How To Have Customers Choose Your Tanning Salon – 7 Tips

 
Be Mindful of Your Salon’s Hours
Business and school hours can make it difficult for customers to go to the salon. Certain times of the day might be slow at your location, but could be busier during times you are not open. Look around in the area and see what other business hours are like and when they are busy. Allow your salon to make time for other people who don’t have the same schedule to come by.

Have a Salon Tour
People love when they are introduced to a welcoming environment, so make them feel comfortable in the area and ask if they’d like a tour of the rooms. Show them the types of equipment you provide and how clean you keep your rooms. Describe the differences of the beds and make suggestions on your walk-through after assessing what they’re looking for.

Take a look at Glow Tanning and Boutique’s tanning tour:

Compare Memberships & Pricing
To achieve the perfect tan, it will take a gradual process. This is a great opportunity to gain your customer retention and offer the best packages for users to keep coming back. Look at the other salons in your area and see if you can compare to their pricing to offer a better deal. Some salons might charge a sign-up rate for their membership or charge cancellation fees. Be competitive with these deals and offer a discounted rate for larger packages. Some salons might even provide a student discount.

We suggest offering a combination of packages and individual tanning options. Based on the levels of tanning equipment that you offer you can create an individual tanning price option, and also offer a monthly package. The monthly package should be priced to encourage people to sign up and get the best deal, but you also want to have an option for those coming in every once in a while for a special event. For example some of our customers charge 24.99 for a level 3 a month, $49.99 for a level 4 a month, and a complete salon monthly package of $99.99 for all unlimited services.

Offer a Variety of Tanning Beds & Packages
If you offer limited outdated equipment, people might not return to your salon. It’s best to offer the latest technology and services. People like to have top of the line options when they know they are spending money on getting pampered.  Because everyone has a different skin type, they will have a preference on a level they might want to try. Also, some people prefer to stand while tanning to make sure they receive an even coverage, while others might want to relax and lay down for their session. Offering different equipment along with different packages will help them better decide on what would be best for them.

For an example, a customer might come in who tans fairly easily but not often, but they don’t want a lay down bed, you might want to recommend a V3 because it’s a stand-up level 3. After a few sessions they want to get darker, so you can suggest them trying the Luxura V8 which is a level 5.
*Note- Levels are set by the individual salons and based on your local market*

Have a Knowledgeable Staff
If customers come in to your salon for the first time, chances are they haven’t tanned before or in a long time. Make sure your staff is knowledgeable about the equipment, how to assess someone’s skin type, and guide the customers through all the stages of the tanning process. These are practices that your employees should know:

• Smart tanning practices
• Health requirements
• The salon’s prices and packages
• The equipment and products you offer

This will provide an educated suggestion to the customer for them to make the best decision. If a customer doesn’t know about lotions or eyewear, take a second to explain the differences and importance, so they know they are being cared for.  Other questions you can have your staff ask can be:

• “We allow 3 minutes to get ready for the tanning session, do you need more time?”
• “Were you aware of our sales coming up? I can get you the best deal on our new lotions or for signing up this month!”
• “Would you like to try a different bed and lotion this time? You don’t want to plateau your tan because our bodies can get used to the rays or ingredients.”

 
Offer Additional Services
A great salon will provide additional services to their customers. This would be a great way for to build value into premium memberships. Some customers might decide to switch to spray tanning, or want to try an additional service such as red light sessions for their skin to go along with their tan. Another pampering service to include could be a hydro massage for customers to use while waiting for a tanning or red light bed to open up. Now your customers can get a tan and massage all in one place. Broaden your services to broaden your markets.

Have a Healthy & Happy Environment
If you are providing high quality equipment, different options for packages, and a knowledge staff, most likely customers will keep coming back, but one thing that will detour a customer from returning is a unsanitary or unwelcoming environment. Before coming to your salon, customers will read reviews on Facebook or Google about your location and form their opinion. Make sure you keep a clean salon with a friendly staff to gain positive reviews and make people feel comfortable and relaxed to come back.

You should always clean your equipment after every use. We recommend having cleaning materials available in the room with the bed so your customers can wipe equipment down themselves if they feel more comfortable. Always provide the proper cleaning solution, such as Lucasol One Step, to avoid having customers apply damaging cleaners or liquids to your bed. We recommend not allowing any liquids in the room with the equipment to avoid spills and always check the room after each customer leaves to make sure its ready for your next visitor!

Check out our cleaning instructions video on proper cleaning and maintenance information:

Watch for next week’s blog: How to Market Your Tanning Salon