Negative publicity, recession and less volume. (The elephant in the room)

[Good_Guy]

Originally Posted by Bondgirl

Hey you two, i was faced with a reality between my two businesses a few years ago. closed one and focused on the tanning salon. I ran a Tan Till end of year special for $99 (YICKES!) Sold $8,000 in ONE DAY! Focus on being Happy because your customers want to be happy when they tan. You can get FREE packets of lotion from Devoted Creations when you do an event and give those away to anyone who comes in, also offer free tans that day to drive them in. Make it a weekend event if you have to. You have to be drastic to turn a salon around but i think most importantly to us small business owners is our outlook, make is a sunny one!

Bondgirl,

I'm curious. How long was the $99 tanning for? How many months? Also, did you find it helped the business or did it make you busy but unprofitable due to increased costs? Do you mind ball parking the level of your salons annual sales? An $8,000 day is great but did it end there? Did you sabotage future sales or did you keep a pace like that going forward? Would you do that sale again?

[Bondgirl]

Good Guy - not a problem i can get into more specifics. Naturally i don't want my close competition to know my numbers but here goes..
Tan Till Year end sale started first week of June so 7 months for $99 level 1 $199 level 2, $299 level 3. Ballpark annual sales at that time $70,000 (8 beds) now about double that and still growing i hope. I think weather has really slowed my growth this spring but i think i will make it up through the hot summer similar to 2009 where 2010 was a beautiful summer. I know a seasoned salon veteran that keep a daily tally of sales versus weather and sunshine and 80 = slower sales rain or extreme heat = higher sales.

At that time i was losing about $1,000 a month (on average with the carryover from busy season) and running out of funds to keep it going and JASON was looming before me. I didn't want to work all 80 hours a week we are open AND not pay myself, so i needed a desperate change. That $8,000 was from a FREE TAN day(early June) with 50 BRAND NEW CUSTOMERS in one day from a $200 radio add i ran and texts sent out not via a service but forwards from friends, clients ect..

Those new customers talked about how great we were and referred their friends too. Not everyone bought the sale package, but many came back for shorter terms throughout the summer and fall. After that one day sale i raised the price to encourage immediate purchase that day, then lower it throughout the remainder of the year. The rest of the year was tight but actually July - Dec was 100% above the year prior, so no i don't think the June sale killed my summer but MADE my summer.

Another thing i learned is to fight the vendors for the largest wholesale discount you can get, if you are paying salon cost you are paying too much.

[House of Tan]

Originally Posted by Bondgirl

Another thing i learned is to fight the vendors for the largest wholesale discount you can get, if you are paying salon cost you are paying too much.

I would suggest working with your vendors, not fighting them.

[Bondgirl]

Really? Its a figure of speech!

[Good_Guy]

Originally Posted by Bondgirl

Good Guy - not a problem i can get into more specifics. Naturally i don't want my close competition to know my numbers but here goes..
Tan Till Year end sale started first week of June so 7 months for $99 level 1 $199 level 2, $299 level 3. Ballpark annual sales at that time $70,000 (8 beds) now about double that and still growing i hope. I think weather has really slowed my growth this spring but i think i will make it up through the hot summer similar to 2009 where 2010 was a beautiful summer. I know a seasoned salon veteran that keep a daily tally of sales versus weather and sunshine and 80 = slower sales rain or extreme heat = higher sales.

At that time i was losing about $1,000 a month (on average with the carryover from busy season) and running out of funds to keep it going and JASON was looming before me. I didn't want to work all 80 hours a week we are open AND not pay myself, so i needed a desperate change. That $8,000 was from a FREE TAN day(early June) with 50 BRAND NEW CUSTOMERS in one day from a $200 radio add i ran and texts sent out not via a service but forwards from friends, clients ect..

Those new customers talked about how great we were and referred their friends too. Not everyone bought the sale package, but many came back for shorter terms throughout the summer and fall. After that one day sale i raised the price to encourage immediate purchase that day, then lower it throughout the remainder of the year. The rest of the year was tight but actually July - Dec was 100% above the year prior, so no i don't think the June sale killed my summer but MADE my summer.

Another thing i learned is to fight the vendors for the largest wholesale discount you can get, if you are paying salon cost you are paying too much.

Bondgirl - Very interesting feedback. This example sounds like it worked out really well for you.

[Good_Guy]

We really are just trying to realist instead of just negative. Are others seeing this major negative publicity attack?

Negative article about SPRAY TANNING:
http://www.styleswept.ca/2012/06/new...y-tanning.html

It appears to me that if you own a tanning salon your in a public relations war if you know it or not.