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It was March of 1988, when a salon owner called me to openly discuss his concerns about the future of his tanning business. Although his salon was booming and he was flush with cash, he wanted to know what he could do to minimize the negative financial impact of the “slow season” – which he knew he would be facing come late June.
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Yes, the salon owners of 30 years ago faced many of the same challenges we still have today. And mind you – this was before the advent of the EFT or monthly memberships.
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I applauded his initiative and desire to search for solutions. After crunching the numbers and reviewing his sales history, I asked if he would be willing to “roll the dice” and take a gamble on a novel idea.
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Knowing that he did about 70 percent of his annual sales between January and June, I suggested the following “outrageous” tanning special: Unlimited Tanning from Memorial Day ‘til Labor Day for $99!
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His first reaction was that of shock and disbelief. At the time, he had tanners lining up to pay $7 for a single session in a 24-lamp bed. At $99 for three months, he felt he would be “giving it away” and it could ruin his business.
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As his initial shock subsided, I explained my reasoning.
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In previous years, he was doing less than $5,000 per month in total sales during the months of June, July and August. This was barely enough to break even.
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I demonstrated that if he could convince just 150 people to purchase the $99 tanning special, it would generate enough cash to cover his overhead for the entire summer – and he would still have the opportunity to sell those customers lotions, etc.
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“What’s the worst that could happen?” I asked, “You sell too many?”
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He rolled out the “Endless Summer Special” (a nod to the title of a Beach Boys album) and it was successful beyond all expectations – including mine. When all was tallied, he sold almost 300 of the $99 packages – generating close to $30,000 in just a few weeks!
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Fast-forward to 2018 and we find that today, thousands of successful salon operators are utilizing a variety of strategically developed pricing programs that, in reality, are based on the Endless Summer/Endless Season concept. However, while programs like these can certainly help cover expenses and keep the business going until the next busy season, they do not address our biggest challenge: the marked seasonality of the indoor tanning business.
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To be sure, we’ve made significant headway with EFTs and effective marketing and pricing programs. And yes, a fair number of people do tan indoors all year long – even in places like Florida and Southern California. However, for most of the industry, there is a significant drop-off in revenue and foot traffic from July to early December. Regardless of how hard we work or how innovative we are with EFT programs and pricing strategies, we may never see the revenue numbers and foot traffic in September, October and November that we do in February, March and April … unless we’re willing to expand our horizons and seek out new opportunities!
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Inside Every Tanning Salon is a Day Spa Waiting to Happen
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Tanning salons attract the most appearance-conscious consumers in the world – people of all ages, shapes and sizes who are willing to take time out of their busy schedules and pay you for the privilege of laying semi-nude on a hard, acrylic surface for up to 20 minutes while surrounded by bright lights. Their goal: to enhance the way they look and feel – by doing nothing!
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Fortunately, today’s salons can tap into a wide variety of equipment options that operate just like tanning systems (attendant-free, low operating cost per session, etc.) but appeal to a much larger and more diverse audience. There are light-therapy devices that help to combat the signs of aging, reduce fat, etc.; wellness pods that promote weight loss, detox and skin rejuvenation; massage chairs and aqua massage tables for relaxation and stress relief.
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Many tanning salons are crossing over into the day spa arena by offering a variety of complimentary equipment options and services to attract new clientele and keep business and traffic flow steady all year long. Tim & Carol Karamichalis, co-owners of the Harbor Lights tanning salon chain in Baltimore, MD, recently added a sauna pod and red-light rejuvenation systems to their facilities.
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“The addition of the spa-centered equipment is attracting new customers who probably never would have set foot in a tanning salon,” states Carol. Tim is also quick to add that you just can’t install he new equipment and expect miracles to happen overnight. “Just like with tanning, you have to aggressively promote and market the spa services. It takes some time to educate people on the fact that you are more than just a tanning salon,” he asserts. “But, once we get them in the door, they are amazed at all the great health and wellness services they can use – and we’ve earned a customer for life!”
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The beauty of adding the spa services is that it helps to increase overall revenue without cannibalizing sales from the tanning side of the business.
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“We see a lot of cross-over business for our spa services from our existing tanners and at the same time, we’re also attracting hundreds of new customers,” states Onyi Odunukwe, owner of the Glo Tanning Salon chain in Northwest AR.
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Developing Your Endless Season Programs
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Albert Einstein is credited with the statement, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” And for more than 30 years, I have listened to salon owners express their frustrations about the slow season. Yet, year after year, many do nothing to change their situations and somehow expect the business to miraculously grow.
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You have the ability to control your own destiny by using the solid foundation of indoor tanning and then expanding your service menu to attract new customers who want to look and feel great.
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If you would like a Free Business Evaluation and assistance in developing an Endless Season Program for your salon, write jerry@istmagazine.online.
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The beauty of adding the spa services is that it helps to increase overall
revenue without cannibalizing sales from the tanning side of the business.
