Competing with ridiculous Competitor's specials
 

Anyone have any good ideas for how to compete/handle a local competitor who is pricing specials RIDICULOUSLY low?!!? This month, for about the 4th or 5th time in a year he is offering 1 month unlimited tanning at $15.99 and 50% off lotions! He has another business attached to it and since there's no way you can make enough money at those prices to cover your operating costs I'm guessing he's absorbing a lot of it!

My problem is I don't have that luxury! And while I've managed to stay relatively static, I'm noticing a slide in profits and need some fresh new ideas to help bolster my clientele again!

Any ideas would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Re: Competing with ridiculous Competitor's specials
 

Does he have any strings attached to that monthly offer?

IE: Half-time sessions, upgrade fees, limited hours a day (slow hours; think of airline "red-eye" flights), contract?

I would go in (or send someone in) to get some clarity on this offer.

Re: Competing with ridiculous Competitor's specials
 

Call and ask your lotion dist. about some cheap lotion (bottle) you can give away free with unlimited package, I am sure they will help you.

Re: Competing with ridiculous Competitor's specials
 

Nope! No strings attached! Cash & Carry!

Great idea on the unlimited/bottles! Thank you

Re: Competing with ridiculous Competitor's specials
 

Could be a 'downsizing/ strategy...perhaps thinking of closing and trying to reap as much as possible in short term (?)

(seen it happen before)

Re: Competing with ridiculous Competitor's specials
 

how do you compete with another salon, I might add, in a small town who is running 20 free visits with purchase of a bottle of lotion? I mean seriously??

Re: Competing with ridiculous Competitor's specials
 

Unless there is some crazy restriction on that deal; you just wait for them to close.

Re: Competing with ridiculous Competitor's specials
 

If it is a $100 bottle of lotion it might be a pretty good PR gimmick.

Re: Competing with ridiculous Competitor's specials
 

I'm offering half price on all my monthly packages and BOGO free on all points packages at ONE store only because of the lack of business sense from my competition.

I honestly become sick to my stomach when I think about the fact that I have been in business for nearly 10 years at that location and I am forced to this sort of garbage.

That's business though, right? NO way... Competition is great for industry when your competition is competent - not when we do things like this though.

Someone needs to invent a "Sun Tanning Industry for Dummies Calculator" so these people can see in simple numbers that their Math does not work.

You want to offer low prices - go ahead - but have some sort of commitment from people for the year. You can tell there is no plan, no strategy and no thought process behind some of these actions.

One location is able to receive fair market value - while the other is at this point - forced to suffer due to the low IQ Business people there.

Re: Competing with ridiculous Competitor's specials
 

Maybe at $15.99 they only have one or 2 base beds...and to avoid waiting, co pays to upgrade. Makes sense to me. They sell enough of the monthly's to create the wait. What would you do, sit and wait to get in a crappy ol base bed or pay a few bucks more to get into an upgraded nicer tanning unit? The low price brings them in...you only lose if you have too many base beds.