original price and give members a free upgrade session as a bonus for choosing your salon. Unless you want to set a precedent that your services were overpriced, don’t devalue what you offer.
Reward loyalty. It doesn’t matter if you have one store or 300; loyalty programs offer the opportunity for increased customer satisfaction and retention. You can create this in many ways – referrals, Facebook check-ins, number of visits, etc. Some companies do this digitally as a cell phone app, or even as “low-tech” as punch card. The idea is to create a program that is easy and accessible for all. The goal is to have your loyalty program stand out as a well-known customer perk with benefits they will want to experience over and over again.
Things to always keep in mind: What motivated you to open your business? Was it a passion for the indoor tanning industry? A motivation to fill a niche in the community? Or, was it that you knew you could do it better than the other guys? Whatever your motivation was, make sure that it continues to lead your efforts to compete in the big box market. This will help drive you to make smarter, more client-focused decisions that don’t have to be the same efforts your big box competitor is getting recognized for.
While it’s important for any business to know what the competition is up to, try and box them out (pun intended), and create a plan that allows your own goals and visions for business growth to shine through.
