tanTALK - View Single Post - Price Shoppers, when do they come through your door ?

gripmarketing · 08-04-2004, 07:26 PM

Flick, I must respectfully disagree that free works and doesn't cheapen your brand. Here come the arrows!

I'm here to report that first tans free is still here, alive, and doing well at 1,000's of salons. Many salons have even improved the offer to 3 free tans for new clients only. Some salons are offering a free month!

I understand from your post that you fall into the "anti-free" offer camp of salons. I also understand that some in this camp didn't get results with free offers and got better results with X Tans for $Y offers. IMHO, it wasn't the offer that failed, but rather a poor conversion rate from the offer to a sale. Obviously, getting from a free offer to a $40 sale is a tough close but moving the prospect from a 5 Tans for $10 offer to a $40 sale is a much easier close.

Neither of these offers "cheapen" anything: your salon, your brand, or your product in the minds of consumers. Theories abound otherwise, but don't hold water.

It's too easy to debate the value of a free trial offer here. AOL, on the back of a free trial offer (1,000 hours free!), "cheapened" their brand, their ISP service, and resultantly cheapened (gained) enough market value in the process to buy out Time Warner. If "free" cheapened them, then give me all I can handle.

The Health & Fitness industry's only working offer is a "Free Week of Membership". The entire industry does it. Hasn't "cheapened" fitness clubs as they are reaching for their pinnacle of market penetration. We should know because we're also in that industry mailing millions of pieces. All kinds of other offers have been tried and tested by chains and single-unit operators and none work as well as a free week membership.

Prior to offering free cell phones, the cellular providers were charging for the phones and sales languished. A Free cell phone offer when you sign up for the service is the free offer that worked so well it caused the telecommunication industry to completely saturate the N. American market for cell phones. As of August 2002, there were more cell phone lines in use than land lines according to the industry and its analysts. We used to be in this industry, but left it to pursue the tanning industry in June 2001 (we smelled the saturated market rat coming and got out before it was over - smart and lucky us?!? - and so did many retailers, some of whom sold their businesses, got out, and bought restaurants, tanning salons, and dry cleaners).

Now getting a free dish, free installation, and free receivers is the free offer that satellite retailers are beating the crap out of cable operators with to gain humungous market share right now as we speak. For the first time in years, cable operators are having to advertise to beat back the exodus of people leaving cable and going to dish. We should know: last year we mailed over 10 million pieces for this industry.

I could go on and on, but what's the point? The proof is simple. Free works to bring in the bodies. Conversion to a sale by the highly-professionally trained must take place after that. But training costs money. And there's the conundrum!

_________________
Gary[ This Message was edited by: gripmarketing on 2004-08-04 19:29 ]

08-04-2004, 07:26 PM	#9 (permalink)
gripmarketing Join Date: May 25 2002 Posts: 1,257 Rep Power: 7	Flick, I must respectfully disagree that free works and doesn't cheapen your brand. Here come the arrows! I'm here to report that first tans free is still here, alive, and doing well at 1,000's of salons. Many salons have even improved the offer to 3 free tans for new clients only. Some salons are offering a free month! I understand from your post that you fall into the "anti-free" offer camp of salons. I also understand that some in this camp didn't get results with free offers and got better results with X Tans for $Y offers. IMHO, it wasn't the offer that failed, but rather a poor conversion rate from the offer to a sale. Obviously, getting from a free offer to a $40 sale is a tough close but moving the prospect from a 5 Tans for $10 offer to a $40 sale is a much easier close. Neither of these offers "cheapen" anything: your salon, your brand, or your product in the minds of consumers. Theories abound otherwise, but don't hold water. It's too easy to debate the value of a free trial offer here. AOL, on the back of a free trial offer (1,000 hours free!), "cheapened" their brand, their ISP service, and resultantly cheapened (gained) enough market value in the process to buy out Time Warner. If "free" cheapened them, then give me all I can handle. The Health & Fitness industry's only working offer is a "Free Week of Membership". The entire industry does it. Hasn't "cheapened" fitness clubs as they are reaching for their pinnacle of market penetration. We should know because we're also in that industry mailing millions of pieces. All kinds of other offers have been tried and tested by chains and single-unit operators and none work as well as a free week membership. Prior to offering free cell phones, the cellular providers were charging for the phones and sales languished. A Free cell phone offer when you sign up for the service is the free offer that worked so well it caused the telecommunication industry to completely saturate the N. American market for cell phones. As of August 2002, there were more cell phone lines in use than land lines according to the industry and its analysts. We used to be in this industry, but left it to pursue the tanning industry in June 2001 (we smelled the saturated market rat coming and got out before it was over - smart and lucky us?!? - and so did many retailers, some of whom sold their businesses, got out, and bought restaurants, tanning salons, and dry cleaners). Now getting a free dish, free installation, and free receivers is the free offer that satellite retailers are beating the crap out of cable operators with to gain humungous market share right now as we speak. For the first time in years, cable operators are having to advertise to beat back the exodus of people leaving cable and going to dish. We should know: last year we mailed over 10 million pieces for this industry. I could go on and on, but what's the point? The proof is simple. Free works to bring in the bodies. Conversion to a sale by the highly-professionally trained must take place after that. But training costs money. And there's the conundrum! _________________ Gary[ This Message was edited by: gripmarketing on 2004-08-04 19:29 ]