DWhite6872

get your 1,3, and 5 mile demographics . Then look at how many tanning salons are in you 1,3 and 5 mile radius and back out your numbers for potential tanners. Then take your beds vs. sell out rates and see what you generate. There are so many ways to look at this but that will give you a start.

ramcat

The ratio hers, in a 3 mile radius is 30,000 customers per salon.

sunsally

Once you are IN a market - if you haven't already before you GOT in ----
-Go to every tanning salon in your competitive area. Send a trusted employee/friend/relative if you don't feel comfortable going yourself. Don't have to get EVERY detail, but in general:
a. How many levels do they have, how many beds at each, what type of beds for each?
b. What are their prices - at least at "key" points (e.g. month unlimited, EFT, 10 or 20 on base bed,..)
c. What does the place "feel" like - clean, warm, busy, friendly, pushy, ....
d. How does their location compare - traffic flow, nearby stores, ease of parking,..
e. How aggressively do they "sell"? Try to sign someone up first visit? Offer crazy "today only" specials?..

Then - keep a file on the advertising they do. Radio, print, flyers,..What sort of offers do they promote?

For your customers - if new, ask them where else they've tanned, what they liked and didn't like about the places. Can even do a "survey" of your current customers - what do you like best about our salon, what changes or improvements would you recommend.

If you are ENTERING a market, I would do all the above first also - figure out if there is really "room" for you and a way for you to carve out a competitive niche

Carloz

You can't just read your 1,3, and 5 mile figures and "back out" potential tanners. Nor does your "sell out" level have anything to do with determining potential customer traffic. If that is how dwhite is selecting locations, she is in trouble. Sure, you need to have sufficient population in your area to generate traffic, but having other salons in your neighborhood should only boost your confidence that the 1, 3, and 5 mile people are tanning in your area. Actually the best case scenario would have all the area tanning salons in one strip center or city block. In that case all tanners would go to that strip of salons, and then the better salon would most often win. Remember it is not about what the other salons are taking away from the market, it is about what you can take away from them. Never be afraid to compete, and don't depend on the leftovers from your 1, 3, and five mile charts.

DWhite6872

Cool, I love to learn....so Carloz how would you suggest someone to come up with their numbers?

MATT A

Most clients come from a 5 mile radius.

DWhite6872

Well, I guess you need to throw out you 1-5 mile radius and to heck with sell out levels and break even analysis.....I am waiting for the new math?

MJ

There is no one way to do something...
You guys all make valid points. Do what you think it right for your salon. As for watching your competition..how to do it.

My opinion is simply keep them in your sights ..do not forget they are there... BUT concentrate on YOUR salon. IF they get in your face deal with them.
If your always standing in the window with binoculars watching your neighbors....you cannot see what is going on in your own backyard. JMHO

[ This Message was edited by: MJ on 2005-01-22 23:24 ]

MJ

As for the second part of this thread...

I believe there is many ways to slice a pie....
There are many "right" ways to do this...and on the flip side there is many "wrong" ways too. Yet all the "Right" ways have similar key elements-- that make them a success.

Just executed slightly differently. Sometimes is just business style/saavy other times the differences are are altered because of regional or local differences.
I believe that is what the original poster was looking for.

Salons are affected in many ways by unavoidable factors. New and exisiting. All businesses have a few variable that are completely out of our control. Road construction for instance.

(This can in some instances be avoided..to a newbie)

If you happen to be shopping an area..that has bad roads or is near an expressway or Free way. And you are planning on purchasing or opening a salon there. Therefore--it is in your best interest to take the time to IF you are going to rely on these potential lunch break or after work crowd tanners...You should know is there any major road construction going to happen any time soon?

Check with the country roads commission...It is public records...you are entitled to this.

In prime-time season roads close or partially and traffic detoured under construction will bruise even a big boy of any industry. It can destroy any inexperienced newbies chance of making through the first few years... in heartbeat. Some will never truly recover. When this happens.

Now sometimes you just cannot control this either..or predict delays in what seems like simple 2 week job...could turn into months. leaving just in time for slow.

Now what if you sign a lease with a mall or landlord and your plaza is sold to another owner that has other plans... to turn your plaza/mall into a medical or business type office spaces? Now you are one of the few with new 3- 5 years leases..most others are up for renewal soon and you watch them leave one by one. This is unavoidable so it seems...

Now your once 80%-100% retail mall is now 3 years later a 15-30% retail space. The perteptually decreasing foot traffic...is going to affect you! If you do not have the proper clauses in your lease. This is how you protect yourself~ Don't chince on the legal fees when signing leases of any term amount. Too many have already been burned before On issue mentioned above...and many more not mentioned here. Learn from them.

If you are aware of all the pitfalls you are facing when signing on the dotted line. Or closing on a salon. Some believe --All the homework in the world will not affect the outcome if luck (karma -destiny/fate...if you will) steps in to play its hand.

Whatever you want to call it. But the question remains is luck really an intangible factor?

All the Pixie dust in Tinkerbells bag would not fix a series mistakes that could have been avoided...with a little homework or a few nominal attorney/accountant fees in comparision to the monumental mistakes that are at stake here.
Beside you can bet your *** if Pixie dust was a factor here. The bigger boys and/or scammers would have kidnapped Tinkerbell a long time ago. And as we speak thay have her hooked up to a IV strapped to a tiny table in some cage somewhere....to keep her alive.

A small part of me wants to believe it is true..and Luck plays in this someohow. And in some ways I do believe in it. But just not on the bigger issues... all too often it simply means you made mistakes that due to circumstances you did not research enough before jump head foot and FULL BODY INTO.

Although, I myself-fell victim to lack of Knowledge syndrome. I blame myself for not doing the work..not the @sswipes who prey upon naive people... like I was.

I willingly take completely accountability for my MANY early mistakes, I made a naive newbie. I made them- I paid dearly for them...and If I haven't already... I will fix them.
On the flip side so will they.
Accountability is a two way street. It all will come back to you given enough time.

So I say this... If you were purposefully deceptive, blatantly lied to me..screwed me in any way, shape or form. I feel very sorry for you. Cause there is nothing worse then a scorned woman, who is on a mission to make it right....tell me I am wrong.

I am certain I am not alone in feeling this way...

I am just glad that more of the wannabe salon owners are finding sites to do the research necessary to make the decisions that will someday affect every aspect of their life.

Now the only think left for them to do is learn to weed through the BS and scammers that now prey online.

Unfortunately--The same Internet that allowed The Potential newbie info formally not available to them. Now offers the predators of this industry access to naive newbies beyond their local areas.

However, I still think that if Wannabe and newbies are smart enough to find online sites -- they should be smart enough to the differentiate between the two types of posters. You would think..at least I hope so.

~ Good Luck*!!:grin:


*indicates ~ Do your homework and you will be fine!


_________________
Jane... You Ignorant Sl*t!!!

[ This Message was edited by: MJ on 2005-01-22 23:30 ][ This Message was edited by: MJ on 2005-01-22 23:33 ]

tanu01

Good post MJ.
Bob