Fresh Marketing Ideas

[mr.tan1]

Okay so we all can use a boost in sales in the new 2011! Ramping up now for my busy season and wondering if anyone has any fresh marketing ideas or strategies?

I would like to see some new customers! We have a great baseline and retention is good but I feel we could be doing better. Our windows are dressed, signage is out but no new EFT's. We have been in the same location for 9 years!

Any new and fresh ideas would be helpful, thanks :)

[sunsally]

1. If you have a sign-up fee with your EFT Enrollment (which I recommend) try.....

*Double upgrade credits back (e.g. $25 enrollment fee, get $50 in upgrade credits). Or if you don't give anything back now, even just single upgrade credits back

*Same idea - but in lotion bottle credit ($25 enrollment - get $25 off any bottle of lotion $40 and up)


2. FREE MONTH OF TANNING (they get the first month - January - free. Assuming you run EFT's on the 1st, if they sign up on the 8th, get 23 days free...if they sign up on the 15th, it's more like 2 weeks free....if they sign up on the 30th - it's just the next day free. But they come in for the sign saying "FREE MONTH OF TANNING). The free month does NOT count toward any minimum if you have one.


3. SALON SAMPLER TOUR - for NEW customers - give them one tan in every level bed in your salon for a CHEAP price. For example - if you have 4 levels where the "walk in pricing" would be $50 - make it $14.95. New customers only, no substitutions. In another forum, another salon owner does this same thing but also includes a "gift bag" with a free packet of lotion for each of the tans. Your cost is very little - and it gets them in the habit of using lotion from day one (and your staff finds out which one they liked best - and sell it to them!)


4. CUSTOMER REFERRAL CONTEST -- Have an in-salon contest to refer new customers. Customer who refers the most gets a free month (or a free bottle of lotion, or a free bag of sample lotions or.....). Put up a white board tracking the results and pump it up every day!

5. Facebook ads - you can set the amount you want to spend - pretty cheap

6. Email to your database (use Constant Contact or Vertical Response) - give them a "come on in" email only special (e.g. maybe the EFT specials above and/or 20% off any package or 50% off any lotion with package purchase,....)

[mr.tan1]

You have some great ideas sunsally! I like the referral contest the best since our base is good. We do have a set up fee for new customers on EFT accts and I think I will look into offering upgrade incentives as well. Thanks so much for your input!

[Din]

Referral contests also work great on Facebook.

In your Facebook group, do a mass message to all your members. The person that refers the most users to join your group will win whatever it is.... A Free Month, Bottle of Lotion, whatever.

Now that facebook has grown, lots of people have about 300 - 400 friends on average. So if each person on your group sends out your group link to join, you will increase your members greatly.

You can also put a coupon on your group that new clients can print for a FREE Tan or a $10 Gift Card or something along the lines of that.

Facebook is Free and can be effective for Business to Consumer advertising.

You should also have an instore referral program in place. You should have tent card referral cards on each tanning bed with the towel. Forcing them to remove the card from the bed each time so that they have to see it every time. Stating ONE FREE TAN...open for more details. You can see samples on my website gallery of referral cards to give you ideas.

If you need any other help with your marketing, don't hesitate in contacting me. Call or email anytime.

Regards
Dean

[sunsally]

mr.tan1


Din (Dean) of Chronos Marketing is a salon owner who has a marketing company that does some OUTSTANDING work at a VERY reasonable rate! After 9 years in business - you owe it to yourself to give him a call and see what he could do for your business. I guarantee - no matter what your budget - it will be money well spent!

[excitednewguy]

Do Tan FREE for a week cards, get them out there, and then when they come in, if they sign up for an EFT on the first day, wave the enrollment fee

Wave the enrollment fee for anyone who sings up for EFT, if they buy a lotion

Use Facebook as Sally said, we do and it works great

Get a website and use it

[MelanieTaylor]

Hey, Mr.tan1! How did you fair in 2011? How did it compare to 2010? How has this year done so far? Have you done anything different?

[delany]

Originally Posted by Din

Referral contests also work great on Facebook.

In your Facebook group, do a mass message to all your members. The person that refers the most users to join your group will win whatever it is.... A Free Month, Bottle of Lotion, whatever.

Now that facebook has grown, lots of people have about 300 - 400 friends on average. So if each person on your group sends out your group link to join, you will increase your members greatly.

You can also put a coupon on your group that new clients can print for a FREE Tan or a $10 Gift Card or something along the lines of that.

Facebook is Free and can be effective for Business to Consumer advertising.

You should also have an instore referral program in place. You should have tent card referral cards on each tanning bed with the towel. Forcing them to remove the card from the bed each time so that they have to see it every time. Stating ONE FREE TAN...open for more details. You can see samples on my website gallery of referral cards to give you ideas.

If you need any other help with your marketing, don't hesitate in contacting me. Call or email anytime.

Regards
Dean

how do you track who refers whom?

[adam.sand]

Originally Posted by delany

how do you track who refers whom?

The only thing that works is to build community with your clients.

Coupons.. for what? Clients who don't know or care who you are?

Refer a friend to a group... for what? More spam? Why would they join your group? Who are you, what do you do? What's in it for them?

Social Media Marketing isn't about taking the flyer and the coupon online. That is just how the coupon and flyer design business is responding to being crushed by the social marketing industry.

Create community, pay people on fiverr.com to do your design for 5 bucks. Share your story. Create community, ping-pong your clients back and forth between traditional media and social media.

It's not about "monthly return" it's about becoming a brand, a recognized expert, a thought leader in YOUR industry.

10 years ago MBA's from harvard would have scoffed at the idea of a tiny little brown glass bottle with "energy" on it, suddenly having more brand recognition than Mountain Dew and having a larger space program than Canada or the UK... but Red Bull did it, and their community is MASSIVE.

How do you do this on a smaller scale? Think about THAT... not "what % off should I offer on my coupon this month" LOL

[Breeni]

These are some interesting methods of marketing or one may say the great ideas and i would like to say that marketing is the best thing tom earn and it gives learning in many aspects.