It’s October… the perfect time to enjoy this little “stocking-stuffer” from your friends at ist Magazine!

The tenth month of the year is the perfect time to think about the holiday sales and promotions you plan to kick off in November. Right now, you still have plenty of time to develop something unique and train your staff in its particulars before implementing it at your salon. Why? Because holiday sales and specials are a great way to increase your cash flow in November and December, allowing you to coast into the New Year a very merry business owner. So, in the spirit of spreading the holiday cheer, we at ist present this gift to you – a collection of proven promotions guaranteed to spike sales during the most wonderful time of the year.
In our consumer-driven culture, many people associate the beginning of the holiday season with “Black Friday.” You know, the day after Thanksgiving, when people line up in front of their favorite stores to take advantage of all the crazy sales. The tanning professionals featured in this article all utilize Black Friday to launch their holiday specials, and they say that the business they create on this day keeps people coming into their store throughout December. It also makes perfect sense for you to launch your salon’s promotion on the same day that puts most Americans into a buying frenzy!
Expert Panel:
Each issue of ist Magazine is filled with valuable and relevant information gathered from knowledgeable tanning professionals across the country. This month, the following group of salon operators – who represent more than 50 years of combined industry experience – were kind enough to share their insight:
Lisa Brooking, Owner, True Colors Tanning, Jeffersonville, IN – 10 years industry experience
Roy Carrasco, General Manager, Tropi Tan, Flint, MI – 11 years industry experience
Annie Donahue, Owner, Island Time Tanning, Saco, ME – 6 years industry experience
Melanie Douglas, District Manager, Tan Zone, Birmingham, AL – 8 years industry experience
Janessa Howell, Marketing Director, Celsius Tannery, Leawood, KS – 16 years industry experience
Gift Cards
Nothing says “holiday shopping” like the sale of gift cards, and it’s a surefire way to increase cash flow at your salon during the last months of the year. To really succeed with it, though, it’s best to offer the customer something more than just the value of the card they purchase. We’re living in the age of customer rewards after all, as the ladies at True Colors Tanning in Jeffersonville, IN will tell you.
“The best incentive I’ve ever seen for purchasing gift cards comes from a Mexican restaurant where my husband and I like to eat,” said Lisa Brooking, Owner. “When our daughter bought their gift cards for her dad, she was pleased to find out that she also received one for herself. This gave us the idea for our ‘Bonus Bucks’ program.”
For each $20 gift card purchased at True Colors, the person buying the card receives $5 in Bonus Bucks, while $50 cards reward $10 and $100 cards net $20. To ensure sales, Lisa also awards her staff $25 Bonus Bucks if they sell $500 in gift cards. “Many clients who get them for themselves use their Bonus Bucks to purchase high-end lotions and upgrade sessions,” she added. “However they use them, we’re very happy to have this added cash flow during December.”
Tans for Cans
The holiday season is the time when most people are in a charitable mood, so make your salon the place where they can give and receive. You do this by offering sales designed to fill your lobby with people during November and December, then get those people fired up by providing them a way to donate to a worthy local charity. One of the best ways to do this is by hosting a Tans for Cans food drive for your local food pantry … it’s always worked for the Tropi-Tan salon chain in Flint, MI.
To increase Tropi Tan’s December 2012 customer counts, the salon chain offered a buy one month, get one month free deal beginning November 1st, which increased the December traffic 11 percent from the year before. In December, the chain’s Tans for Cans food drive gives clients a free Level-Three tanning session for every three to five cans of food they donate, and a free Level-Four session for six cans or more. “Because it’s for a good cause, our customers love to take part in this,” said Roy Carrasco, General Manager. “The Salvation Army also appreciates what we do for them so much that they had a ‘traveling trophy’ made, which is displayed at the salon that collects the most food each year. We made this an annual promotion because we enjoy the opportunity to help our community and more and more people participate each year.”
Spice Things Up!
When traffic slows down at a salon, sometimes an owner needs to spice things up a bit. A customer appreciation day can be a big help, and so can dressing up in holiday-themed costumes. The motto here is simple yet effective – do what it takes to get people through the door, then use your sales skills to sell them memberships and packages. Six years ago, Annie Donahue slipped into a sexy Santa suit and Decembers at Island Time Tanning in Saco, ME have never been the same!
“I enjoy dressing up for the holidays, and at what other business could you wear a sexy Santa suit than at a tanning salon?” asked Annie. “It’s just a cute little red outfit that I wear with high boots, and it was enough to get people’s attention, both male and female. One guy came in to buy some gift cards and ended up telling all of his friends to tan at Island Time.” Each year since, Annie has donned her sexy Santa garb on December 1st and also hosted a customer appreciation/free tan day. “We have two Christmas trees in our lobby with envelopes on the trees and gifts beneath them,” she explained. “Every client gets to pick an envelope for the free prize inside, and each member gets a personalized gift under the tree. We even sell the sexy Santa suits, which are very popular with women looking for something special to wear to holiday parties. All in all, our Decembers are very busy!”
“Bronze Friday”
“Bronze Friday” can be for tanning salons what Black Friday is for retail outlets – one, gigantic cash flow! Here’s what you do: offer irresistible deals that are designed to keep people tanning through December. Then, a week before the big day, start hyping these deals on your salon’s social media sites and encourage your team to share the post on their personal pages. It’s always worked for the folks at the Tan Zone chain in Birmingham, AL, and can be a winner for you, too!
Each year, Tan Zone customers line up outside the salon doors at 6am to be the first to get their free tan, and get half-off on all gift certificate purchases and stocking-stuffer items. “We also go through our database to offer free tanning until the end of the year to all VIP members with frozen accounts,” said Melanie Douglas, District Manager. “Since they were probably planning to unfreeze their accounts in February, this ensures they’ll be willing to re-sign when that month rolls around.” To boost December customer counts, Tan Zone introduced its “$10 Weekender” EFT membership that allows clients unlimited level-one tanning Friday-Sunday for $10 per month, including tax. “This also keeps many clients from canceling or freezing their accounts,” Melanie added.
“Block Sales”
Try shifting away from monthly promotions and design them to last no more than two weeks at a time. Crazy? Not hardly. Two-week promos not only keep things fresh for your staff, they also help inspire the notion in your clients that they need to BUY NOW! This is what the folks at the Leawood, KS-based Celsius Tannery salon chain have been doing each holiday season and they report that business has been booming.
Black Friday kicks off the Turkey Cover-All at all Celsius Tannery locations. “It’s similar to a BINGO game,” said Janessa Howell, Marketing Director. “We post a big turkey picture in our lobby and for every purchase a client makes, we cover a part of the picture. Each part represents dollars we donate to our local food pantry, and the salon that raises the most money wins.” A couple weeks later, Team Celsius switches its focus to another holiday – New Year’s Eve. “We raffle a table for eight people at the most popular New Year’s Eve party in town,” Janessa added. “Each time someone gets a tan or spray-tan, their name is entered into the drawing. Since it’s hard to get tickets for this party, our clients are happy to come in a lot during those two weeks in December… and beyond.”
Happy Holidays!
If you’re still wondering why we’re talking about the holidays in October, it’s because we wanted to give you – yes, you – enough time to implement these successful holiday promotions at your salon. After all, there’s no reason why November and December have to be slow at your store, right? These and similar promotions are designed to get your clients and other members of your community excited about what’s going on in your salon… excited enough to make a purchase, even. And who doesn’t need a little extra green heading into the holidays, right? Those gifts aren’t going to buy themselves!
