DB Hottie

I've not launched a co-pay yet. The roadblock I keep running into in my mind with co-pay is this:

Client: "So, if I pay you $X for a month of co-pay, what did I really get?"
Me: "Ummmmm- You bought an opportunity to tan at half off for the next month."

I really like the idea of co-pay. I just need to wrap myself around it better.

We have EFT; Unlimited; Points.

All of our current options co-exist well together. People who have EFT also buy points to use towards their upgrades.

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aimeekat

That's my issue too DB. Have you thought of marketing as a monthly/30 day pass. Take the "unlimited" word out.

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MicroSpa

A couple of questions.

With EFT Unlimiteds that have upgrades, isn't that essentially the same thing as a co-pay plan with an EFT attatched to it?

What I've typically seen is that the upgrade is 50% off the single price for the next level with unlimiteds.

Here's where I'm a stuck with points in your scenario. If you are offering points for single sessions etc, I can see how that works as the points are based off of full price sessions. More points = discount etc.

If you have points available for upgrades as well, that same scenario doesn't work as the upgrades are already discounted. You would have to apply a different point structure to your upgrades as they may already be discounted 50%? Applying points to upgrades is a good idea but if you have it in place with singles, it would get confusing having two different point structures.

Help me understand this a little better if you don't mind.

SUNNYDAYS1

We call it our membership package. The client pays for the mebership and they receive discount tanning for that period of time.

Kind of like your BJs or Costco membership, you pay a fee for the year and then you can purchase their stuff at a cheaper price (supposedly).

DB Hottie

On an EFT you normally have access to atleast one level without having to pay each time.

Example 1: L1 EFT client w/o point package- wants L2 for today. Client pays $6.

Example 2: L1 EFT client also has 40 points package ($32 pkge/.80 each point)- wants L2 for today. It is still takes 6 points ($6) to upgrade but since they initially bought a package of points it is less. Works out monetarily to be $4.80.

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MicroSpa

That is my point: Using points for upgrades hurts you unless you have a points package for upgrades only, where the discount is already taken into account. It would not appear to makes sense to use single session points for upgrades. The discount is too steep.

DB Hottie

It is steep.

When I was switching to points earlier this year it seemed normal and inline with other salons. Have not really given it much more thought.

Anyone else redeem points on EFT? How do you do it?

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DB Hottie

I don't even see myself using the word unlimited with a co-pay.

It just getting past that the client really did not purchase anything but an opportunity to tan at 1/2 off for the month.

If I can get past this thought process- I might be able to sell it.

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agk453

I think of it as a 30-day membership. By paying that membership fee they get to tan at a discounted rate for the month. I see unlimited's using the same concept - they pay a "membership fee" and get to tan for free for the month. CoPay just scales it down a notch so that those without the big bucks can still get a deal by paying a bit up front.

aeltiger

In my opinion, I HATE monthly unlimiteds. The co-pay plan is much better to me...less abuse. This is the way I explain/promote the co-pay plan to clients:

"We have a really unique plan called the Pay As U Go plan. The way this plan works is you pay $XX and in return you will get 30 days of 50-60% off single session rates. This plan has several benefits for clients. First, you don't have to come up with a large amount up front. You can pay a little as you go. Secondly, you are ONLY paying for what you are using. Traditional monthly plans require that you pay a certain amount, regardless of whether you tan 3 times or 20 times over the course of the month. If for some reason you are unable to come in one week, you won't feel like you have lost any money because you will have paid nothing that week."

"Also, this plan allows you to utilize all of the equipment which is actually the best way to achieve the best tan."

I know that there are other things that we say to promote this plan to clients, but this is all I can think of off the top of my head. Hope this helps!

Our co-pay is probably our most popular plan. It has cut down drastically on our montly unlimited abusers.