Julie George, owner of 26 Club Sun salons in southern Alabama and northwestern Florida, knows how important it is to promote the use of eye protection to her guests. “I’ve been in the tanning business for three decades; I have been certified a number of times and so have my staff members. Over the years, we needed to devise a method to take the message we learned in certification about eye protection directly to our tanners.”
Julie had seen how many salons displayed their eyewear choices and was not impressed. “Many salons have baskets filled with goggles on their front counters – this just doesn’t get the message across to the tanner that eyewear is a very important part of the equipment needed to tan. If you were new to tanning and you saw the basket with all the goggles wrapped in plastic, would you know just how critical it is to protect your eyes? I don’t think so.” So, Julie devised a foolproof method of communicating so her tanners can’t miss her eyewear message.
First, Julie chooses to use the manufacturers’ displays to showcase the eyewear she sells. “Manufacturers design their displays with proven strategies. They are eye-catching, and when our tanners see eyewear prominently displayed and clearly labeled, they know Club Sun emphasizes eye protection.”
“Our first step in introducing eyewear as an important part of the tanning process is to display the several types of eyewear that we sell. The second step is having the staff explain the features and benefits of several types of eyewear to customers when they sign up.”
Julie then carries her eye protection message through the salon hallways and into her tanning rooms. She created her own professional signage featuring “Club Sun Tanning Tips.” On these signs, she prominently indicates how important eye protection is and that it must be worn during every session. “We want our signs to send the message that we are not just giving eyewear ‘lip service,’” Julie commented. “We really mean it when we say, ‘Wear it!’ We’ve also used professional signage from eye protection manufacturers and several certification organizations to repeat our message and encourage our tanners to protect their vision.”
At Club Sun salons, the eye protection promotion is taken yet another step further. “We include eyewear information in our new customer salon tour,” Julie explained. She took me on a tour of her salon as if I were a customer. Her salons feature decorative sconces with shelves in each hallway where premium tanning lotions and other tanning related products are showcased. “During a salon tour, our staff uses each ‘tour stop’ to describe what the products can do for the tanner. We explain pure accelerators, bronzers, hot-action products, and in the final stop, we explain tan extenders, facial products, lip balm and eye protection,” she explained. “By discussing products at the tour stops, the customer’s head doesn’t get all jumbled with information overload. When we finish the tour, they start asking US questions about buying the lotions and accessories we just highlighted.” Julie explains that the salon tour allows the staff to really bond with the customer, and allows a conversation to take place, instead of the staff reciting a memorized speech.
“At the tour stop at the stand-up unit, we feature disposable eyewear and explain how well disposables stay on during a stand-up session without creating tan lines from the string or nose bridge as goggles can,” Julie continued. “We show at least two different types of goggles, so they know they have at least three choices when they return to the counter to make their purchase.”
I think you’ll agree that Julie George and Club Sun have an effective strategy that highlights their premier products, equipment, and their level of concern for their tanners’ vision. Why not add eye protection info to your salon tour today?
