Any good ideals for making money with FREE TAN WEEKEND? - Page 13 - tanTALK

sunsally · 02-08-2005, 08:19 PM

Good idea Tantootx -

Other alternatives/add-ons/strategies:

1. Have a "pre-sale" - on your website if you have one, at the store if you can figure out a way in the midst of construction, or at a neighboring/partnering business with a similar clientele (e.g. a neighboring gym). Give them a "pre-opening only" sale - a year membership at a great price,...

2. Rather than a "free" month, have your EFT for Month #1 (or even Months 1&2 or 1-3 depending on what you think you'll need) be some ridiculously low price - $9.99 or $4.99 or $1.99! Probably have a "enrollment fee" (still less than $50) - and "give back" some of that in free lotions/upgrades.

In the meantime - getting the word out with flyers etc is great! Make sure your sign is already up with a giant "coming in March" in the windows (or if sign isn't up, make one for windows!). Consider signing up "ambassadors" at local high schools and/or colleges to spread referal cards for you (in exchange for free tanning for them - based on how many actually come in when you open!). Be working on partnerships with local businesses - pizza places, wedding shops, florists, .... (see dwhite post in "Mass mailings" in this forum). Etc, etc, etc

For that "free" month - any limit on how many times they can tan? Will they have to buy a packet and/or bottle of lotion? You'll be strongly encouraging upgrades - right?? And special deals that are better the faster they sign up (e.g. maybe they get the next month for $20 if they sign-up the first time they tan, $22 if they sign-up the second time, $24 if they sign up the third time,...)

Good luck!

Neon Beach · 02-08-2005, 08:22 PM

_________________

[ This Message was edited by: Neon Beach on 2005-05-05 15:30 ]

tanman02 · 02-08-2005, 08:29 PM

do you allow the same tanner to come in each day of the free tan weekend or is it limited to just one free tan?

DWhite6872 · 02-08-2005, 08:30 PM

How is the free month working? How are you promoting the ftm?

gripmarketing · 02-09-2005, 02:05 PM

Yes FTM works, too for Grand Openings or wherever you need to be very aggressive in compiling the database fast. Remember: if you dilly-dally in finding out who the tanners are in your area and compiling your database list, your overhead will devour you.

tantootx · 02-09-2005, 04:54 PM

We haven't started yet, waiting on our pass cards. Then we will be passing those out like crazy with Grand Opening around March 1st. AT that point we plan a fairly large grand opening with some "Super Specials" then offer a week of free tanning they can trade in on a lower enrollment fee or lower first month. It's a plan. May not be a good one but it's a plan.

jo · 02-09-2005, 05:18 PM

I think there are different mindsets to people in different areas. There are definitely a lot of people who will go for the cheapest whatever. I have lost clients to the "cheapest" place in town just because it is cheaper. They agree that our beds are better and they get better colour, they don't have to wait an hour and a half for a bed but jeepers they want to save that $5 per month. They'd all show up for a free tan day and perhaps buy a lotion but it wouldn't pull them back in for anything else. Not everyone responds with gratitude and don't for a minute think Canadians have all the same buying habits as Americans. Those who want cheap want cheap and expect cheap. Those who want better expect to pay for it. If it's free or too cheap they won't touch you because why would you give away something really good?

gripmarketing · 02-09-2005, 05:40 PM

Have an open mind. Think about this for a minute...the mindset is the same everywhere...your market has overwhelming similiarities and very, very few differences...

Take the worst customer you think you could find who is a bargain hunter and doesn't buy deep and wide (long term commitment) but buys shallow and narrow. Why commit long-term when you get your jollies in life by searching for the next bargain?

But I gotta tell ya, that studies show even these people don't want to have to shop for the same product or service over and over and over again. They want to find somewhere that they feel is a GREAT VALUE and buy there. And they'll keep on buying there until a bad service event occurs or someone else represents a GREATER VALUE to them. So if you want these bargain hunters, that's ALL you've got to do. Ain't easy, but it can be done easily.

For those of you who don't want these people, think again about what they represent to your business.

Some of you have a misperception about OFFERS. Let's say you run a freebie offer and people take you up on it. Some buy now. Rerun the same free offer. More buy (it took two times of freebies for them to buy) Rerun again. More buy (it took three times for them to buy) Rerun again. At some point, in this process you are the GREATEST VALUE. PERIOD. It just depends on where you want to stop in the process and what you're willing to give up to get their business.

The people who bought after the first freebie can easily be lost to the next salon who offers a similar offer. Why? Because whatever makes you is the same thing that breaks you. These people are easier to get and easier to lose. Don't believe me? Watch a competitor open up next door and take 20% of your active customers with the same type offers you were making.

The people who bought after 3 freebie offers can only be lost to the next salon who offers 3 freebie offers. Why? Same reason. Point is: these people are harder to get, and harder to lose.

OTOH, you can always restrict freebies with 'new clients only' and 'photo id required'. But bear in mind, that this prevents the positive progression above.

dgraham · 02-09-2005, 11:33 PM

I come from the old-school Solar Planet Free Tan weekends, and have assisted several clients in hosting successful weekends through the years.

Since the Solar Planet concept was a unique model, having all high-end beds in a very small square footage, we approached things radically different than many of you out there today. We called it Customer Appreciation Weekend, and the tans were free as long as you brought a friend who was not tanning with us at the time. We ONLY tanned people on our high-end VHR beds and stand-ups, and rewarded them with a high pressure tan or spray on the last day. Our thought on this was that NO low-end bed was impressive enough or performed well enough to generate any long-lasting excitement. We called this the "test-drive" method, because you all know that when someone tans 3 days in a row on a high-powered bed the results will blow them away. By not worrying about having to upgrade them into something better, our sales staff could more easily concentrate on selling packages and lotions, and our customers understood the value of the promotion that much better without having to take their wallets out multiple times.

Everyone tanned for free, customer and guest, Friday through Sunday. We had a full staff on at all times, created a party-like atmosphere (some people have even been known to put out a red carpet and put a spotlight out in front beaming up to the sky, while also hiring some limousines to drive up and down the block with the salon name on it--outrageous!!), and put our selling shoes on. Our top normal packages anyway exceeded $500, so we would run 10 and 20% specials only on the highest packages that weekend. We really pushed couples and friends sharing packages so they would inevitably purchase the most expensive ones.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that on many of these weekends, the salons I have monitored have brought in as much as $25,000 in 3 days. It works, and if anyone is skeptical or afraid, keep this in mind: If you were to run up to 10 beds non-stop Friday through Sunday, say 36 business hours total for each bed, average cost to run bed per session for each unit being .75, average sessions per hour for each bed 4, comes out to roughly $1,000 in cost for the whole weekend (it is late here, so pleae inform me if my math is wrong!). In the meantime, you just blew away your less-than-stellar competition by gaining their best clients; you added valuable new names to your database; and most importantly, you rewarded your loyal clients!

One of the keys is flexibility, as these weekends can actually go on a few days before and a few days after the actual promotion. Do not be a major stickler on the rules and turn people away, but rather talk to them in a positive way so it works to everyone's advantage.

Unfortunately I do not have too much time to spend on these sites now that busy season is upon us, but feel free to contact me if you want to discuss these methods further. Thanks.

David Graham
National Salon Consultant
Future Industries
800-346-3136, Ext. 138
Cell 203-650-7728

Bridget21 · 10-23-2005, 07:28 PM

I am the manager of a tanning salon. This is what we do. First of all we do not have a tan free WEEKEND we only have a Tan Free Day to kick off our busy season. We have this tan free weekend the first Saturday in February. We provide free tanning in regular laydown and standup beds and also for people who don't tan a free hydromassage visit. We also have 1/2 price high pressure beds. This way your still making money and you also give away prizes you can normally get free stuff from lotion distributors and you draw for these prizes after you've closed. You also want to give away something free to them if they buy a package whether it be a t-shirt with your logo/business name or a free moisturizer which is essential for tanning.

02-08-2005, 08:19 PM	#121 (permalink)
sunsally Team TanTalk Join Date: Nov 23 2004 Location: ITA Member & Berman Supporter! Posts: 3,136 Rep Power: 25	Good idea Tantootx - Other alternatives/add-ons/strategies: 1. Have a "pre-sale" - on your website if you have one, at the store if you can figure out a way in the midst of construction, or at a neighboring/partnering business with a similar clientele (e.g. a neighboring gym). Give them a "pre-opening only" sale - a year membership at a great price,... 2. Rather than a "free" month, have your EFT for Month #1 (or even Months 1&2 or 1-3 depending on what you think you'll need) be some ridiculously low price - $9.99 or $4.99 or $1.99! Probably have a "enrollment fee" (still less than $50) - and "give back" some of that in free lotions/upgrades. In the meantime - getting the word out with flyers etc is great! Make sure your sign is already up with a giant "coming in March" in the windows (or if sign isn't up, make one for windows!). Consider signing up "ambassadors" at local high schools and/or colleges to spread referal cards for you (in exchange for free tanning for them - based on how many actually come in when you open!). Be working on partnerships with local businesses - pizza places, wedding shops, florists, .... (see dwhite post in "Mass mailings" in this forum). Etc, etc, etc For that "free" month - any limit on how many times they can tan? Will they have to buy a packet and/or bottle of lotion? You'll be strongly encouraging upgrades - right?? And special deals that are better the faster they sign up (e.g. maybe they get the next month for $20 if they sign-up the first time they tan, $22 if they sign-up the second time, $24 if they sign up the third time,...) Good luck!

02-08-2005, 08:22 PM	#122 (permalink)
Neon Beach Join Date: Nov 30 2000 Location: Ontario Age: 61 Posts: 38,594 Rep Power: 107	_________________ [ This Message was edited by: Neon Beach on 2005-05-05 15:30 ]

02-08-2005, 08:29 PM	#123 (permalink)
tanman02 Waiting Confirmation Join Date: Aug 15 2003 Posts: 219 Rep Power: 0	do you allow the same tanner to come in each day of the free tan weekend or is it limited to just one free tan?

02-08-2005, 08:30 PM	#124 (permalink)
DWhite6872 Waiting Confirmation Join Date: Apr 22 2004 Posts: 3,646 Rep Power: 0	How is the free month working? How are you promoting the ftm?

02-09-2005, 02:05 PM	#125 (permalink)
gripmarketing Join Date: May 25 2002 Posts: 970 Rep Power: 22	Yes FTM works, too for Grand Openings or wherever you need to be very aggressive in compiling the database fast. Remember: if you dilly-dally in finding out who the tanners are in your area and compiling your database list, your overhead will devour you.

02-09-2005, 04:54 PM	#126 (permalink)
tantootx I'm Banned Join Date: Mar 10 2003 Location: Texas Age: 70 Posts: 112 Rep Power: 0	We haven't started yet, waiting on our pass cards. Then we will be passing those out like crazy with Grand Opening around March 1st. AT that point we plan a fairly large grand opening with some "Super Specials" then offer a week of free tanning they can trade in on a lower enrollment fee or lower first month. It's a plan. May not be a good one but it's a plan.

02-09-2005, 05:18 PM	#127 (permalink)
jo Join Date: Jan 8 2004 Posts: 239 Rep Power: 21	I think there are different mindsets to people in different areas. There are definitely a lot of people who will go for the cheapest whatever. I have lost clients to the "cheapest" place in town just because it is cheaper. They agree that our beds are better and they get better colour, they don't have to wait an hour and a half for a bed but jeepers they want to save that $5 per month. They'd all show up for a free tan day and perhaps buy a lotion but it wouldn't pull them back in for anything else. Not everyone responds with gratitude and don't for a minute think Canadians have all the same buying habits as Americans. Those who want cheap want cheap and expect cheap. Those who want better expect to pay for it. If it's free or too cheap they won't touch you because why would you give away something really good?

02-09-2005, 05:40 PM	#128 (permalink)
gripmarketing Join Date: May 25 2002 Posts: 970 Rep Power: 22	Have an open mind. Think about this for a minute...the mindset is the same everywhere...your market has overwhelming similiarities and very, very few differences... Take the worst customer you think you could find who is a bargain hunter and doesn't buy deep and wide (long term commitment) but buys shallow and narrow. Why commit long-term when you get your jollies in life by searching for the next bargain? But I gotta tell ya, that studies show even these people don't want to have to shop for the same product or service over and over and over again. They want to find somewhere that they feel is a GREAT VALUE and buy there. And they'll keep on buying there until a bad service event occurs or someone else represents a GREATER VALUE to them. So if you want these bargain hunters, that's ALL you've got to do. Ain't easy, but it can be done easily. For those of you who don't want these people, think again about what they represent to your business. Some of you have a misperception about OFFERS. Let's say you run a freebie offer and people take you up on it. Some buy now. Rerun the same free offer. More buy (it took two times of freebies for them to buy) Rerun again. More buy (it took three times for them to buy) Rerun again. At some point, in this process you are the GREATEST VALUE. PERIOD. It just depends on where you want to stop in the process and what you're willing to give up to get their business. The people who bought after the first freebie can easily be lost to the next salon who offers a similar offer. Why? Because whatever makes you is the same thing that breaks you. These people are easier to get and easier to lose. Don't believe me? Watch a competitor open up next door and take 20% of your active customers with the same type offers you were making. The people who bought after 3 freebie offers can only be lost to the next salon who offers 3 freebie offers. Why? Same reason. Point is: these people are harder to get, and harder to lose. OTOH, you can always restrict freebies with 'new clients only' and 'photo id required'. But bear in mind, that this prevents the positive progression above.

02-09-2005, 11:33 PM	#129 (permalink)
dgraham Join Date: Aug 27 2004 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	I come from the old-school Solar Planet Free Tan weekends, and have assisted several clients in hosting successful weekends through the years. Since the Solar Planet concept was a unique model, having all high-end beds in a very small square footage, we approached things radically different than many of you out there today. We called it Customer Appreciation Weekend, and the tans were free as long as you brought a friend who was not tanning with us at the time. We ONLY tanned people on our high-end VHR beds and stand-ups, and rewarded them with a high pressure tan or spray on the last day. Our thought on this was that NO low-end bed was impressive enough or performed well enough to generate any long-lasting excitement. We called this the "test-drive" method, because you all know that when someone tans 3 days in a row on a high-powered bed the results will blow them away. By not worrying about having to upgrade them into something better, our sales staff could more easily concentrate on selling packages and lotions, and our customers understood the value of the promotion that much better without having to take their wallets out multiple times. Everyone tanned for free, customer and guest, Friday through Sunday. We had a full staff on at all times, created a party-like atmosphere (some people have even been known to put out a red carpet and put a spotlight out in front beaming up to the sky, while also hiring some limousines to drive up and down the block with the salon name on it--outrageous!!), and put our selling shoes on. Our top normal packages anyway exceeded $500, so we would run 10 and 20% specials only on the highest packages that weekend. We really pushed couples and friends sharing packages so they would inevitably purchase the most expensive ones. Anyway, the moral of the story is that on many of these weekends, the salons I have monitored have brought in as much as $25,000 in 3 days. It works, and if anyone is skeptical or afraid, keep this in mind: If you were to run up to 10 beds non-stop Friday through Sunday, say 36 business hours total for each bed, average cost to run bed per session for each unit being .75, average sessions per hour for each bed 4, comes out to roughly $1,000 in cost for the whole weekend (it is late here, so pleae inform me if my math is wrong!). In the meantime, you just blew away your less-than-stellar competition by gaining their best clients; you added valuable new names to your database; and most importantly, you rewarded your loyal clients! One of the keys is flexibility, as these weekends can actually go on a few days before and a few days after the actual promotion. Do not be a major stickler on the rules and turn people away, but rather talk to them in a positive way so it works to everyone's advantage. Unfortunately I do not have too much time to spend on these sites now that busy season is upon us, but feel free to contact me if you want to discuss these methods further. Thanks. David Graham National Salon Consultant Future Industries 800-346-3136, Ext. 138 Cell 203-650-7728

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